Representatives from the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN), the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), and the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) met on September 1, 2, 3, and again on the 15, 16, 17, and 18 to continue discussions.
SUN would like to begin this update by acknowledging our Negotiations Committee members who while on a break from bargaining, were able to move an unconscious person out of the street, administer Narcan, and call emergency services. This is only one example of the incredible work SUN members do on a daily basis and highlights the deep commitment of nurses to care for their patients and their community. Even while negotiating, members were still helping to save lives!
During this most recent set of dates, SUN continued to make significant efforts to advance a number of solutions that would be workable for both sides, meet the needs of members and their ability to provide safe, accessible care across geographical distances and in a variety of areas in the province.
One solution that involved quite a bit of in-depth discussion is the concept of a Nursing Resource Team (NRT). Both parties have now presented language on the NRT, and there are some promising areas of alignment in what has come forward. With further collaborative efforts, SUN’s Committee is optimistic that agreement could be reached to develop the NRT into an opportunity for registered nurses and a solution to some key challenges within the province’s health system. Given how close the parties are on some of the last few outstanding items, and the desire to expedite these last phases of the negotiations process, SUN has suggested the possibility of meeting outside of the table to develop an NRT. This would allow both parties to take the time to make progress in developing this initiative, while still moving as quickly as possible to monetary.
Toward the end of this session, SUN was surprised to learn that SAHO is now identifying “contracting in” and “mobility” as two areas they would need addressed prior to any monetary discussion. SUN’s position is that any contracting discussion should occur outside of the bargaining table and should not form part of the collective bargaining agreement.
SUN brought an updated package that included 26, 37, and 45 given the connection between these Articles. In the conversation on Article 26, SUN was able to acknowledge some movement from SAHO, however, the issue of mutual agreement remains a core challenge given the other risks to members that come with mobility and their ability to have clear, defined, and predictable work. Given that mutual agreement already exists in the collective agreement, giving that up without other safeguards could put nurses and their ability to safely care for their patients at significant risk. Also of concern is the lack of response from SAHO on Article 45 regarding Float language.
Despite these difficulties, SUN’s Committee has made considerable progress, with 67 pages of agreed to’s as of this past week, including the most recent sign offs on Article 6.15 Orientation and an LOU on representative workforce in relation to Article 5. Joint work continued on Article 15, Vacation language. Both parties seem close and aligned on some important aspects of this Article, which SUN continues to drive forward to ensure members are able to take the vacation they are entitled to, have some work life balance and avoid burnout. The Committee also continued discussions in areas such as Article 9, addressing Charge Pay, and LOU #10 - Return for Service language. The majority of the more challenging discussions continued to focus on the issue of mobility in relation to Article 26 and 45, along with casual work in relation to Article 37.
A highly concerning aspect of the mobility conversation remains lack of transparency and clarity on the new areas that SAHO wants to put in place. This reluctance to define parameters or geography while also attempting to remove SUN’s current “mutual agreement between the Union and the Employer” language if a position will be responsible for more than three units or three work areas, is incredibly worrying and continues to function as a significant barrier to resolution.
Equally concerning was SAHO’s response to SUN’s concept of creating a Committee to begin discussing Nurse-to-Patient Ratios. The concept of Ratios is supported by several decade of research that indicates when an appropriate staffing complement exists, the outcomes of patients improve. Additionally, Saskatchewan is now lagging behind a number of other provinces across Canada where ratios are currently being discussed, or are already being implemented. This concept provides a clear path to prioritizing safe patient care and improved outcomes for both patients and nurses. It has also been shown to be an effective tool to recruit and retain registered nurses. SUN’s Committee was both surprised and incredibly disappointed to learn that SAHO’s response was that they simply were not interested.
SUN’s Negotiations Committee remains committed to problem-solving, considering the interests and challenges of all parties and developing language that enhances our members ability to care for their patients, while also focusing on the stabilization of the nursing workforce in Saskatchewan
SUN’s Committee will continue to push towards getting SAHO to begin monetary talks as we gear up for our next two set of dates on October 6, 7, 8, 9 and October 14, 15, 16.
Negotiations Updates are regular communications meant to keep SUN members informed of the bargaining committee’s activities and the status of SUN’s bargaining efforts.
