In early December, the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board (the LRB) issued a decision about the five former Extendicare facilities. The decision was based on an interpretation of the regulations that governed a previous restructuring of the healthcare system in 1997, commonly called the ‘Dorsey regulations’. In that decision, the Saskatoon and Moose Jaw facilities remain within the SEIU-West family. However, the 3 Regina-based facilities were moved, without a vote of the membership, into the CUPE 5430 jurisdiction.
Pinned
Build Power, Win Justice 2024!
The SEIU-West Political Action & Education Department is pleased to invite members to apply to attend Build Power, Win Justice. This two-day conference will take place at SEIU-West in Saskatoon on March 19th and 20th, 2024. Interested members can apply by completing this application form.
Notice to Members in the Education Sector - Re: STF Strike
January 12, 2024
Good afternoon,
As you may have heard, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) has announced that its members across Saskatchewan will be conducting a one-day strike on Tuesday, January 16th.
SEIU-West Education Support Staff Stands with the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation
The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (the STF) has been bargaining with the Government and Trustee bargaining committee. They have reached an impasse and are unable to make any progress. The STF has notified their members that they will be holding a vote on sanctions against their employer.
Convention 2023: Constitutional Amendments
The following Constitutional Amendments were debated, voted on, and passed during Convention:
Oct 22, 2021 Update: SHA Employee Proof of Vaccination Policy Directive
UPDATE TO SEIU-WEST MEMBERS RE: SASKATCHEWAN HEALTH AUTHORITY (SHA) EMPLOYEE PROOF OF VACCINATION POLICY DIRECTIVE
October 22, 2021
President Barb Cape's Message: Oct 22, 2021
Digital Protest: Premier Scott Moe & Health Minister Paul Merriman's Offices
As we continue to look for ways to safely share our collective grief and frustration with the Saskatchewan government over its gross mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, SEIU-West's Political Action Committee is asking everyone to join in a digital protest of the offices of the Premier and Minister of Health.
Please download and share these graphics with your social media networks and strongly encourage your friends, family and networks to step up and show up, for our members, for all health care workers, and for all clients and patients of the care system, present and future.
Call, share, call, share, call again - register your displeasure with the political decision-makers who have destroyed Saskatchewan's once world-class health care system.
For Facebook
Moe: click here for a JPG and here for a PNG file, or right-click on the image to download to your device.
For Twitter
Moe: click here for a JPG and here for a PNG file, or right-click on the image to download to your device.
For Instagram
Moe: click here for a JPG and here for a PNG file, or right-click on the image to download to your device.
SEIU-West Q&A Follow Up: Town Hall October 14, 2021
(For a link to the Q&A from the Town Hall event held October 13, 2021, please click here.)
On October 13 and 14, 2021 President Barbara Cape and Director of Contract Bargaining and Enforcement, Bob Laurie, answered members' questions about the SHA Proof of Vaccination Policy Directive. The Zoom meeting was recorded to ensure accuracy in responding to these questions. All participants were encouraged to put their question in the chat – and questions from members were gathered prior to the meeting…many with the same themes.
Media Release: Gross Mismanagement, Not Just COVID-19, is Killing Saskatchewan’s Health Care System
Saskatchewan – SEIU-West members and leaders were stunned to find out that there will be no more patient transfers happening from Saskatchewan’s collapsed health care system. We are appalled at the complete failure of the provincial government’s management of the COVID19 crisis and demanding the politically-motivated decision-making end immediately.
“Patients in serious need of lifesaving care are waiting in peril because of the never-ending, politically motivated too little/too late actions of Premier Scott Moe and his government,” says SEIU-West President Barb Cape. “This government has abdicated its responsibilities by relying on non-medical experts to run the response to this fourth wave – it’s hard to believe I have to say this, but it’s time Moe and the politicians get out of the way and let medical and public health professionals try to salvage this disaster.”
“Our Premier, even with the benefit of being able to watch management responses in other healthy and safe provinces, has blown every opportunity he’s had to get ahead of each COVID wave by putting his politics ahead of human life,” Cape adds. “We all saw this coming. We’re not the only ones who have been raising alarm bells and this government is simply not listening or taking advice, or help, from anyone, including their blatant contradictions of Saskatchewan’s CMHO, who wept yesterday over the lack of humanity.”
Sask Party mismanagement of the pandemic has been political, deliberate and unapologetic since day one, with Scott Moe and his Health Ministers squandering every opportunity they’ve had to make this better. The constant deflection of responsibility, pointing fingers elsewhere, blaming the feds has to stop.
“The shocking audacity to pursue options in America, as opposed to taking the offered help from the federal government, resulting in delayed relief in Saskatchewan, was bad enough,” continues Cape. “Today, Saskatchewan’s health and long-term care environment is dangerously unsafe for patients and ALL health care workers, including their non-medical teammates.”
SEIU-West members are tired, frustrated and mad. That’s why they will be calling the Premier and the Minister of Health today to tell them to get out of the way and let the experts in the health care system take the lead.
Service Employees International Union West (SEIU-West) represents over 13,000 people across Saskatchewan. They include people who work in health care, education, municipalities, community-based organizations, retirement homes and other sectors. SEIU-West members, like all health care and essential workers across Saskatchewan, have been providing hands-on care and in-person services since the very start of the pandemic, enduring extraordinary personal mental, physical and financial hurdles including the absence of and/or insufficient personal protective equipment, inconsistent application of protocols, isolation and lack of mental health supports, short-staffing levels and unfair, arbitrary distribution of Donna Harpauer’s temporary wage supplement. Visit PurpleWorks.ca to find out more about SEIU-West members
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For more information, contact:
Tammy Nicklas
Project Coordinator
306-652-1011 ext. 2225
Celebrate Education Week 2021: Learning For the Future
From October 17 - 23, 2021 SEIU-West is thrilled to celebrate Education Week!
The work of Education Assistants, Library Technicians, Custodians, Tradespeople, Food Service Workers, Administrative Assistants, and School Bus Drivers (to name a few) prepares Saskatchewan kids for their tomorrow and the province for its future.
SEIU-West's education-based members ensure school children experience quality education by:
- Working alongside teachers;
- Ensuring school offices and administrative functions run smoothly;
- Serving healthy meals;
- Driving buses so our children make it to and from school safely; and
- Maintaining safe schools and school grounds for students to enjoy.
We also know you’re working so hard, yet faced with inadequate support from our government – as with all front line workers during COVID-19. We continue to work hard fighting for you on this front.
Click here to view 2021's official Education Week declaration!
Watch for contest details coming this week.
Celebrate Facilities and Engineering Week 2021!
In addition to Education Week from October 17 - 23, in 2021 SEIU-West is also proud to recognize Facilities and Engineering Week!
SEIU-West members in Facilities and Engineering are critical to the success of every facility in the health care system. For example, heating, water and lighting systems must be well-organized and operational to support medically-sound environments for patients, residents, visitors and staff.
Members who work in Facilities and Engineering work in a variety of fields including Building and Energy Maintenance, Construction, Waste Management, Groundskeeping and Landscaping, and Clinical and Plant Engineering. In their honour, we are asking you to nominate a member of the Facilities and Engineering team who really makes a difference in your workplace, whether with their positive attitude, their awesome work, or the way they support the whole health care team.
Please send in your nominations, along with a sentence or two as to why they deserve to win, to [email protected] by October 29, 2021. Your nominee could win one of several great prizes!
SEIU-West Q&A Follow Up: Town Hall October 13, 2021
(For a link to the Q&A from the Town Hall event held October 14, 2021, please click here.)
President Barbara Cape and Director of Contract Bargaining and Enforcement, Bob Laurie, answered members questions about the SHA Proof of Vaccination Policy Directive. The Zoom meeting was recorded to provide accuracy in responding to these questions. All participants were encouraged to put their question in the chat – and questions from members were gathered prior to the meeting…many with the same theme.
Declaration: COVID-19 Vaccination Status
Please copy and paste the below text into an email, which you will then send to Blake McMullen at the address provided. Please ensure you save a copy of your email for your records.
Date:
To Blake McMullen ([email protected])
I have been advised by my Union to inform you I cannot truthfully and correctly complete the SHA Declaration of COVID-19 Vaccination Status because the Employer response options provided do not describe my intention.
Your Name:
Message To SEIU-West members at Elmview, Moose Jaw, Parkside, Preston, and Sunset Extendicare
October 14, 2021
RE: Message To SEIU-West members at Elmview, Moose Jaw, Parkside, Preston, and Sunset Extendicare long-term care homes
Stories from the Front Line: Jody
Jody works in the Food and Nutrition (F & N) department of an urban hospital as a Storesperson, where she orders food and other kitchen products and then when she receives them, puts them where they belong. Three years ago, when she saw this posting, she thought she’d enjoy it and is happy to report that her instinct was right.
Working during the pandemic was very trying. When the pandemic hit, they weren’t sure what hospitals were going to look like so they prepared for a huge wave. Some days, it was tricky to find space for all the extra food and paper products that were necessary to have on hand to prepare for the unknown. She says that having to wear a mask for the entire day is really difficult.
FAQs: Statement from SEIU-West’s Executive Board on the SHA Proof of COVID Vaccination Policy
Can the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy?
Yes. Employers are entitled to implement rules in the workplace so long as they meet certain criteria. Under Saskatchewan’s Occupational Health and Safety Legislation, employers have a duty to protect employees from work-related illness or injury. This can include policies to limit the spread of infectious diseases. Employer rules must be reasonable and they must not violate the explicit provisions of a Collective Agreement.
Employers still have an obligation to comply with the Human Rights Code, and to accommodate members under its provisions, if they cannot receive a vaccine because of a medical condition or other grounds that are protected by the Code, however this would likely require evidence of a need for accommodation beyond an applicant simply disagreeing with the safety or efficacy of the vaccine.
Can I be disciplined or fired if I refuse to get the vaccine?
Possibly, under certain circumstances. Policies requiring that all employees be vaccinated for the seasonal flu without a reasonable option to the vaccination have typically been deemed unreasonable in the context of discipline or dismissal. Currently, the SHA policy only requires proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test. However, should legislation or public health orders be introduced, as has occurred in other jurisdictions, allowing for the mandating COVID vaccination, failure to comply with Employer policy may result in discipline including termination.
In addition to potential disciplinary consequences, there could be other, non-disciplinary consequences, including being placed on leave without pay, the obligation to wear enhanced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and the obligation to maintain physical distancing.
Will SEIU-West represent members subjected to discipline over employer COVID-19 policies?
Yes. As always, we will pursue grievances filed by the union on behalf of our members including proceeding to arbitration. However, SEIU-West will not argue unsupportable facts. If a member demands the Union file a grievance relying on unsupportable facts or exclusively on the member's personal opinions, SEIU-West may be unable to pursue the issue and the grievance will be unlikely to succeed.
What about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
Applying the Charter to workplace rules is a complex matter. The Charter normally only applies to government action and legislation only. Even if it did apply, Section 1 of the Charter states that all of its rights can be subject to “reasonable limits.”
What if I have a medical condition that excludes me from taking the COVID-19 vaccine?
Human rights codes say employers must reasonably accommodate employees who can’t comply with workplace policies due to medical conditions or disabilities. An employee will need to provide the employer with proof of disability from a medical professional to support their accommodation request.
If I’m unvaccinated, can the SHA implement mandatory testing?
Yes. Mandatory testing is a reasonable alternative to the proof of vaccination requirement.
Will employees be forced to pay, out-of-pocket, for their testing?
This will depend on several factors, including the provisions of the Collective Agreement and the contents of the employer’s own policy.
Can I grieve this policy?
Members do not file grievances, the Union does so on behalf of the members.
What if I’m working from home?
There are currently competing legal opinions on the reasonableness of requiring employees working from home to provide proof of vaccination or submit to regular COVID testing. It will depend in part on the stated purpose for introducing the policy. However, the Employer can require employees to return to work at an Employer facility, in which case the employee would be subject to the policy.
What if I can’t take the vaccine because of my religion?
Upon the provision of proper verifiable information regarding your religious exemption, you should be accommodated by being provided access to regular COVID testing.
What if I am worried about the vaccine due to pregnancy?
If you have proper verifiable medical information indicating you have a medical condition that would preclude being vaccinated, you should be accommodated by being provided access to regular COVID testing. If your worry is your personal opinion, you may opt for mandatory COVID testing if it allowed in the policy, but it would not be an accommodation.
What if the employer cannot provide an accommodation?
If the Employer indicates it cannot provide an accommodation, including alternate work or work location, the Union will act to ensure the Employer’s claim is accurate and all accommodation options have been exhausted. If it is verified that an Employer cannot provide an accommodation, then it is possible you will not be allowed into the workplace as an employee.
What if I have an adverse reaction to the vaccine?
If you have an adverse reaction and you subsequently obtain medical advice from an appropriate medical professional to refrain from taking more vaccine, you may provide the employer with proof of your condition from a medical professional and request an accommodation, which may include regular COVID testing.