REGINA: While CUPE is pleased that the Saskatchewan government has finally decided to prioritize remaining health care workers in the vaccination delivery sequencing, more needs to be done to remove barriers to access.

An important research project is being launched this week to explore psychological distress experienced by environmental service workers (ESW) – sometimes known as housekeeping staff – in acute care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CUPE is a partner in this research project with COVIDEM, and we encourage our members who are environmental service workers to participate.

CUPE 5430 would like to thank all of our Medical Laboratory Professionals for your great service during this pandemic and always!

We last updated you on January 21, 2021 regarding the status of the movement of IT staff to eHealth. At that time, we identified that we’d reviewed both the Provincial Auditor’s report and the Privacy Commissioner’s report about eHealth. Shortly after that, the full Board of Directors was replaced with a two person board made up of Ministry of Health officials.

With the Board of Directors being in disarray, we didn’t feel that there was the structure or support to ensure a stable and successful transition of our members to eHealth. We wrote to eHealth and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) postponing our meetings until such time as order was restored within eHealth. The response we received indicated that eHealth and SHA would reach out to us regarding next steps as soon as they were able to do so. To date, we have not heard anything from them about future meetings.

CUPE Saskatchewan is currently accepting applications from members of affiliated Local Unions to serve on standing committees. 

Applications for consideration of appointment must be received by no later than noon on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.

POSITION OPPORTUNITIES 

The following committees have one position available:

• Committee Against Contracting Out and Privatization
• Committee Against Racism and Discrimination
• Environment Committee
• Global Justice Committee
• Occupational Health and Safety Committee
• Women’s Committee
• Young Workers’ Committee

Standing committee positions appointed through this process are for a two-year term, ending March 2023.

REGINA: The Moe government is considering plans to cut services to the microbiology lab at Yorkton Regional Health Centre, a betrayal of rural health services that will increase wait times for diagnostic services, according to the union representing 14,000 health care workers.

“Rural health services have been struggling under this provincial government, and the cutting of microbiology lab services would further erode rural health care services in Saskatchewan,” said Sandra Seitz, president of CUPE Local 5430. “Having to send samples to Regina would double the wait time for test results meaning rural patients are at a greater risk of delayed treatment. Cuts and privatization are once again hitting small communities the hardest.”

Two homecare workers describe the experience of working at long-term and personal care homes hit hard by COVID-19

 In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, CUPE joined with other health care unions and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to produce several principles for protecting workers, patients and residents.  These sets of protocols were especially important for CUPE members who were working in facilities with seniors and other high-risk patients.  While fear was common among health care workers, a few CUPE members cast their real fear aside and put their health at risk to help some of the most vulnerable patients in Saskatchewan, by volunteering at some of the most high-risk locations in the province.

Arlene Nyhus lives in Weyburn.  For eight years now, she has been working as a continuing care assistant for the SHA.  Once the pandemic took hold, and as protocols and policies began changing, some health care workers began losing hours.  Other than full time workers who were cohorted or who worked in both long-term care and other services like home care were especially impacted.  The fear and worry for the safety of her patients, combined with the uncertainty of getting homecare work began taking its toll on her mental health.  But Arlene was determined to keep her spirits high and maintain her high standard of care.  “It was challenging because when we go to our client’s homes, we always need to be at our best mental health,” said Nyhus.  “We always want to do our best for the client.”