Sask. health-care unions say Moe's ultimatum on staffing agreement 'disturbing'
'Nurses are feeling demoralized, defeated, depressed, burnt out and exhausted,' says SUN president
Health-care unions are upset Premier Scott Moe has given an ultimatum to reach an agreement by Monday on staffing to respond to COVID-19 pressures, or face an emergency order.
Moe gave the ultimatum at a news conference on Friday, saying the government wants greater flexibility in the workforce as the province continues to grapple with the pandemic.
If no agreement can be reached, the government will sign an emergency order on Monday, Moe said.
But the president of the union that represents 14,000 health-care workers in the province says it was already in discussion with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
"What is very upsetting is we were in discussion with the SHA over an LOU [letter of understanding] and staffing during this fourth wave of the pandemic and identifying areas that could be improved," said Sandra Seitz, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 5430.
"And now we're hearing that they're threatening to reactivate the previous LOU by Monday."
In a news release Friday, the province said before this summer, the health authority and health-sector unions had agreed to a letter of understanding that "allowed for labour mobility." That LOU expired when the province lifted its state of emergency in July.
"While discussions with health-care provider unions continue," if the health authority and unions can't reach an agreement by Monday, "the government of Saskatchewan is prepared to sign another provincial emergency order to reactivate the previous provisions that enabled emergency labour mobility," the province's news release said.
Seitz said CUPE understands the strain on the health system, "yet the premier of the province is only implementing a mandatory isolation [for those infected with COVID-19] and not taking further measures when the numbers are going up."
Moe announced on Friday that the province will once again require COVID-19-positive people to isolate for 10 days and close contacts who are not vaccinated to self-isolate for 14 days, but will not reintroduce mandatory masking or bring in a proof-of-vaccination requirement to attend non-essential businesses and events, as several other provinces have.
Saskatchewan Union of Nurses president Tracy Zambory was also unimpressed with the premier's ultimatum.
"We've made it very clear that we have very strong collective bargaining agreement language that allows mobility of staff and we will continue to have those conversations over the weekend with the Saskatchewan Health Authority," said Zambory, but she added workers need some relief and support.
"Nurses are feeling demoralized, defeated, depressed, burnt out and exhausted," she said. "They cannot continue on. There needs to be some relief in the system."
Zambory said with the last letter of understanding, it was difficult for staff in high-pressure areas to get a break.
"We're always there to talk solutions. We will continue to have those conversations and we will see where it goes from there."
Seitz said instead of ultimatums, the premier should be discussing the concerns of health-care workers to address the staffing crisis.
"Our members are exhausted and we are willing to work on solutions for that, but we're just not being heard and that's very disturbing."
Zambory said there needs to be a slowdown in other areas to give relief to nurses and other health-care workers.
"We know that there is some conversation around, perhaps, elective surgeries. Let's have bigger conversations in that area," Zambory said.
"Let's look to see where we can have the system slow down, where we can get some breathing room and we can get some relief to the members who have been working hard and have kept this health-care system going since March of 2020."
Health-care workers should be entitled to make their own decisions about vaccines, Sask. union says
Over 80% of Sask. Health Authority union members are fully vaccinated: Health Sciences Association president
The union for Saskatchewan Health Authority workers says its members "should be entitled to make their own decision" when it comes to getting vaccinated against COVID-19, on the heels of the Saskatchewan government saying it wants to require proof of vaccination among some workers.
The Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan represents over 4,000 specialized Saskatchewan Health Authority employees, working in fields ranging from addictions counselling to physical therapy, among many others.
Last week, a day after Premier Scott Moe announced the Saskatchewan government was seeking to establish a policy requiring front-line health-care workers to provide proof of vaccination or face regular testing, HSAS sent a letter to its members.
The letter stated that workers had a variety of concerns with the province's proposal. Some said vaccinations should be voluntary. Others said the policy should apply to all health-care workers. Some members felt health-care information should remain private, the union's letter said.
"HSAS communicated the belief that each member should be entitled to make their own decision with respect to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine," according to the letter, which was obtained by CBC News. "That position is unchanged."
Moe said on Aug. 30 that "details on this workplace policy will be announced in the coming days."
But in an interview with CBC News on Tuesday, Karen Wasylenko, the president of HSAS, said the government had not yet presented any new details to the union, including what will happen if a worker declines to get tested.
"We haven't heard any more, except that [Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO] Scott Livingstone has said also that it's going to take a few weeks to develop this policy," Wasylenko said.
Asked to elaborate on the letter's statement that workers are "entitled to make their own decision," Wasylenko said her union has strongly advocated for the priority vaccination of health-care workers, including paramedics, since the beginning of the province's vaccination drive late in 2020.
"We have been told by the SHA that HSAS has the highest rate of [full] vaccination of all the health-care unions, at just over 80 per cent," Wasylenko said.
"Even without requiring the proof of vaccination, our members stepped forward and did it."
CBC News has reached out to the Ministry of Health and the Saskatchewan Health Authority for comment.
"This is a necessary step to protect our vital front-line health-care teams who provide incredible care under extremely trying circumstances," Livingstone said via email. "We are grateful for their dedication and committed to ensuring a safe environment for all health-care workers, patients, residents and clients."
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