MELFORT: Caretakers in public schools in the town of Nipawin have voted overwhelmingly to unionize with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). On May 2, 2017 the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board issued a certification order that brings a dozen more workers into CUPE Local 4875, which represents more than 300 education support workers in the North East School Division.

Since last fall, when the provincial government commissioned a report on education restructuring, standard concerns around job security, wages, and benefits have been heightened for workers in K-12 education.

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April 28 is a National Day of Mourning to remember those who tragically lost their lives while at work and recognize those who endured an injury or acquired an illness as a result of their work. We remember those we have lost, and renew our resolve to defend and improve workplace safety standards.

Attend a ceremony in your community. Click here for events. 

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The Saskatchewan government’s plan for K-12 education is harmful to our children and our schools.

In April, the Government of Saskatchewan introduced Bill 63, which amends The Education Act to give the Minister of Education more power and reduce the autonomy of school divisions.

Bill 63 effectively removes the ability of locally elected school boards and educators to make decisions about education, and it places all decision making power in the hands of the Ministry of Education.

It is clear that the Sask Party plan for education is leaving our children behind. Please send a letter to your MLA and the Minister of Education, Don Morgan, today.

Take action today by sending a letter here: www.wheresthefunding.ca

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Where would we be without administrative professionals?

Administrative professionals are an integral part of the health care system. Their smiling faces are the first point of access for Saskatchewan residents entering the health care system. Their organizational skills and expertise keep the whole health care system functioning!

Today is Administrative Professionals Day. So take a moment to thank the members of the health care team who answer the phones, schedule shifts, welcome patients, and manage all of the little details.

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Tom Graham, President, CUPE Saskatchewan

REGINA: The Government of Saskatchewan has reversed the drastic funding cuts for public libraries, a move that is welcomed by the Canadians Union of Public Employees (CUPE). However, there are still questions about what this means for the library workers who already received pink slips.

“Close to 15 library workers were laid off due to funding cuts. Now that the funding is restored we hope the regional libraries will do the right thing and welcome these workers back to work,” said Tom Graham, president of CUPE Saskatchewan.

CUPE was one of the many organizations which joined the campaign to save libraries.

“This is a victory for the thousands of people across Saskatchewan who stood up for our libraries,” said Tom Graham, President of CUPE Saskatchewan. “We are glad that the provincial government recognized its mistakes, but there are a lot of mistakes in its budget that it still needs to account for.”

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Medical laboratory professionals are a critically important part of the health care team. They sort, prepare, and analyze samples from a variety of tissue and fluid samples to provide accurate and timely information that helps guide medical decisions.

CUPE medical laboratory professionals work hard every day, but during National Medical Laboratory Week let’s show the public what medical laboratory professionals do, and show our support for this important work!

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SWIFT CURRENT: Chinook School Division is laying off at least nine staff due to a 7.3 percent, or $6 million dollar, reduction in funding from the provincial government. CUPE is concerned about the impact the cuts will have on students in the Chinook School Division.

“Layoffs will have an impact on the support available for all students and will specifically affect those students who need extra help to succeed,” said Omar Murray, president of CUPE Local 4754, which represents support workers in the Chinook School Division. “The provincial government’s decision to cut funding from education while lowering the corporate tax rate puts their own big contributors ahead of our children.”

Workers are being laid off in the areas of speech language pathology, occupational therapy, counselling, and educational psychology.

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REGINA: CUPE, the union that represents the majority of education support workers in the province, is ready to fight the Ministry of Education’s mandate to roll back wages for education workers by 3.5 per cent with a three year freeze.

“The government is punishing the poorest workers while ignoring the basic principles of labour relations, which is that we reach a negotiated collective agreement at the bargaining table,” said Tom Graham, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “This is an assault on our rights to collectively bargain under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and flies in the face of current labour law. The premier and his government need to know that CUPE will vigorously demand our members’ rights and their collective agreements as well as fight for adequate funding to the K-12 education system.”

Support workers in the education system are some of the lowest paid public servants. The average wage for CUPE members in education is $22,000 a year. The government mandate represents a 9.5 per cent reduction in spending power for workers over three years.

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CUPE members joined over 4,000 people in over 70 communities participating in “Drop Everything and Read” actions on April 7, 2017, to stand up against the devastating library cuts from the provincial government.

In the latest budget, Brad Wall and his Sask Party government cut 58 percent for regional libraries and completely eliminated funding for libraries in Regina and Saskatoon.

CUPE represents over 700 library workers across Saskatchewan and many have already been impacted by the funding shortfall. Members have been given pink slips at Parkland Regional Library, Palliser Regional Library and Southeast Regional Library. More cuts are coming at libraries across the province.

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A “Read In” will be taking place at MLA offices across the province on Friday, April 7, 2017.  All residents of Saskatchewan who value their public library are encouraged to gather outside their MLA’s office and read a book. There are over 50 events happening across the province. Unless otherwise noted, all events are happening from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday.

The Saskatchewan Government has eliminated funding for public libraries in Regina and Saskatoon and has cut funding for regional libraries by $3.5 million. CUPE is concerned about the impact this will have on libraries across the province and for the municipalities that suddenly have to plan for the downloading of services.

CUPE represents over 700 library workers across the province of Saskatchewan and encourage members to attend an event near them.

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