A letter has been sent to Premier Scott Moe by Saskatchewan’s health care unions asking for a wage top-up for health care employees.
In a release sent out on Thursday morning, CUPE, SGEU and SEIU West called on the premier to “follow in the footsteps of almost every other jurisdiction in Canada” like what has been offered in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta during the pandemic.
“We feel that our members provide such a valuable service to the residents of Saskatchewan in the work that they do,” said Sandra Seitz, president of CUPE Local 5430. “They should be recognized for this.”
This comes after Premier Moe announced a wage top-up for front line workers last week. However the unions mentioned that health care workers were “noticeably absent” from the list of eligible recipients.
Seitz said their members have grown frustrated by the situation while other provinces have given raises.
“We are hearing a lot from our members about how they feel recognition would be very appreciative at this time.”
The federal government announced a new $4 billion wage top-up program for essential workers on Thursday, but details are still being worked out.
It will be up to the provincial and territorial governments to determine who qualifies for the program.
