REGINA - Saskatchewan’s private healthcare contracts are taking a step back.
On Thursday, CUPE 5430 announced they pushed back on efforts by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to contract out private healthcare organizations.
CUPE 5430 president Bashir Jalloh welcomed the news but said this decision wastes years of investment into long-term care.
“They [SHA] could have been building desperately needed new public long-term care homes. Instead of listening, they plowed ahead with their privatization plans, which have now failed.”
An arbitration board looked into Article 6.02 – Restrictions on Subcontracting and Contracting Out, finding that SHA did not follow the collective agreement. The dispute arose from an employer using an Ontario health company to provide health care services at the Wolseley Memorial Integrated Care Centre.
Under Article 6.02, employers must fully disclose all information regarding costs, give alternative solutions to unions, and show that contracting out is cost-effective and can maintain health care services.
For the SHA, this makes it harder for the authority to use contract healthcare workers in Saskatchewan.
Jalloh said the decision shows that CUPE efforts are effective. He added this shows the government would rather pay private companies $60/hour for staffing rather than pay Saskatchewan’s own CCA members who make less money.
The news comes as SHA announced in September that they would move forward with publicly funded projects. SHA also recently abandoned its planned project to use private companies to replace long-term care beds at Regina Pioneer Village.
