{"id":4426,"date":"2025-10-30T01:20:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T04:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/10\/30\/dozens-of-sask-health-care-workers-rally-for-contract-better-working-conditions\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T01:20:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T04:20:32","slug":"dozens-of-sask-health-care-workers-rally-for-contract-better-working-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/10\/30\/dozens-of-sask-health-care-workers-rally-for-contract-better-working-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Dozens of Sask. health-care workers rally for contract, better working conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>SaskatchewanHealth-care workers brought their concerns about working conditions, wages, staffing retention and the need for a new contract to the steps of Saskatchewan\u2019s provincial legislature on Wednesday. Roughly 28,000 health-care workers from three separate unions have been without a contract since 2023. 28,000 health-care workers from 3 separate unions have been without a contract for over 2 yearsKatie Swyers  \u00b7 CBC News  \u00b7 Posted: Oct 29, 2025 8:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesSGEU president Tracy Sauer speaks at the Saskatchewan Legislature, flanked by dozens of health-care workers from three separate unions on Wednesday. (Katie Swyers\/CBC)Health-care workers from across the province brought their concerns about working conditions, wages, staffing retention and the need for a new contract to the steps of Saskatchewan\u2019s provincial legislature on Wednesday.\u201dWe have a member who came from La Ronge,\u201d said Bashir Jalloh, the president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 5430, which is the largest health-care union in Saskatchewan.Three unions organized the protest \u2014 CUPE 5430, the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees\u2019 Union, and the Service Employees International Union-West, which represents workers including licensed practical nurses and special care aides.Combined, the three unions represent roughly 28,000 Saskatchewan health-care workers in approximately 200 different job types. All have been without a contract since March 2023.\u201cPeople are so frustrated and so disrespected,\u201d SEIU-West president Lisa Zunti said.WATCH | Sask. health-care unions frustrated with province over contract talks:Sask. health-care unions frustrated with province over contract talksUnions representing health-care workers in Saskatchewan rallied in front of the legislature Wednesday, saying they\u2019re frustrated by what they see as the provincial government\u2019s unwillingness to sign a new contract and address staffing levels and patient overcrowding in hospitals.She said health-care workers are giving their all every day, while facing scrutiny from the public and trying to protect their respective licences.\u201cIt is so disappointing to also then not be respected by your employer and not to be compensated fairly,\u201d she said, calling on the government to \u201ctake us seriously and bargain in good faith.\u201dProgress on bargaining has been \u201cextremely slow,\u201d said Zunti, which she said \u201cjust seems like a stall tactic to get our members frustrated so they will take whatever is offered to them.\u201dLISTEN |  CUPE 5430 and SEIU-West presidents talk about rallying together :The 3069:02Three unions and frontline healthcare workers rally asking the province to move ahead on contract negotiationsBashir Jalloh, CUPE 5430 president, and Lisa Zunti, president of SEIU-West, talk about rallying together at the Saskatchewan legislature to push the province to expedite contract negotiations stuck in limbo for more than two years.Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said it\u2019s \u201cunfortunate that feeling exists.\u201d\u201dThe commitment from me as the minister and the government is to negotiate in good faith,\u201d he said.More bargaining dates have been added, said Cockrill, and while contract negotiations haven\u2019t reached the point of discussing pay, he said he\u2019s confident the province and workers will reach an agreement.\u2018You save money anywhere you can\u2019But SGEU president Tracey Sauer said she\u2019s frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations.\u201dWe haven\u2019t even talked about salary yet. After two and a half years, that hasn\u2019t even got to the table yet,\u201d she said.Sauer says workers have not seen a significant pay raise since 2002.\u201cFor the last 23 years, it\u2019s been minimal pay increases,\u201d she said.Amy Scott, who works at Wascana Rehabilitation Centre in Regina, says those stagnant wages and the contract uncertainty mean she watches every dollar.\u201cYou save money anywhere you can \u2014 groceries, shopping,\u201d said Scott.\u201dI will drive for cheaper gas and do whatever we can to save a dollar or two, until they reach an agreement.\u201dABOUT THE AUTHORKatie Swyers is a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan, based in Regina. She is a 2021 Joan Donaldson Scholar and has previously worked for CBC Podcasts, CBC\u2019s Marketplace, CBC\u2019s network investigative unit, CBC Toronto, CBC Manitoba and as a chase producer for Canada Tonight on CBC News Network. You can reach her at katie.swyers@cbc.ca.With files from Alexander Quon<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SaskatchewanHealth-care workers brought their concerns about working conditions, wages, staffing retention and the need for a new contract to the steps of Saskatchewan\u2019s provincial legislature on Wednesday. Roughly 28,000 health-care workers from three separate unions have been without a contract since 2023. 28,000 health-care workers from 3 separate unions have been without a contract for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,123,1],"tags":[116,122],"class_list":["post-4426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indigenous","category-saskatchewan","category-uncategorized","tag-indigenous","tag-saskatchewan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}