In response to a letter the Minister of Health has been sharing with health care workers, CUPE 5430 President Bashir Jalloh penned an open letter to condemn the dismissive and problematic message from the Minister.

“We met with the Minister and shared our cost-of-living report. The findings were crystal clear – health care workers are struggling and need help,” said Bashir Jalloh, president of CUPE 5430. “It’s incredibly frustrating that the Minister not only chose not to listen but is now writing health care workers to minimize their concerns and suggest that his government has done enough to address the cost-of-living crisis. That is unequivocally not the case.”

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With Pride month just a couple weeks away, CUPE Saskatchewan proudly announces its support for the recent decision by Queen City Pride to ban Scott Moe and the Sask. Party government from their pride month celebrations and calls on Saskatchewan organizations to speak up and declare where they stand: with 2SLGBTQI+ people and their families, or with Scott Moe and his hatred for queer and transgender people.

“Scott Moe is a threat to all queer and trans people,” said Kent Peterson, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “We stand in solidarity with Queen City Pride and all pride groups across the province that decide to ban Scott Moe for the safety of the 2SLGBTQI+ community.

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When workers organize and unite, we can make real gains for fairness, dignity, and advance justice. CUPE Saskatchewan joins in solidarity with workers and their unions around the world actively engaged in collective bargaining and strikes, mobilizing and empowering workers to take political action, and organizing for fair wages, safer and better working conditions, and stronger public services! The Labour Movement is the bedrock of just and democratic societies.

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April 28 is the annual National Day of Mourning for Workers to remember those who tragically lost their lives on the job and to recognize those who endured an injury or acquired an illness or disease as a result of their work. In 2023, 29 workers in Saskatchewan lost their lives because of work-related incidents, not including farm-related fatalities or other workplaces that are not covered or reported by workers’ compensation. We also mourn the loss of two members of the CUPE family: Jennifer Doucette, CUPE 1630 in Manitoba and Steven Seekins, CUPE 374 in British Columbia.

• Click here for details to attend a vigil in your community on Sunday, April 28, 2024. 

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April 22 is Earth Day – a day to recognize the climate change emergency and the action needed to restore our earth. With the world continuing to head for a catastrophic temperature rise and human caused destruction threatening the earth’s ecosystems needed to sustain life, Earth Day is an important time to renew our resolve to demand more urgent environmental action from governments, employers and within our communities in the transition to a zero-carbon economy. Action to restore our damaged ecosystems and urgently shifting to a more equitable, sustainable economy will safeguard our health in the future and that of our only planet.

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A new research report into the state of rural health care in Saskatchewan confirms what CUPE already knew – rural health care is in crisis and patients and health care workers are paying the price.

The new research report from the University of Regina’s Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit (SPHERU), “The Current State of Health Care in Saskatchewan,” highlighted concerning statistics on the state of rural health care:

• The number of vacant health care positions has doubled since 2019.

• That between 2019 and 2023, there were 952 service disruptions for a total of 6,795 days.

• The Saskatchewan Health Authority’s reliance on casual and part-time rather than full-time positions is worsening short-staffing issues in rural areas.

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A message to stakeholders released by Darlene Rowden, Sask. Party candidate and Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division Board Chair, was inappropriate and created more questions than answers this week.

In her letter, Rowden, who is the Sask. Party candidate for the Batoche constituency in the next general election, suggests that including classroom size and complexity in a collective agreement poses a threat to local board governance and would result in a “fundamental shift away from public education and inclusive schooling in Saskatchewan.”

She adds that having class size and complexity in collective agreements would somehow prevent parents from sending their kids to school as planned and could force children to go to schools other than their choosing because of “cap and quota” systems. Rowden never provides any evidence this would be the case or acknowledges that there have been no discussions around caps or quotas as part of teachers’ bargaining in Saskatchewan.

“Who exactly is Darlene Rowden speaking on behalf of? It is very clear that the partisan board chair of the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division does not have the best interests of students, parents, and workers at heart,” said Kent Peterson, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “Specifically, her remarks about getting classroom size and complexity under control were partisan, inflammatory, and false.

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The Day of Pink reaffirms our commitment and solidarity to stop all forms of bullying, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and transmisogyny. As workers on the front lines, CUPE members know first-hand the toll that rising anti-2SLGBTQI+ hate is taking. Too many have been targeted in their workplaces and in the community, face exclusion and violence, and added barriers to decent work, health care and housing.

This year’s theme for the Day of Pink is visibility, which encompasses being seen, acknowledged, respected, and heard. We wear pink in solidarity to resist homophobic and transphobic harassment, while fighting every day to protect public services that 2SLGBTQI+ people work in and rely on. CUPE will never stop working to improve the lives of Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex workers.

Throughout the world, including in Saskatchewan and Canada, there has been an increase in the introduction of anti-2SLGBTQIA+ laws and policies as well as hate-based attacks. It is an important time to make it clear bullying and hate have no place in our classrooms, workplaces, and communities. We won’t let right-wing governments risk trans people’s safety and make CUPE workplaces unsafe. Together, let’s stand up for all workers. As trade unionists, we know an injury to one is an injury to all.

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Today, CUPE 5430 President Bashir Jalloh and executive members joined health care workers, the public, and allies at a bargaining information rally at the Weyburn General Hospital to raise awareness about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on health care workers. This is the second in a series of information rallies across the province to pressure the provincial government to provide a fair deal at the bargaining table.

“We had hoped the provincial budget would have recognized the crisis on the front lines of health care, but unfortunately, we didn’t see any meaningful plans to address retention of existing health care staff,” said Jalloh. “That’s why we will continue to hold these information rallies across the province – so the government knows that they are at risk of losing more health workers if they don’t bring forward a deal that improves wages and working conditions to the bargaining table.”

CUPE 5430’s recent cost-of-living survey shows that a full 86% of survey respondents said they cut back their grocery budget to make ends meet; 84% cut back on leisure activities/hobbies; 77% delayed a major purchase; and 73% cancelled or scaled back vacation plans.

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“Scott Moe is a dangerous threat to your worker rights, human rights, and economic security.”

Kent Peterson was recently elected president of the largest union in Saskatchewan. He is the first openly gay president of CUPE Saskatchewan and one of very few queer labour leaders in the province.

“The 31,000 members I represent know I will fight like hell for all workers, but visibility matters,” said Peterson, “I hope my election as president will make it just a little bit easier for a future queer worker to see themselves in leadership roles in their union. But we cannot be naïve – there are serious challenges that LGBTQ workers and their loved ones face in our province.”

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