It was windy and at times rainy, but SEIU-West members were out in full force on Sept. 2 to protest the stalled-out contract negotiations between the union and the provincial government.
The protests took place outside of Providence Place and Crescent View Clinic during the morning, before moving to the Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital in the afternoon.
With representatives carrying banners and wearing sandwich boards with messages like “#DoneWaiting,” the Moose Jaw demonstrations drew plenty of attention from passing motorists.
“We are out here trying to show the public that we are out here every day doing a very difficult job, under very difficult circumstances, and we are being treated very shabbily for the loyalty that we have shown to the people of Saskatchewan and to the government,” said SEIU-West vice-president Neil Colmin. “We want people to know that we’re still here and we care.”
SEIU-West members have been without a ratified contract since March 31, 2017, which is when the union began negotiations with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) for a new contract.
Those negotiations fell to a standstill last year when the union rejected an offer of a zero per cent retroactive pay raise for 2018 and 2019. The two parties have not returned to the bargaining table since.
SEIU-West leaders are now calling on the health minister and the Saskatchewan Party government to step forward and take responsibility for renewing negotiations with SAHO, in hopes of a better proposed deal.
“The government is calling [healthcare workers] essential in the media, and yet at the bargaining table, it seems like they’re sacrificial,” said Colmin. “Our bargaining committee is always ready to go back to the table any time. They would love to sit down and have a frank and fair discussion.”
A press release from SEIU-West calls the government’s praising of healthcare workers “lip service,” and calls on the provincial government to commit to funding a new proposed contract for the union.
The COVID-19 pandemic has only highlighted concerns for union members, said Colmin, as many are being impacted by the extra measures being mandated in their places of work such as cohorting to limit travel between care facilities.
“I know that members are being challenged with all kinds of different issues, and cohorting is one of the worst,” said Colmin. “There are also enhanced duties that our members have to do now, and they’re doing them.”
The lack of progress with SAHO has prompted SIEU-West to follow up on it's declared job action, organizing a running series of demonstrations in communities across Saskatchewan.
Protests began on Aug. 12 at over a dozen locations in Saskatoon, including St. Paul’s Hospital and Parkridge Centre, before moving to Wilke and Biggar on Aug. 19 and Craik and Davidson on Aug. 26.
“We’ve had good support everywhere we’ve gone,” said Colmin. “I think the people of Saskatchewan understand that these professionals doing healthcare work are doing it under very difficult circumstances.”
More demonstrations are planned in the future, to continue drawing the public’s attention to the issue.
SEIU-West represents over 13,000 members in Saskatchewan, working in the healthcare sector, education, municipalities, retirement care homes, and many other sectors.
