An information picket by healthcare workers yesterday in Swift Current drew attention to their contract status.
SEIU-West members have now been without a contract for 28 months.
"Nothing new to report," said Jessica Perrault, an LPN at Cypress Regional Hospital and Unit Chair at the Cypress Regional Hospital for SEIU-West. "28 months now without a collective agreement. Negotiations for a new collective agreement are going very poorly. (Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations) seems to be focused on language, trying to change our collective agreement to CUPE, and we are standing up strongly and saying absolutely not."
While they have gone over two years without a collective agreement, Perrault hasn't seen much progress.
"I think there has been kind of baby steps on a few issues," she said. "But we are nowhere close to negotiating any monetary amount."
She noted going that long without a contract has caused financial strain.
"We have not had a raise since 2022," Perrault said. "Our members are in financial struggles. A lot of them have had to go and get two, sometimes three jobs just to make ends meet. When you have a government job that is an absolute disgrace."
SEIU-West held similar information pickets in the spring and winter.
Perrault has been happy with the response they've had.
"The response has been absolutely fantastic," she said. "We've had a lot of waves, a lot of honks, and we've had a great turn out from SEIU members and a couple members from other unions as well in Swift Current."
She would like to see more members from other unions coming together to get a more significant response by working as a unit.