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Hundreds of health-care workers gathered outside the Saskatchewan Legislature, calling for fairer compensation.
Members of CUPE 5430 wanted to show strength in numbers and deliver a message to both the province and their employers.
“We are fighting for fair wages and the reason we are fighting for fair wages is because we want to be able to retain health care workers,” said Local 5430 President Bashir Jalloh.
“Our health-care system is a significant free fall. We have staff shortages, leading to a lack of retention, leading to burnout.”
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Jalloh said all of Saskatchewan’s hospitals are teaching hospitals, meaning that they train students. However, he said low wages and a precarious working environment often force new graduates to seek employment outside the province.
Jalloh added that most of the jobs posted in Saskatchewan’s health care field are part-time and not suitable for new grads who might have significant amounts of debt.
CUPE Local 5430 President Bashir Jalloh attended the rally on Wednesday (centre, black jacket) along with hundreds of health-care workers. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)
Jalloh said recruitment and retention are directly tied to the capacity issues seen throughout Saskatchewan.
“The reason why there is a significant amount of wait time is because they don’t have enough people to do those jobs,” Jalloh said.
“We have the facilities, we have the equipment. I can tell you about countless places (in the) hospital where you can see the equipment is there, but they don’t have people to run it.”
During the rally, many workers shared stories of living paycheque-to-paycheque, being unable to buy gas or even having to work multiple jobs to get by.
“People are really, really struggling. It is not fun,” Jalloh said.
Jalloh said workers are also frustrated with how slow the collective bargaining process has been with the province.
During the rally, workers shared their stories of struggle. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)
Regina Walsh Acres MLA Jared Clarke said health care workers deserve a fair deal.
“We’re facing a health care crisis in terms of retaining health care workers,” Clarke said.
“One way this government could show how they respect workers and want to retain workers is by getting a deal signed for health-care workers.”
Health-care workers have been out of a contract since April 2023.
In a statement to 980 CJME, the Ministry of Health said the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) offered health unions an “unprecedented” interim wage adjustment of three per cent retroactive to April 1, 2023.
“This was done in the hope of providing some temporary economic relief to our valued health care employees while negotiations for a long-term contract continue,” the statement read. “This offer was declined by CUPE, SGEU and SEIU-West.”
However, the ministry said it was confident that SAHO and the unions would be able to reach an agreement.
“Health-care workers are vital in assisting and supporting each of us through our health journey. They are valued and appreciated for their contributions and dedication to patients, clients, and the health system,” the ministry said.
“The Government of Saskatchewan is investing $156 million in this year’s budget to support the Health Human Resources (HHR) Action Plan to recruit, train, and retain health-care workers.”
