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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2024
CUPE health care workers hold rally at Weyburn hospital
CUPE members rally at Weyburn hospital
Photo – Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca
CUPE 5430 President Bashir Jalloh addressed the over 200 union members at an information rally held at the Weyburn General Hospital on Tuesday. The union was in Weyburn to hold a two-day annual meeting, and held the rally in protest over the state of health care in Saskatchewan.
By Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca Over 200 health care workers from across Saskatchewan marched on the Weyburn General Hospital on Tuesday morning and held an information rally, demanding a fair deal from the provincial government and their employers. The members of CUPE Local 5430 were in Weyburn for their annual meeting at McKenna Hall, and took time to march over to the hospital to hold the public rally to voice their grievances with the state of the health care system in the province. CUPE President Bashir Jalloh addressed the rally, noting the union has been without a collective agreement for 17 months now. He said they will be meeting for talks on Sept. 18, and then not again until November as they take October off for the provincial election. “It’s been going on for far too long. We can’t cope with the cost of living in this province. We have
chronic short-staffing that is putting significant pressure on our workers, who are being run off their feet,” said Jalloh. The government and the Saskatchewan Health Authority have misplaced priorities, he said, noting they are busy spending resources to recruit health care workers from outside of Canada, but are not making any effort at retention of those workers. “The other problem with this government is they are spending millions of dollars building facilities. We all want good facilities, but before you build those facilities, you should have a plan for how you’re going to staff them,” said Jalloh. He pointed out a new facility in Regina that was supposed to be open and running 24/7, but is operating at half capacity because they don’t have the staff. In addition, contracting out and privatizing health care is creating low morale, as these workers are
Weyburn Police Service to grow to 24 officers by 2025 The Weyburn Police Service received additional funding for officers, and will see the force grow to 24 members by next year. The funding announcement was made on Wednesday morning at the Weyburn police station, with Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Paul Merriman on hand along with Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Dustin Duncan, Mayor Marcel Roy and Police Chief Brent VanDeSype. “By investing in police services, Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods, and the Police College, we are raising policing levels across the province and improving the safety and wellbeing for everyone in Saskatchewan, including Weyburn area residents,” Merriman said. A total of $238,000 has
been earmarked for the City of Weyburn to hire two new officers for the Weyburn Police Service. “The Weyburn Police Service is very pleased with the provincial government’s announcement of much-needed additional funding to keep our Saskatchewan communities safe,” Weyburn Chief of Police Brent VanDeSype said. “More specifically, the $11.9 million for approximately 100 new municipal officers across the province is welcome and significant news for Weyburn, as it allows the Weyburn Police Service to increase its number of sworn officers from 22 to 24. The ability to add two new officers will have a positive impact to the service we provide to the residents of Weyburn.” Continued on page 5
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New funding for Weyburn police
A funding announcement for the Weyburn Police Service was made on Wednesday morning at the Weyburn police station. From left are Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Dustin Duncan, Paul Merriman, Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister, Mayor Marcel Roy and Weyburn Police Chief Brent VanDeSype. Weyburn will be getting new funding of $238,000 to hire two new police officers, to bring the force up to 24 officers.
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Photo – Greg Nikkel, SaskToday.ca
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