As the pandemic surges and hospital capacity is stretched to its limit, the Saskatchewan Temporary Wage Supplement Program is coming to an abrupt end. According to CUPE Saskatchewan, the government should extend the time period and include more front-line workers in the program.

“It is ridiculous that the second phase of the wage top-up program ends today, even though COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise and workers providing critical care face increased workload and strain,” said Judy Henley, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “It is even more ridiculous how many workers are being forgotten about by this government in general.”

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On the front line and behind the scenes, Saskatchewan’s 30,000 CUPE members are delivering the public services we rely on to keep our communities safe and strong through the unprecedented fight against the coronavirus.

Click to read the full message from CUPE Saskatchewan. 

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Seventy-two years ago today, 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. The declaration serves as a foundation for freedom, justice and peace, yet the pandemic has highlighted the devastating impacts of the failure to protect human rights and deep-rooted inequalities.

Today, CUPE Saskatchewan reaffirms its commitment to stand in international solidarity with fellow workers and their unions for global justice that protects and advances human rights – including the fundamental right to join a union without fear and to collectively bargain, to bring an end to systemic and deep-rooted inequalities, and to organize and demand a better, more just recovery from the pandemic.

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December 6 is the 31st anniversary of the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre. We pause to remember all those who have lost their lives because of gender-based violence. CUPE Saskatchewan joins in renewing our resolve to stop sexual and gender-based violence in the workplace and in our communities.

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“Not all Disabilities are Visible” is the theme and call to action around the world on December 3, 2020, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. CUPE Saskatchewan renews its commitment to advocate for equality and disability rights in our workplaces, our union, and our communities – and to build a recovery from the pandemic that is more accessible, inclusive, and promotes the full participation and greater economic security for people living with disabilities.

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Judy Henley, President of CUPE Saskatchewan

CUPE says the announcement by the provincial government on Wednesday introducing a new phase of the Saskatchewan Temporary Wage Supplement Program for workers providing care for seniors is a welcome first step, but the union calls for the program to be urgently expanded.

“We are at a critical stage of a second wave in this pandemic. The government must urgently expand the wage supplement program to the many other caregivers and workers on the frontline facing increasing workload demands while caring for Saskatchewan’s most vulnerable during the pandemic,” says Judy Henley, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “Far too many front-line workers are left facing this pandemic with low pay and far too little provincial government support, and the need to expand this program is now without delay.”

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REGINA – CUPE Saskatchewan is deeply disappointed in the Sask Party government’s unwillingness to take immediate action to protect workers and families from the spread of COVID-19.

“The provincial government’s so-called ‘return to basics’ approach to COVID fails to implement even the most basic regulations to prevent the spread of the virus,” said Judy Henley, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “Closing hookah bars and shutting down bars earlier will not do enough to curb the ballooning rates of infection.”

CUPE is also concerned that the province is only implementing mandatory masking for indoor public spaces in communities with a population of over 5,000 people.

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One candidate for Regina’s mayor, Sandra Masters, is campaigning on making sweeping broad-based cuts to our city’s operating budget that funds the delivery of public services and the jobs of civic workers delivering those services. Masters is one of nine candidates vying for the job of mayor in the upcoming election on November 9, which also includes incumbent mayor Michael Fougere.

Master’s platform promises to: “Conduct an operations efficiency review within the first six months, and am committed to finding 15 % in savings from increased operational efficiencies.”

It’s a reckless cut that would undoubtedly put at risk the very services we rely on in Regina. To put the cut into perspective, a 15% reduction in city operations would mean approximately $70 million in cuts to Regina’s overall operational budget of over $472 million.

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Far from offering fresh eyes and new perspective, Saskatoon mayoral candidate Rob Norris is campaigning on cuts to public services with misleading claims about the new central library planned to open in 2026.

In his platform, Norris pledges to: “Shelving Charlie Clark’s gold-plated $134 million downtown library.” Is the plan to build a new central library in Saskatoon really “gold-plated”? Not when you look at the business case and the facts. 

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Our public health care system and its over 14,000 CUPE Local 5430 health care workers on the frontlines and behind the scenes have shown incredible courage, commitment, and compassion in the unprecedented fight against the coronavirus pandemic, and caring for patients and residents during a public health crisis. During Health Care Providers’ Week in Saskatchewan from October 26 to November 1, 2020, let’s recognize and extend our deepest gratitude for our health care workers keeping our loved ones and communities safe, cared for, and strong.

From licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to continuing care assistants, medical laboratory and diagnostic technologists to technicians, food service workers to environmental service workers, administrative to clerical, maintenance to security, and so many more classifications. Let’s take a moment to applaud all the work that they do.

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