Health minister ‘not surprised’ after CUPE health workers vote for job action

Saskatchewan’s health minister says he isn’t surprised CUPE health-care workers overwhelmingly voted in favour of job action this month.

CUPE workers have been without a contract since March 2023, with the union saying the vote was about respect, fair wages, and safe staffing.

Read more:

• Thousands of CUPE health workers vote in favour of job action
• ‘We can’t live anymore’: CUPE members rally in Regina
• CUPE health-care workers deliver 1,800 letters of struggle to Sask. Gov.

During an appearance on The Evan Bray Show on Wednesday, Jeremy Cockrill said one of the last sticking points in the contract talks is employee mobility and moving workers voluntarily to other sites and communities where there are staff shortages.

He said both sides need to stay focused at the bargaining table, adding that an agreement is not going to be reached on a picket line or a sidewalk.

Bray also opened up phone lines, giving listeners a chance to ask Cockrill questions directly.

Listen to the full interview with Cockrill, or read the transcript below:

The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

EVAN BRAY: CUPE health-care workers voted 99 per cent in favor of a strike mandate. Are you surprised by this? What is your reaction?

JEREMY COCKRILL: Certainly not surprised by the result. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with the CUPE leadership in months past, and many CUPE members in my own community and constituency, as well as other communities around the province. I think what the vote expresses is, really, a desire to get to a contract at the end of the day, and government shares that same desire. We’ve got a high degree of appreciation for the health-care workers right across the province – not just CUPE members, but the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union members, the Service Employees International Union West members, Saskatchewan Union of Nurses members, Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan members. All are part of putting patients first and providing that care around the province. Obviously, the strike vote was taken, and the results were released yesterday. If there is to be job action, that is going to require negotiation of an essential services agreement, but I think it’s important that all parties, whether it’s CUPE or any one of our union partners, along with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations who negotiates on behalf of the government, we want to keep focus on the bargaining of the actual agreements to get to a place where we provide some certainty for the health-care workers that are providing that care, but then also certainty for patients around the province that want to make sure that they’re going to be able to access care.

What are the sticking points at the bargaining table?

COCKRILL: If you go on the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations website, the bargaining updates section of that website, you can go back several months. Every time we’re at a table with a specific union partner, the association provides an update of what was discussed that week and progress made. If you look at that, there’s been progress made at all of our tables over the last several months. It’s never just one issue. There are lots of non-monetary issues that you’re working on to get to a place where then you can talk about money and then get a deal signed. There has been progress made over the last several months at all of the tables. Employee mobility has been a significant sticking point, I think, at all the tables, and really the desire for association, on behalf of the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the other health employers, is really to ensure certainty again for workers, but also ensure that there’s access for patients around the province, and that we have continuity of service in rural communities and urban communities, and part of that is having some flexibility. That’s what the association is working on getting towards, so we can settle the non-monetary issues, so then we can talk about the financial aspect of bargaining and ensure that our health-care workers are paid appropriately.

What are the problems the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations is trying to solve with proposals like moving health-care workers to neighbouring communities, contracting, and rising costs of living for health-care workers that haven’t had a wage increase in almost four years?

COCKRILL: Three or four years without a contract is not acceptable. At the end of the day, we’re not happy with that either, as government or as the employer in the province. We’re all feeling cost-of-living pressures. I will say, though, the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations did offer an interim financial adjustment to the provider union several months ago that, unfortunately, was turned down. That’s fine. That’s kind of the natural back and forth of bargaining, but we’ll continue to try and get to a place again where we can help health-care workers address those specific cost-of-living issues that they’re feeling with not having a contract. Back to the issues that you were asking about: having the flexibility for the employers to ensure that services can continue in small communities right across the province and ensure that if we are short in one area, that there can be at least a conversation with employees. There has been lots of talk about employee mobility. The association has been adamant all the way along that this is asking employees to move – it’s not an involuntary thing. This isn’t saying “You’re going to be here today and now you’re here tomorrow,” but being able to have the conversation with those employees to say “Hey, we’re going to be short here. What’s the framework within the collective bargaining agreement that we can make that work, so that we have a willing employee that is able to pick up that opportunity so that we’re not sacrificing access to care for patients? I think that’s really the last sticking point. The details of that need to be hammered out at the bargaining table. That’s where we’re going to find an agreement. It’s not going to be on a picket line or a sidewalk. We have to, I think, have all parties stay focused at the bargaining table.

Is part of the solution recruitment and retention? Is health-care worker mobility a forever problem, or is it a problem until we can get staffing levels where we need them to be?

COCKRILL: There’s never one solution to a challenge in health care. I think having flexibility for the employer would be a helpful thing, to ensure that we have access for patients. Do we need more health-care workers in this province? Absolutely we do. That’s why we’ve increased training seats. That’s why we’re focusing on recruitment efforts, both in-province, out-of-province and internationally. It’s also about making sure that we have more access points for patients as well, and having not just emergency departments, but urgent care centers and virtual care options. There are all these different access points that we’re hoping to add down the road as well, to ensure that patients have access to care as close to home as possible. But if they can’t receive the access as close to home as possible, then what’s the next community that they can receive an appropriate level of care in?

Is there a point in all of this where you, as health minister, have to step in to get a deal done?

COCKRILL: Certainly, as the ministry of health we’re working with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations on a weekly basis to refine the mandates that we have that they’re taking to the bargaining table. I take the opportunity to meet with union partners on a regular basis. I met with one of our provider union partners just last week in Saskatoon, and those can be valuable meetings in terms of just understanding some of the nuances. But the focus really needs to remain at the bargaining table. I know it’s not quick enough. It’s not quick enough for me, as the minister. It’s not quick enough for the members out there that are providing excellent care to patients every day. But that is where we’re going to find the deal.

LISTENER QUESTION: The pediatric diabetes clinic has been temporarily indisposed right now with not having the staffing, and we’re super concerned. Even calling the pediatric diabetes clinic in Saskatoon yesterday, there are significant delays to the point that when we spoke with Regina, we were literally told that they were asking if their phones had been forwarded to Saskatoon. They’re getting inundated so much. Do you have a plan in place that will help us access what we need?

COCKRILL: Certainly we’re wanting to make sure that we have those services available in both of our major cities to really serve both the northern half and the southern half of the province. The temporary disruption in Regina is not what we want. We’ve had some challenges around pediatric endocrinologist capacity in Regina. There was a leave of absence. It got extended. This is a temporary issue. This is not a permanent issue. We’re working very closely with Dr. Klassen, who’s our provincial head of pediatrics, and really ensuring that we can create a better setup in Regina to make sure that families can stay in the southern half of the province as much as possible. The temporary situation is not ideal for families. I know those teams are trying to respond to families and figure out a care plan that will keep them as close to home as possible and not get into overburdening families with having to travel long distances every week.

Is it a retention issue? Do we have a problem attracting some of these specialists? What is the root cause of it?

COCKRILL: This specific issue is a little bit challenging, and I won’t get into specifics on the staffing side, but I will say this is going to be an area where we are going to get to a better spot for families. Where we’re at right now is not ideal, and that happens sometimes. We just have to communicate with families as best we can in the moment, to communicate what the plan is, what the stopgap measure is. But I think we’re going to be able to staff up there sooner rather than later and get it back to a good place for families.

LISTENER QUESTION: If you don’t get volunteers for health-care worker mobility in the CUPE contract, what will happen?

COCKRILL: This is where providing as many options for the employer as possible to avoid potential service disruptions. That is really what we’re trying to avoid: disruptions to service that may occur due to potential staffing issues, and making sure that care can be provided close to home. But then we talk about access points. If you can’t receive the care as close to home in your community, this is why we’re bringing in virtual primary care pilots this fall, to test that out and make sure there’s another access door for care. This is what it’s all about, reducing service disruptions and making sure that care is available for patients.

LISTENER QUESTION: Why don’t you guys go back to the table today and put legislation in place that says we need to follow the inflation rate for the next 20 years?

COCKRILL: Certainly the time frame is too long for workers. It’s too long for me as minister. We want to get a fair deal for workers, but a deal that’s also going to work for patients and taxpayers of this province as well. We do have a reasonably compelling financial offer in front of the provider unions right now, and we’ll continue to negotiate to that end. This is a good opportunity once we are able to get to a contract settlement to see how we can be more proactive with all of our union partners going forward for future rounds because, in terms of providing certainty to patients and taxpayers, being ahead of the game is better than being a few years behind.

LISTENER QUESTION: It feels like it’s a full-on need with health care in terms of capacity, with a lack of doctors, a lack of patient beds for longer-term care and patient care in hallways. Are we making any dents there with numbers?

COCKRILL: I would say there has been progress made in terms of just even reducing the pressure on emergency rooms. Summer is always a challenging time for emergency rooms. There’s just more people out and about, and then people taking holidays as well that they deserve and have earned.

When we talk about pressures on the emergency room, we’re opening up the urgent care center on the west side of Saskatoon later this year, that’s another access point. Opening up virtual care options, that’s another access point for patients. But then making sure that patients are flowing properly through our acute-care facilities, having those long-term care beds. Folks will know well that facility on Highway 11 south of Saskatoon, Cozy Nest, that was a big part of a push a couple of years ago to expand long-term care beds around the city of Saskatoon, easing the pressure on emergency rooms. That’s been a big help. They’re expanding. We have other groups expanding as well, and I think that’s going to help us continue to lower that pressure.