The funding cuts in the last provincial budget are putting the public services Saskatchewan people rely on at risk.
We need to take action to ensure these funding cuts are reversed.
May 18 is the last day the legislative assembly is sitting. We need to send a strong message before this session ends: that the people of Saskatchewan demand the government to reverse the harmful budget cuts, reinstate the corporate tax rate, and protect local jobs.
This week is National Nursing Week. The Saskatchewan government has proclaimed May 12 as Continuing Care Assistants Day and May 13 as Licensed Practical Nurses Day.
CUPE licensed practical nurses and continuing care assistants are key members of the nursing team. It is an important time to recognize the tremendous work CUPE members do every day to deliver high quality patient care as part of the nursing team.
PRINCE ALBERT: Support staff in the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division are facing a further reduction in hours. This comes on the heels of the recently announced closure of programs to support students with learning disabilities.
“The provincial cuts to education are hurting our children,” said John Kunard, President of CUPE Local 4195, which represents support workers in the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division. “Our students deserve better than program cuts and reductions in staffing time.”
Last year, the division reduced 1,000 hours for many support classifications, including social workers, office administration, language assistants, library technicians, cooks, and educational assistants. This matter is subject to an upcoming labour arbitration. This year sees further reductions for many classifications, including 12 month employees who are losing two months of work.
Education Counts Rally: May 3, 2017 in Regina, SK at the Legislature
REGINA: The Government of Saskatchewan has passed Bill 63, which amends The Education Act to give the Minister of Education more power and reduce the autonomy of school divisions.
“This government has shown little respect for our children’s education and for the voices of communities and local officials,” says Jackie Christianson, chair of CUPE Saskatchewan’s Education Workers’ Steering Committee. “Bill 63 will decrease transparency and accountability and concentrate power into the hands of the Minister of Education.”
CUPE was just one of the organizations expressing concern about Bill 63. Thousands of people joined rallies about this issue and wrote letters to their MLAs.
“The lack of public consultation around this bill has been appalling, and the government did not listen to the many, many concerns that were raised by the public,” said Christianson. “From bus routes to what kind of toilet paper divisions buy, the Ministry of Education now has complete control of our children’s education and the ability to ignore our locally elected school board trustees thus eliminating the voices of parents and the community.”
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.
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.
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
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.
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.”
