Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations Inc. (SAHO)

IT Transition Update: May 13, 2022

On May 2, 2022, SEIU-West transition team members met virtually with our IT members who are affected by the proposed transfer of SHA IT staff to eHealth. In attendance for the transition negotiations team were Barb Cape, President; Bob Laurie, Director of Contract Bargaining and Enforcement (CBE); Russ Doell, Deputy Director of CBE; Ravi Doshi, Curtis Firomski and Janice Gaspers.
We reviewed the details of the meeting we had with SAHO, SHA and eHealth on April 20.

IT Transition Update: March 23, 2022

SEIU-West met with representatives from eHealth, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO), ​​SGEU LOCAL 1579 eHealth, SGEU Health Providers and CUPE 5430 on March 14 & 21, 2022.

SAHO/SEIU-West Bargaining Bulletin (2nd Edition) No. 24

Date: March 4, 2022

Greetings Sisters and Brothers,

At long last, we can confirm that our collective agreement is finalized and at the printer!

Why the heck did it take so long? Even though we had agreed to and ratified Memorandums of Agreement “A” and “B”, there were issues with the way certain parts were written by the Employer and SAHO that had to be resolved. There were edits and grammatical corrections that we had to fix and ensure that the document was legally and grammatically sound before we could ship it to the printer.  Then there was the changes that needed to be made as a result of combining the two Memorandums of Agreement into one CBA.  

The first copies of the CBA are being printed now, and the printer has offered to schedule distribution to our three offices.  This is a large document that will take time to print and bind. We anticipate having hard copies available mid-March which we will arrange to be delivered to your facilities for distribution by your unit executive. 

While you wait for a hard copy, you can find the PDF of the collective agreement and related updates on the SAHO page: https://bit.ly/3pA9mW2.    

If your unit doesn’t have a unit executive, reach out to the Member Resource Center at 1-888-999-7348 Ext 2298 or email us at [email protected] or use the contact form on the website so we can talk to you about taking on the role of communicator, shop steward or unit chair so that we can continue to build and strengthen our union!

Federal Funding for Health Needs Stronger Conditions Provinces Must Meet

President's Message - January 6, 2022

Benefits Eligibility Following a Leave of Absence

Printable PDF here: Benefit Eligibility Following a Leave of Absence

 

November 15, 2021 Update: SHA Proof of Vaccination Policy

SEIU-West and other unions asked the following questions.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) provided the responses.

This document simply communicates the responses of the SHA, and is in no way to be taken that SEIU-West agrees with or endorses the SHA responses.

Letter to Minister Hindley re Claim 85 CCAs Hired

On November 10, SEIU-West, SGEU, and CUPE sent a letter to Everett Hindley, the Minster for Seniors and Rural and Remote Health, about his government's misleading claims about their promise to hire more Continuing Care Assistants.

Read the PDF here. 

Sent via email

 

November 10, 2021

 

Mr. Everett Hindley

Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health Minister

208, Legislative Building

2405 Legislative Drive

Regina, SK S4S 0B3

 

Mr. Andre Moss

Executive Director of Continuing

Saskatchewan Health Authority

Saskatoon City Hospital – 701 Queen Street

Saskatoon, SK S7K 0M7

Letter to Premier Moe: Staffing Crisis in Health Care

SEIU-West, SGEU, and CUPE have sent a letter to Premier Scott Moe to once again reach out about the staffing crisis in Saskatchewan's health care system and are proposing the creation of a Health Human Resources Council. Read the full letter...

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

Since we last updated members, we have pressed the SHA for further details about the declaration form you’ve been asked to fill out, the “monitored testing” program for those who don’t get vaccinated, and what the SHA’s next steps are.

We have received some information we want to share with you, as well as update you on what questions remain unanswered.

THE DECLARATION FORM

• So far, 38,000 staff have completed the declaration:
  • 98% are already vaccinated or committing to get vaccinated
  • less than 2% are seeking an accommodation;
  • 1% are participating in the monitored testing program.
• A further 15% of SHA staff have not responded to the declaration form.
  • The SHA will be following up with them via email to remind them of the need for compliance with the policy. There is a warning in the email that failure to comply with the vaccination policy may result in discipline up to and including termination. There is no acknowledgement of the structural deficiencies in the declaration form, nor instructions on how to provide their response. 
• Outstanding issues:
  • Who will SHA share employees’ vaccination information with?
  • How does an employee respond with their declaration as the form is no longer available and no alternate method of communication has been identified?
  • What scientific data is the SHA relying on as proof that the currently available vaccines are effective?

THE TESTING PROGRAM

• This will be a phased in process with a go-live date of November 15.
• Will be using the Rapid Antigen tests 3x week (Sunday/Tues/Thur). Staff in this program can test, upload a screen shot of the results with name/date to their MyConnection.
• The tests provided by the federal government for free aren’t able to be used for this program.
• The $225/month testing fee is a flat rate, regardless of whether you are full-time, part-time, or casual.
• Outstanding issues:
  • Will employees be sent an invoice, or will there be a payroll deduction?
  • If by payroll deduction, how will casuals who may not be working get a payroll deduction done?
  • What about employees who are on a leave?
  • Is the cost of the test tax-deductible?

We will continue to follow up on our outstanding questions and report back to the membership.

Respectfully,

Barbara Cape

President

SEIU-West