‘Struggling to make payments’: Health care workers feeling anxious after 3 years without a new contract

Hundreds rallied at the legislature as CUPE signals a possible strike vote, citing three years of unsuccessful negotiations. Wayne Mantyka reports.

Saskatchewan health care workers are feeling the pressure of not having a renewed collective bargaining agreement.

Amy Moore, a billing clerk with the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s (SHA) Family Medicine Unit, said the persistent issues with the health care system and the lack of an updated pay scale has affected workers’ ability to do their jobs – along with retaining staff.

“Patient care doesn’t really work when you’re short-staffed,” Moore told reporters at the Legislative Building on Wednesday.

“Sometimes the facility has to decide who’s getting baths, who’s getting social interaction or even how long they have to wait in bed. It’s not fair to everyone that we are dealing with being without a contract for nearly three years.”

Moore herself is represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 5430, one of three unions who have been without a collective agreement since 2023.

The other two are the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU) and Service Employees International Union-West (SEIU-West).

“I’m ready for a raise; I’m struggling to even make payments,” Moore said.

“There are even home care nurses that travel who are paying $1.73 for gas who travel as far as Balgonie or even further and they’re struggling more than anything without even having a raise in mileage. It’s not fair.”

Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said he’s been working closely with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Care Organizations (SAHO) and the SHA to help speed up negotiations.

Cockrill says the government is working on narrowing down its priorities but doesn’t have a specific date in mind to get a deal done by.

During Wednesday’s question period, Cockrill and the provincial government were criticized by NDP MLA Nathaniel Teed for “failing to include anything in the 2026-27 budget to address short staffing” in health care.

However, Cockrill said the province included a little over $100 million for possible agreements, adding that he expects the eventual settlements to exceed that number.

“You don’t actually book something until you get close to working on financial terms as we do with all of our other tables right across government,” he said.

“Whatever agreement we come to, it will be fully funded by the government, ensuring that the workers, whether they’re in education or health care, receive a fair deal and make sure that they’re compensated for the important work that they do.”