Effective Tuesday, October 14, 2025 SEIU-West will resume mailing out member expense cheques via Canada Post.
If you have questions about the status of your MEV, please email [email protected] and one of our team members will be happy to help.
Pinned
If you are an SEIU-West member working for the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and you receive a communication from your employer indicating that you owe them money back for an N/52nds overpayment, please:
Info pickets provide an opportunity for SEIU-West members to send a message to their employer and to the general public, that bargaining needs to progress and SEIU-West members deserve a fair contract!
As we celebrate World Health today the stakes have never been higher. The last few weeks has made it even more apparent that all is not well in our Health Care system. 
As people gathered supplies to start self-isolation and went to their children’s schools to pick up their supplies, health care workers walked through the doors of their workplaces to continue care for their clients/patients/residents. Health care workers scrambled to figure out what to do with their children; because these arrangements were necessary for them to leave their homes and get to work. Many had to find a new method to get to work – keeping in mind the requirements of social distancing.
You want to know what a hero looks like? It’s our members. While the world stocked up on toilet paper and hunkered down, our members couldn’t stay home. They worried as they checked in on their own loved ones, for fear they had caught COVID-19 at work and were about to spread the virus to their families. They worry everyday about COVID 19 spreading to their patients/clients/residents and their health care team members.
Even knowing this great potential risk they have soldiered on, doing an amazing job to limit the spread of this new contagion and providing the professional, valuable, compassionate care they always have provided. All while waiting for a fair collective agreement, one that would help address their own needs like chronic understaffing, crushing workloads, increased cost of living, long hours and mandated work.
What is most frustrating is that our health care workers are heroically putting their lives and the lives of their family on the line, all without sufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
On Thursday (April 9TH), members across the province will gather at appropriate social distances during their shift change to demand that Scott Moe use his power to deliver more PPE to frontline health care workers by holding up signs saying #GetMePPE. For those who cannot do this on April 9th – we invite them to do so today or any other day this week. To submit your picture, send it to [email protected] and we’ll post it to our Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Our Health Care workers risk their own safety for us, keeping us as healthy as possible during this pandemic. Health care providers are our World Health Day heroes!
On April 28th, the National Day of Mourning, we remember and mourn for the workers who have been injured or killed on the job. In remembering, we must not let those lost lives be in vain. We need to rejuvenate our efforts to make sure all workers can come home from work safe and healthy every day.
While COVID-19 is taking over much of our work lives, this win is a reminder that we must remain diligent in ensuring employers adhere to both our collective agreements and the Saskatchewan Employment Act (SEA). This week, a member informed SEIU-West that their employer was selecting Occupational Health Committee (OHC) members and that the worker co-chair was out of scope. As the SEA outlines, workers/their union have the right to select/elect their own worker representatives and there must be one employer co-chair, and one worker co-chair. As a result, SEIU-West drafted an urgent letter informing the employer of this right and immediately, the employer adjusted their behaviour. The right to have balanced worker representation on each OHC is vital to enforce as we know safety is a number one priority, and we must not let the employer forget that. If you are experiencing the same issues at your workplace, please contact the Member Resource Centre (MRC) through our website https://www.seiuwest.ca/contact or by phone 1-888-999-7348 ext. 2298
For the week of March 29 – April 4, SEIU-West is proud to celebrate our very first Scheduler’s Week! 
Schedulers maintain all aspects of staff scheduling while adhering to collective bargaining agreements and staffing guidelines of all departments.
To round off this week’s celebration, we’re shining the spotlight on Lois, a Scheduler at Homecare where her job typically includes scheduling clients to staff and staff to clients.
Lois says it’s their duty to make sure staff are scheduled based on their permanent rotations, that staff know what the rotations and schedules look like and they also manage staff request for days off (including vacation and stats). This is done on a daily basis and as needed while abiding by the CBA. Lois believes the Scheduling department are very aware of the CBA because they refer to it a lot.
Once Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs) are scheduled, based on the needs (profile) of the clients (e.g. frequency of daily care), the client attendances are booked into the staff rotation with the appropriate CCA.
Since COVID-19, CCA’s schedules are now being faxed out to all the huddles and the Homecare building is now locked down to only staff after a push by SEIU-West members.
Lois says what she loves most about her job is the contact that she gets to have with her peers and the clients and the fact that she’s a leader for SEIU-west in Homecare.
She has made herself available to other members for comfort and reassurance; she has let them know that their union is there for them especially in light of COVID-19 and she often receives calls and texts messages.
Lois has worked as a Scheduler for decades and is proud to be of service to her fellow members.
We are proud to celebrate the health care heroes that are Schedulers!
For Immediate Release, April 1, 2020
Saskatoon – SEIU-West leaders and members know that our Saskatchewan Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) will be receiving a 1.8% salary increase today.
For the week of March 29 – April 4, SEIU-West is proud to celebrate our very first Scheduler’s Week! 
Schedulers maintain all aspects of staff scheduling while adhering to collective bargaining agreements and staffing guidelines of all departments within the scheduling office.
To celebrate this week we’re shinning the spotlight on Jocelyn, a Staff Scheduler at Saskatoon City Hospital Operating Room. Her job includes scheduling for nursing staff and support staff. In a typical day she looks after short notice calls for any absences based on how many theaters are running and how many staff they need to have for that particular day and it varies.
Her job also includes making the necessary changes to make sure things keep running smoothly especially in light of Covid-19, such as making sure urgent surgeries are scheduled and elective surgeries are cancelled.
Jocelyn says one of the best part of her job is interacting with people and she finds that employees are more trusting when they can speak to a live voice. Although there is less of this since the introduction of the staff scheduling website.
Jocelyn started out as a Work Clerk doing scheduling and has since then garnered 30 years experience as a scheduler. Jocelyn can actually recognize people that she has never met in person just from the sound of their voice! Now that’s what we call voice recognition!
We are proud to celebrate the health care heroes that are Schedulers!
SEIU-West President Barbara Cape calls on members to contact their Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in advance of Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) Week (May 3 to 9, 2020) to legislate safe staffing levels in health care facilities.
We are pleased to announce our first-ever SEIU-West Facebook Live Event!
Join SEIU-West President Barbara Cape on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at 3:00 pm.
Submit your question in advance through our online contact form.
It’s understandable that many of us are struggling with our mental health these days – the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our daily lives and caused global grief and anxiety amongst our communities – so SEIU-West has developed this Mental Health Support During COVID-19 page in order to reassure you that you’re not alone, and that there are many resources that can help you during this challenging time.
Please note that SEIU-West is not responsible for the content of the external sites set out on this page – we are simply attempting to share resources that are available.
| Social Distancing and Still Being Social: | Social distancing is mandatory in order to flatten the curve of COVID-19, but we suggest that you take this to mean physical distancing – you can still be social on the phone, online, and through many video conferencing options where there is no physical contact. We advise that you reach out to your loved ones – check out this article for many online tools that are helping people reach out to their friends and family, whether they’re next door or across the country. |
| Mutual Aid: |
Many people have risen to the challenge during this pandemic, and SEIU-West applauds the solidarity we’re witnessing in communities across Saskatchewan. Throughout Canada, the pandemic has led to the “caremonger” movement. Caremongering is just the opposite of fearmongering, and we’ve seen many of the caremongering efforts pop up around Saskatchewan communities. So be sure to do a caremongering search on Facebook as there are many community pages where people are sharing positive stories, while also asking for help or offering to help. For example, check out the Caremongering Saskatoon page. And if you can’t find one in your area, we encourage you to set one up with your neighbours if you’re able to. Just remember to limit your social media use, as often news articles are shared that can add to our anxiety. If you're not sure how to talk to someone about mental health during COVID-19, we recommend the following resource: Tips on talking to someone in crisis during COVID-19 It's also vital that you reflect on your own mental health. Check out the following helpful resources: |
| EFAP: |
Most SEIU-West members have access to Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP). If you’re not sure you’re eligible for EFAP, call our Member Resource Centre (MRC) at 1.888.999.7348 ext. 2298 (province-wide) or use our online contact form. With EFAP, you can access 24/7, confidential professional assistance and resources through EFAP. Keep in mind that in-person counselling is unavailable, but that there are a number of video, phone, and text options to talk to a professional. Some other services include:
Visit WorkHealthLife for these and other services and check out this webinar on emotional wellbeing. NEW! - you can also visit 3S health for a list of expanded services to support your mental wellbeing - visit this link for more information. |
| Other important resources: |
In addition to the supports mentioned above, below is a list of many more resources to support your mental wellbeing during this time but remember, you can always call our MRC at 1.888.999.7348 ext. 2298 (province-wide) or use our online contact form if you have any questions regarding COVID-19.
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SEIU-West's Education Committee has a list of Mental Health Courses.
SEIU-West's Young Worker Committee is Shining a Light on Coping with Burnout.
If you have any information that you think should be added to this page, please let us know by emailing [email protected].
For the week of March 22-28, SEIU-West is proud to celebrate Health Information Professionals Week!
SEIU-West is proud to celebrate Health Information Professionals Week March 22-28, 2020!
For Immediate Release, March 25, 2020
Saskatoon – The front line health care providers of SEIU-West are not surprised with the recent media reports about the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and Ministry of Health ‘planning challenges’ in dealing with COVID-19.