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Health care employers claim they have a new contract offer to present. HSAS agrees to meet.
Prince Albert (June 1, 2011) – The Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan has agreed to meet with SAHO next week, because health care employers claim to have a new contract offer to present to Saskatchewan’s three-thousand specialized health care professionals, Health Sciences President Cathy Dickson announced.
“Within hours of our news conference yesterday, where we said independent, binding arbitration or a substantially improved contract offer were the only options to avoid an escalation of health care strikes in Saskatchewan, SAHO contacted our office seeking a meeting,” Dickson reported.
“We have agreed to meet with SAHO in Regina next Wednesday, June 8. We assume that the Wall government has provided health care employers, represented by SAHO, with a new mandate and room to make a substantially improved contract offer to Health Sciences,” Dickson said.
“As a result of SAHO’s request for an opportunity to present a new contract offer, there will be no additional strike action by Health Sciences members before the meeting next Wednesday. However, if this meeting request from SAHO proves to be little more than another stalling tactic, the response will be swift, and the result will be an escalation of strike action by our members,” Dickson said.
“Our contract expired March 31, 2009 and Health Sciences professionals have been frustrated by the stalling tactics of both SAHO and the Wall government over the past twenty six months. The time has come for health care employers and the government to get down to business and present a fair and reasonable contract offer to the specialized health care professionals we represent or send our contract dispute to independent, interest-based binding arbitration,” Dickson concluded.
Health Sciences represents more than three-thousand specialized health care professionals from more than thirty health care professions. Members include: Emergency care workers like Paramedics; Acute care workers like Hospital Pharmacists, Perfusionists, and Respiratory Therapists; Rehab professionals like Physical Therapists and Speech Language Pathologists; and Community-based professionals like Public Health Inspectors, Psychologists and Social Workers.
For Further Information Contact:
Cathy Dickson
President
Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan
306-361-5655
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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE