As the holiday season approaches, many in our community may need a little extra support. If you know someone who could benefit from a helping hand, we invite you to nominate them for one of five Christmas hamper baskets or one of thirty Co-op gift cards, courtesy of the Young Workers Committee and Nursing Care Committee.
Over the course of 2017, hundreds of SEIU-West members reached out to government officials at various levels to share their experiences of the impact of health care funding cuts to their patients, residents, themselves, their families and their communities.
At the beginning of 2018, we relaunched the challenge to our members to reach out to their elected Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) by phone, email, or in person to talk about the impact of direct cuts to public sector workers’ compensation and/or funding cuts to the skilled professional services we provide.
In January, SEIU-West members met with the Minister of Health, Jim Reiter, and the Minister of Rural and Remote Health, Greg Ottenbreit, to identify the impact of these cuts on services and on health care workers.
Our new Premier, Scott Moe, has committed to increasing funding to the education system which faced serious cuts in last year’s budget. As part of a group of educational organizations, I joined administrators, directors, school board trustees, and unions in meeting with the new Minister of Education, Gordon Wyant, to set a new relationship and tone for our work going forward.
We have proposed an education roundtable to provide input, and be consulted, on changes and plans for this sector. Continued cuts to staff and programs within our education sector cannot stand; we place our province in a long-term skill deficit by not having the staff and services available now for our province’s future success. And SEIU-West commits to being part of this process.
SEIU-West welcomes the opportunity to build a new relationship with our government. We are the front line experts in our schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and community-based organizations, and can provide the knowledge, skills and expertise for improving and sustaining our public systems in our communities.
This isn’t just a bargaining issue; as citizens, it’s important that we are all involved in how our province, towns, cities and communities are governed. As front line workers, we are incredible advocates for the people we serve, but we can’t provide those services to the standards that we expect, if we are running to provide care; short-staffed; or working without proper equipment.
Adequate staffing levels in all public services should be a priority – not just for us, but for our employers, governments, and the people of Saskatchewan. We continue to be fully invested in our work and our province – we need our governments to invest fully in these services… and in us.
Latest posts
November 7, 2025
Dear Members,
We want to thank those who were able to come out last week to attend our very successful media event at the Legislature in Regina. It was great to see members from the three Health Care Provider Unions (HPUs) from across the province stand together in solidarity. During Question Period, multiple MLAs asked questions to the Premier and the Minister of Health on our behalf. We were also able to have meetings with the Opposition Caucus and the Minister of Health to address our concerns over the slow pace of bargaining and the state of health care in our province.
For Immediate Release
November 6, 2025