Health Providers Bargaining Update

No. 2 – December 2023

Download a PDF of the bargaining update

Dear members,

Your negotiating committee met with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations/Saskatchewan Health Authority (SAHO/SHA) bargaining committee from November 28 to 30 at our SGEU office in Saskatoon. Both parties continue to ask questions to gain clarity on each other’s proposals.

Common proposals

As the employer transitions to one provincial employer from former health regions, we heard from the employer that they want to standardize certain pieces of language across agreements with SGEU, CUPE and SEIU-West.

The employer is interested in bargaining “common proposals,” which means they will be introducing language in your collective agreement that is identical to language used in their agreements with CUPE and SEIU-West. In your negotiating committee’s assessment, the fact that the proposals use the same language doesn’t necessarily mean they are common, since the proposals are still individual to each union.

We still need to carefully consider how this would affect our membership when it comes to vacation requests, job posting applications, seniority, relief scheduling, stand-by and other key items. Our commitment is to you.

Next meeting

We are scheduled to meet next on January 16 and 17, 2024. Stay tuned for our next update.

Stay in the loop

To make sure everyone receives the latest bargaining updates, we need to have your current contact information. If your contact information has changed, click here to complete and submit a Member Information Update Form.

If you know of a co-worker who did not receive this update, encourage them to complete the form as well.

We also invite you to follow SGEU Health Providers Facebook page for updates.

Past bargaining updates

Did you miss the last update and would like to read it?  You can find past updates under the Health Providers Bargaining Report menu on the SGEU health sector webpage.

Happy holidays

We know the holidays can be a busy and demanding time for our members. To those who will be devoting this season to the care of others, thank you. We hope each of you can find some time to rest and recharge in the coming weeks.

From all of us on the negotiating committee, have a joyous holiday season and a happy New Year. In 2024, let’s stand together, stay engaged and continue working to reach a fair contract.If you have any questions about bargaining, please contact Tanya Schmidt at tschmidt@sgeu.org.

In solidarity,
Your negotiating committee

• Tanya Schmidt, Bargaining Chair
• Sharri Laczko, Bargaining Vice-chair
• Anne Basaraba-Pedersen
• Jackie McChesney
• Wendy McPhail
• Kevin Glass, SGEU Labour Relations Officer
• Kim Nordmarken, SGEU Labour Relations Officer