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A union representing Saskatchewan health care workers will be holding a strike vote this fall, after years of trying to negotiate a contract.
CUPE 5430 said the 7,000 members it represents will cast their ballots Sept. 8-14.
Read more:
- CUPE criticizes raises for SHA executives while workers await a deal
- ‘People are struggling’: CUPE health-care workers call for better wages
- CUPE health-care workers say salaries aren’t keeping up with inflation
Workers have been without a contract since March 2023, and negotiations with the provincial government have stalled, the union said. President of the union, Bashir Jalloh, said workers have waited long enough to get a deal.
“If we don’t get our way – we don’t get any meaningful consultations or engagement – we, then, we will have no options but to resolve to job actions,” he said.
After the workers vote, Jalloh said there is one more scheduled date for negotiations with the government.
If no deal is signed, he said essential services will begin to be negotiated.
Jalloh said wages, contract workers and relocating workers have been the biggest sticking points during contract negotiations.
The union wants its workers’ wages to match the western Canada average.
“What they have offered is way, way, way below,” Jalloh said.
He shared that many workers are frustrated with the number of contract workers being brought on to fill in vacant positions. Contract workers are being paid two or three times higher that what the unionized workers are being paid, he explained.
Under the current contract, Jalloh said the government can bring in those contract workers, but the government has to prove they are cost effective.
“They want to be able to bring in contract workers in and around in our workplace without any consultations with the union,” he said.
Jalloh said the government also wants the collective agreement to include rules that allow the employer to relocate workers in areas where there are vacancies.
“We told them (the government), if you want people to volunteer into that kind of thing like we did in COVID, great, that can work – but they don’t want that,” he said.
Jalloh argued some of his workers don’t have the means to make travel commitments because of family and transportation logistics.
If a deal isn’t reached soon, Jalloh warned more workers are going to burn out.
“The amount of sick calls is going to be significantly increased because we are not going to be able to recruit and retain people,” he said. “The impact of that is going to result into significant patient wait time for care.”
980 CJME has reached out to the Ministry of Health for a response.
