Want to know why your elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) think it’s okay to mandate rollbacks and offer zeroes to health care providers while at the same time giving themselves a 3.5% wage increase last year and a 2.3% raise this year? Now is your opportunity to find out.

Your SEIU-West Political Action and Awareness Committee (PAAC) has identified a number of MLA BBQs occurring this month, and we encourage you to attend in order to speak to your MLA about how their actions devalue the hard work of those who provide health care in this province. There will be members of the PAAC there so if you’d like to meet with your fellow health care workers, please email [email protected] to coordinate.

Here are the details:

• Don Morgan – MLA for Saskatoon Southeast (and Minister of Labour): Free BBQ May 21^st from 5-7pm at St Bernard School (203 Whiteshore Crescent, Saskatoon) 
• Don Morgan – MLA for Saskatoon Southeast (and Minister of Labour): Free BBQ  May 22^nd from 5-7pm at St. Luke School (275 Emmeline Rd, Saskatoon)
• Don Morgan – MLA for Saskatoon Southeast (and Minister of Labour): Free BBQ May 25^th from 11:30am-2pm at the Independent Foods in Briarwood (315 Herold Rd, Saskatoon)
• Lisa Lambert – MLA for Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood: Free BBQ May 27^th from 4:30-6:30pm at the Nutana Kiwanis Park (3003 Porter St, Saskatoon -across from Market Mall)

SEIU-West is also able to provide a series of questions if you’d like assistance. Again, just email [email protected] in order to get a copy.

SEIU-West members understand that while we bargain with Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO), it is our government that provides the budget SAHO has to work with. When we see MLAs give themselves raises while offering us zeroes, and when we know that the same budget that funds MLA salaries, funds ours – we must ask: where are the increases for health care providers so we can keep our heads above water?

It is vital that every health care provider have their voice heard. We hope you will attend at least one of the above-mentioned BBQs and if you are aware of any other MLA BBQs occurring, please let us know by emailing [email protected]

(Click here for a printable PDF of this Bargaining Bulletin)

Greetings Sisters and Brothers,

Your SEIU-West bargaining committee provided notice to SAHO of the outcome of our ratification vote.  SAHO provided their notice and confirmed receipt of our document.

The Union committee has now met to discuss our next steps with regard to returning to the bargaining table after our rejection of the tentative agreement. We’ve looked at a few scenarios and developed responses to both: returning to the table to only negotiate monetary improvements; or starting from ‘square one’ as was proposed by SAHO in previous joint bargaining meetings.  The parties have agreed that bargaining dates won’t be set until after May 17.  We have asked for a process meeting with SAHO to discuss how we will move forward.  Stay tuned for an update that will be posted once dates are set.

On behalf of the bargaining committee, we wish to thank you all for your numerous questions to the SEIU-West website, Facebook, and via email. We are going to take this return to the bargaining one step at a time; being very intentional in our membership communications.  The strength and conviction of our members in this rejection gives a very clear message to your bargaining committee and to SAHO and the Government of Saskatchewan.

We encourage you to contact the MRC at 1-888-999-7348 ext. 2298 to ask any further questions. Please watch for updates on www.SEIUWEST.ca. You can also follow our Facebook and Twitter feeds.

In Solidarity,

Your SEIU-West SAHO Provincial Bargaining Committee:

CHR: Janice Platzke (SEIU-West Treasurer) • FHHR: Brenda Berry; Donna Gallant • HHR: Colleen Denniss • SHR: Judy Denniss; Rick Brown; Carla Saworski; Kim Wyatt; Charlene Sarafin; • Staff: Bob Laurie (Dir. of Bargaining and Contract Enforcement); Russell Doell (Deputy Dir. of Bargaining and Contract Enforcement); Cam McConnell (Negotiations Officer) • President: Barbara Cape

On behalf of the SEIU-West bargaining committee, I want to thank all of our members covered by the SAHO agreement for their engagement; interest in the updates; attending meetings and virtual town halls; the emailed questions; and for making your collective voice ring out loud and clear through your vote.

The rejection of the tentative agreement gives us a clear direction and mandate to take back to the table and let SHA and the Government of Saskatchewan know that this offer doesn’t even come close to what is a fair level of compensation for our members.

As we said in our tentative agreement presentations, this doesn’t automatically mean that the government will bring more money to the table right away.  But if we need to ask  our members for a strike mandate to get what we deserve  - we know that you have knowledge about the process, including essential services negotiations  and we will continue to communicate clearly at  every step of this process.

I want to be clear about this rejection: this was union democracy at work. Why didn't the bargaining committee make a recommendation about this deal? Because we know our members are informed and know their own minds. We know that you are the experts about your workplaces, the work you do  and what you are worth.  We wanted the government to hear YOUR voice on what they need to do.

Right now, CUPE and SGEU are notifying their members about the outcome of their ratification votes. And now it’s time to roll up our sleeves as we have much work to do: discussions with our coalition partners about the next steps, notification to the employer, and setting dates to get together at our next bargaining session. And we will do this together.

Have a good Easter break brothers and sisters.

In Solidarity on behalf of the SEIU-West SAHO bargaining committee,

Barbara Cape