In honour of International Women’s Day, delegates at CUPE Saskatchewan’s annual convention were invited to the “The Women’s Forum” organized by the CUPE Saskatchewan’s Women’s Committee
This year’s guest speaker was Betty Nippi-Albright, the NDP MLA for Saskatoon Centre. Betty is the opposition critic for First Nations and Métis Relations, Truth and Reconciliation, and the Public Service Commission. Betty is from Kinistin Saulteaux Nation. She is a Saulteaux and Cree mother and grandmother.
CUPE municipal workers from across the province are gathering today at the
Delta Regina for their annual conference.
“Municipal workers across Saskatchewan continue to face challenges as cash-strapped
cities and towns make budget cuts, privatize, outsource, and contract out vital services
that their residents rely on,” said Dylan Breland, CUPE Municipal Employees Steering
Committee (MESC) and an employee for the City of Melville.
CUPE is calling for action to save a Preeceville group home from permanent closure.
Group Home Number Three in Preeceville is home to residents with disabilities with staff providing 24-hour care. Mackenzie Society Ventures, the company operating the group home, has recently announced plans to close the home permanently at the end of the month without explanation, leaving the future of the residents’ unknown and the loss of at least eight jobs in the community.
“We were caught entirely off-guard by this announcement,” said Angie Pawliw, president of CUPE 3364. “Mackenzie Society Ventures has been unable to provide a clear reason as to why they are closing this group home, which they receive funding from the provincial government to operate. To close this home and put the vulnerable people who live there at risk is completely unacceptable.”
If the home is closed, the impact will be greatest felt on the residents who live there. Several of the residents are elderly, and it is unclear where they will be relocated to if the home closes.
CUPE members in the child care sector are invited to participate in an upcoming virtual meeting on at 6:30 p.m. on February 15, 2023, to review recent developments with the implementation of the federal child care funding agreement (Canada – Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement) and its impact on wages and other aspects in Saskatchewan’s child care sector.
The meeting will feature: Judy Henley, CUPE Saskatchewan President; Aimee Nadon, CUPE National Representative; and a guest speaker from Child Care Now Saskatchewan.
Black History Month in February is an important time to recognize and celebrate the culture, diversity, contributions, achievements and struggles of Black communities. This year’s 2023 theme, “Ours to tell”, represents both an opportunity to engage in open dialogue and a commitment to learning more about the stories Black communities in Canada have to tell about their histories, successes, sacrifices and triumphs.
Every year CUPE honours a Black ancestor, or someone who is making history today. This year CUPE is honouring Dr. Jill Andrew, PhD. Andrew is an Ontario-based Black feminist and co-founder of Body Confidence Canada. An education worker, teacher and author, she currently serves as Canada’s first openly queer and Black member of provincial parliament.
As union members, Black History Month is a time to renew our resolve to take meaningful action in our workplaces and communities to end systemic racism and address inequality. CUPE’s Anti-Racism Strategy identifies actions to challenge systemic racism in our workplaces, union, and communities. It acknowledges that our union and locals must work towards meaningful and attainable change for Black, Indigenous and racialized members, including those with intersecting identities.
From the disproportionate and intensified inequalities experienced by racialized workers and communities during the ongoing pandemic, to ongoing activism denouncing the crisis of police brutality and over-policing, much more remains to be done in our society to end injustice, to challenge systemic racism, and to build equality.
Saskatchewan’s childcare system is going through significant changes, creating uncertainty for workers and parents.
Join CUPE for an in-person public meeting to review the federal childcare funding agreement, look at the province’s plan for the childcare sector, and learn about what steps we can take to strengthen the childcare system.
Thank you to the over 30,000 CUPE members on the frontline delivering public services across Saskatchewan that provide care, enrich people’s lives, and strengthen our communities.
The ongoing pandemic has made clear that public services and the workers who provide them are vitally important for safe, healthy, and strong communities. CUPE members are on the frontline delivering public services for Saskatchewan people in health care, K-12 school system and universities, municipalities, public libraries, providing child care and early learning, caring for our most vulnerable in community-based organizations, and in many boards and agencies across the province.
Continue reading the full year-end message…
CUPE 5430 has significant concerns about the future of public long-term care in Regina.
For several years, Regina Pioneer Village (RPV), a public special care home, has reduced its capacity due to the ongoing neglect of infrastructure. Over the last decade the facility has been plagued by major plumbing, electrical, roofing, asbestos, floor cracks and mould problems.
“The government has known about the need to replace this facility since 2014. However, we still don’t know what the plan is going forward,” said Linda Renkas, Vice-President of CUPE 5430. The government’s approach is creating unnecessary uncertainty for workers, residents, and family members.”
On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to recognize the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family around the world. Each year, on this day, the world celebrates Human Rights Day on the day the declaration was adopted. The declaration serves as a foundation for dignity, freedom, justice and peace.
As we approach the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2023, the United Nations is launching a year-long campaign to showcase its legacy, relevance and activism.
December 6 is the 33rd anniversary of the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal where 14 women were singled out and murdered because of their gender. Among the 14 women who lost their lives in the tragedy was Maryse Laganière, a CUPE member who worked at the school.
Today, on the National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence Against Women, we honour and remember all those who have lost their lives because of gender-based violence and commit to taking concrete action to end all forms of gender-based violence. Canada’s unions have marked the National Day of Remembrance and Action since the beginning and this year are united in saying #NeverAgain: End Gender-Based Violence at Work now.
The recent national survey by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), Harassment and Violence in Canadian Workplaces: It’s [Not] Part of the Job (April 2022), has exposed the unnerving reality that gender-based harassment and violence remain a persistent threat to workers – and that more must be done to stop it and prevent it. The survey also found that third-party violence (from customers, clients, patients and others) accounts for 1 in 3 of these incidents and is a particular threat to women and gender-diverse workers who are more frequently employed in public-facing jobs. The survey also found major barriers to reporting and the urgent need for a comprehensive approach to prevention that includes a gender-responsive and intersectional approach.