The SAHO Bargaining Committee met with SEIU-West September 23 - 25, 2024 in Saskatoon.

Part of the bargaining process provides the opportunity for the individual committees to caucus and discuss the aspects of the other parties’ suggestions, counterproposals, or positions and prepare written responses.

After months of negotiations, SEIU-West requested that the parties respond to each individual proposal in written format. This differs from other tables and results in a slower pace for these negotiations. Under this format, SAHO was able to respond to SEIU-West’s proposal package on June 25, 2024 while SEIU-West did not complete their comprehensive written response to SAHO’s proposal package until this session (September 23 - 25, 2024). While SAHO respects the desire of the union to utilize this format, operating in this manner does add time delays and is a hinderance to nimble negotiations.  Nevertheless, the parties reached agreement on a number of proposals.

Prior to negotiations commencing with SEIU-West, as well as with the other provider unions, SAHO met with all the parties to discuss the framework for this round of bargaining, the status of the Provider Bargaining Association and the common transition issues identified by all provider unions that result from the amalgamation of the twelve (12) former health regions into the single provincial health authority. Since the initial exchange of proposals with SEIU-West in October of 2023 and at each subsequent bargaining session, SAHO has emphasized the need to address the individual union issues and move to proposals that are related to this amalgamation. Addressing these issues would be best served by having discussions with all three (3) provider unions at the same table and providing a forum to find alignment and equitable resolutions to the transition issues as well as the standard common issues like compensation.

SAHO’s proposals are constructed to address those issues and ensure that employees have options to exercise their seniority provincially while maintaining benefits and accruals. There is a desire to provide employees the ability to maximize hours when working in more than one union jurisdiction, and to create meaningful employment. This can be achieved without any interference with union jurisdiction or membership but with improvements for employees and increased flexibility to meet patient needs. 

SAHO remains committed to a fair and transparent bargaining process. It is our intent that all employees in the 300 plus common classifications covered by three (3) collective agreements with the provider unions maintain internal equity for monetary and non-wage monetary terms and conditions and benefit equally in the opportunities of a new single employer. The SAHO proposal package seeks to maintain the integrity of the three provider unions while finding common solutions to common issues. The transition to a single employer impacts all employees working in these common classifications regardless of union jurisdiction and should be considered jointly and collaboratively much like discussions relating to the joint job evaluation program, the market supplement program or monetary compensation. The pace of these negotiations would be greatly assisted by having some of these discussions with all three provider union partners in the same forum.

The parties have agreed that they will not be meeting in the month of October. The next scheduled meetings are December 2 and 3, 2024 in Saskatoon. 

Union/SEIU-West October 01, 2024