The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced a temporary wage supplement for lower income essential workers. The supplement consists of a flat $400 per month benefit for up to 16 weeks (March 15 to July 4) for each eligible worker. The supplement is for workers helping Saskatchewan’s vulnerable citizens through the COVID-19 pandemic and who earn less than $2,500 per month and make less than $24.00 per hour at an eligible facility. CUPE Saskatchewan has developed a one-stop, one-page Quick Guide to assist CUPE Local Unions with informing members about this important temporary income support program and how to apply.

A uniquely Saskatchewan orientation booklet to assist new delegates to the structure and functioning of convention, which is the ultimate governing body of CUPE Saskatchewan.

A new report sponsored by CUPE Local 5430 shines a light on the Sask Party’s failure to properly plan for, or invest in, Saskatchewan’s long-term care system.

The CUPE Education Workers Steering Committee has released a new report highlighting the increasing levels of violence facing workers in the K-12 education sector. Over 1,000 CUPE education support workers from across Saskatchewan participated in a confidential violence survey. CUPE represents over 7,000 support workers in the pre-kindergarten to Grade 12 (PreK-12) education sector in Saskatchewan.

A new report commissioned by the Canadian Union of Public Employees has found that the proposed taxation changes in the 2017-2018 budget will disproportionally impact low income families and individuals.

The CUPE Saskatchewan Health Care Council has released a report which indicates that increased workload and understaffing of medical technologists and technicians are putting them under extreme pressure and could compromise patient care. CUPE medical technologists and technicians provide essential services such as blood tests, X-rays, CT and MRI scans, and other diagnostic tests.

CUPE’s research department has released a 24-page guide to assist members and other residents navigate the province’s freedom of information acts. A Practical Guide for CUPE Members on how to use the Freedom of Information Legislation in Saskatchewan is dedicated to Joe Kuchta, Owls and Roosters blogger and tireless public information activist, who died in November 2011 in Saskatoon. May we all be inspired by his pursuit of the truth.

Union members are not alone in recognizing the benefits unions and their members make to the economy. In a two-page article featured in the Fall 2012 issue of Business Regina Magazine, Driven Automotive – a local Regina small business – also agrees that good union jobs and good wages make for a healthy local economy. Driven Automotive is located on the 500 block of Broad Street in Regina.

A new guide from the CUPE encourages municipal officials to show caution in considering the use of public-private partnerships to finance public infrastructure projects. The reference document provides essential information to assist municipalities in making sound decisions in the best interest of their citizens.

Economist John Loxley calculates the costs of the Saskatchewan government’s controversial funding arrangement with Amicus Health Care Inc. and concludes it is an expensive way to finance long-term care facilities in the province. At the time, Health Minister Don McMorris said he hoped the new funding arrangement would become a model for constructing and operating other long-term care facilities in the province. But that model – known as a public private partnership (P3) – proves to be a costly mistake, projected to cost taxpayers as much as $20 million more than if the government had used traditional public sector financing.

CUPE has been in the forefront of finding ways to bring more Aboriginal people into the workforce through the signing of Partnership Agreements, developing culturally specific collective agreement language, forming a CUPE Aboriginal Council to represent Aboriginal workers, and promoting the training and upgrading of Aboriginal workers. This document provides an overview of the CUPE workplaces in Saskatchewan where Partnership Agreements have been signed and where Equity Plans with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission have been implemented.

CUPE Saskatchewan

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