As CUPE research dives into the fine print of the 2022-23 provincial budget, it is clear that post-secondary education was given the short end of the stick.

While there was an increase in funding for capital projects, there was no investment in students and no help for skyrocketing tuition fees. If you combine all the budget lines (operating, supplementary, scholarship and capital), here is the annual increase to funding this year:

• U of R: 1.1% increase
• FNUC: 0%
• U of S: -0.3% decrease

With rising inflation, the cost of doing business is increasing. With no funding increase from the province, these costs will be passed on to students.

Budget 2022: Back on track? Not for universities and students.

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The Sask. Party government has done little to address the struggles working people are facing, and opens the door for further cuts and privatization in health care, education, libraries, universities and the social service’s sector.

“This budget brings no relief for everyday people who are struggling to make ends meet. The year-over-year increase in Saskatchewan’s consumer price index was 4.7% for February, but wages in this province are not keeping up,” said Judy Henley, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “We have the lowest minimum wage in the country, and too many workers – especially in our lowest paid sectors like community-based organizations – have gone years without a meaningful wage increase to keep up with the rising costs.”

The pandemic has shone a huge spotlight on the cracks in our public services. But despite the clear need for more investment, this budget still failed on several fronts. The education sector continues to face budget restraints with the annual increase failing to keep up with the rising costs of running a school division. Community-based organizations, such as childcare centres, group homes, and addiction treatment received paltry increases, and no commitment to multi-year funding.

“This budget completely misses the mark when it comes to investing in public services. What we see is inadequate funding for public services, while opening the door to further privatization in health care,” added Henley. “Our schools will still be overcrowded, our hospitals understaffed, and our community-based organizations with barely enough funding to keep the doors open. It is also concerning that Scott Moe has completely failed to recognize and address the ongoing staffing crisis in health care which is leading to burnout, rural health centre shutdowns, and service reductions.”

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March 22 is World Water Day – a day to highlight the vital importance of water for human life and ecological health and, as such, the need to protect water resources from pollution, privatization, and commercialization. Access to safe, reliable water and wastewater services is a human right, and water utilities and resources that are publicly owned, operated, and managed are at the heart of healthy communities.

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The International Day for the Elimination of Racism is a time to renew our resolve and our responsibility as fellow union members to confront racism and discrimination in all of its forms, wherever and whenever we encounter it. We all must ensure our workplaces, public services, and all levels of our union are safe, reflective of diversity, and meaningfully inclusive. Voices for Action Against Racism is the theme of this year’s global observance, encouraging people everywhere to mobilize against racial discrimination and injustice, and to ensure a safe and supportive environment for people to speak up.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has shown just how critical the care work and leadership provided on the frontlines of our public services by women have been for the safety and health of our communities. The pandemic has also created more inequality for women providing unpaid care and who face the majority of unpaid care responsibilities to support families and the broader community.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow,” highlights the need for more action to tackle systemic gender inequality to build a better, more just future. We must not let governments and employers go back to the normal that continues to perpetuate gender inequality and marginalization, and which chronically under-values women. Instead, we must organize and take action for gender equality as a union dedicated to fighting at the bargaining table and through political action to improve the jobs, rights and the well-being of women and gender diverse people.

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February is Indigenous Storytelling Month in Saskatchewan. During the winter months, the tradition of First Nations and Métis storytelling is fundamental to pass on knowledge from generation to generation, sharing culture, history, teachings, spirituality, and language.

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February is Black History Month. This year’s 2022 theme, February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day, is a call to recognize both the contributions and struggles of Black Canadians and communities. 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. 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, more remains to be done to end injustice, to challenge systemic racism, and to build equality.

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CUPE Saskatchewan holds virtual Political Action Summit. 

Political commentator and Canadian icon Chantal Hébert kicked off CUPE Saskatchewan’s Political Action Summit with a riveting keynote speech on the shifting landscape of Canadian politics.

Over 100 participants joined in to listen to Hébert speak on a range of issues, including the trucker convoy and growth of far-right extremism in Saskatchewan and Canada.

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Saskatchewan education support workers are extremely concerned that government direction to end contact tracing in schools increases COVID risks for students and staff.

“Moe has stripped away the paltry protections that were in place in our schools. It is completely unacceptable and shows this government’s total lack of regard for students and staff,” said Rob Westfield, chair of CUPE Saskatchewan’s Education Workers Steering Committee and a facility operator with Saskatoon Public Schools. “Many of our members work in close physical proximity with students – providing hands on support and guidance for students with complex needs. The mental toll of not knowing if you have been exposed to COVID is immeasurable. We all have loved ones who are at higher risk – whether it is small children who are not yet vaccinated, seniors or immunocompromised. We are drowning, and the government is leaving us adrift.”

According to the latest announcement by the Government of Saskatchewan, parents and caregivers are no longer required to notify schools about positive test results for the purposes of close contact notification.

“Given the current record-high infection rates during this Omicron variant wave of COVID-19 and high numbers of people in hospital, it is reckless for the Sask. Party government to relax safety measures in schools,” said Judy Henley, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. Our members in the education, health care and childcare sectors are exhausted and overwhelmed trying to protect our community and deliver public services,” said Henley. “The Sask. Party government continues its recklessness by relaxing measures at a time when frontline workers are calling for stronger measures to protect vital services.”

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On Thursday, January 20, 2022, CUPE Saskatchewan joined with other public sector unions representing more than 113,000 Saskatchewan workers to collectively call on the Government of Saskatchewan and Premier Scott Moe to immediately mandate the recommendations of the province’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.

“Everyday, frontline workers are putting themselves at risk for all of us and this government is failing to protect them. The stress and uncertainty are impacting hundreds of workers in our schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities, childcare centres, and group homes and addiction treatment centers,” said CUPE Saskatchewan President Judy Henley. “My message to Premier Moe is respect frontline workers and do better.”

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