April 28 is the annual National Day of Mourning for Workers to remember those who tragically lost their lives on the job and to recognize those who endured an injury or acquired an illness or disease as a result of their work. In 2023, 29 workers in Saskatchewan lost their lives because of work-related incidents, not including farm-related fatalities or other workplaces that are not covered or reported by workers’ compensation. We also mourn the loss of two members of the CUPE family: Jennifer Doucette, CUPE 1630 in Manitoba and Steven Seekins, CUPE 374 in British Columbia.

• Click here for details to attend a vigil in your community on Sunday, April 28, 2024. 

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April 22 is Earth Day – a day to recognize the climate change emergency and the action needed to restore our earth. With the world continuing to head for a catastrophic temperature rise and human caused destruction threatening the earth’s ecosystems needed to sustain life, Earth Day is an important time to renew our resolve to demand more urgent environmental action from governments, employers and within our communities in the transition to a zero-carbon economy. Action to restore our damaged ecosystems and urgently shifting to a more equitable, sustainable economy will safeguard our health in the future and that of our only planet.

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A new research report into the state of rural health care in Saskatchewan confirms what CUPE already knew – rural health care is in crisis and patients and health care workers are paying the price.

The new research report from the University of Regina’s Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit (SPHERU), “The Current State of Health Care in Saskatchewan,” highlighted concerning statistics on the state of rural health care:

• The number of vacant health care positions has doubled since 2019.

• That between 2019 and 2023, there were 952 service disruptions for a total of 6,795 days.

• The Saskatchewan Health Authority’s reliance on casual and part-time rather than full-time positions is worsening short-staffing issues in rural areas.

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A message to stakeholders released by Darlene Rowden, Sask. Party candidate and Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division Board Chair, was inappropriate and created more questions than answers this week.

In her letter, Rowden, who is the Sask. Party candidate for the Batoche constituency in the next general election, suggests that including classroom size and complexity in a collective agreement poses a threat to local board governance and would result in a “fundamental shift away from public education and inclusive schooling in Saskatchewan.”

She adds that having class size and complexity in collective agreements would somehow prevent parents from sending their kids to school as planned and could force children to go to schools other than their choosing because of “cap and quota” systems. Rowden never provides any evidence this would be the case or acknowledges that there have been no discussions around caps or quotas as part of teachers’ bargaining in Saskatchewan.

“Who exactly is Darlene Rowden speaking on behalf of? It is very clear that the partisan board chair of the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division does not have the best interests of students, parents, and workers at heart,” said Kent Peterson, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “Specifically, her remarks about getting classroom size and complexity under control were partisan, inflammatory, and false.

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The Day of Pink reaffirms our commitment and solidarity to stop all forms of bullying, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and transmisogyny. As workers on the front lines, CUPE members know first-hand the toll that rising anti-2SLGBTQI+ hate is taking. Too many have been targeted in their workplaces and in the community, face exclusion and violence, and added barriers to decent work, health care and housing.

This year’s theme for the Day of Pink is visibility, which encompasses being seen, acknowledged, respected, and heard. We wear pink in solidarity to resist homophobic and transphobic harassment, while fighting every day to protect public services that 2SLGBTQI+ people work in and rely on. CUPE will never stop working to improve the lives of Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex workers.

Throughout the world, including in Saskatchewan and Canada, there has been an increase in the introduction of anti-2SLGBTQIA+ laws and policies as well as hate-based attacks. It is an important time to make it clear bullying and hate have no place in our classrooms, workplaces, and communities. We won’t let right-wing governments risk trans people’s safety and make CUPE workplaces unsafe. Together, let’s stand up for all workers. As trade unionists, we know an injury to one is an injury to all.

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