The call comes in the wake of warnings last week that 14,000 healthcare workers in Regina, Yorkton, Prince Albert, Battlefords and Weyburn will hold a strike vote in September.
In a letter sent to Jeremy Cockrill today, Beck, Shadow Health Minister Meara Conway and Shadow Labour Minister Nathaniel Teed called on the Minister to issue a series of directives aimed at accelerating bargaining.
Specifically, the letter called on Cockrill to use his powers under the Provincial Health Authority Act to direct the Saskatchewan Health Authority to:
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Pause all executive, senior management and out-of-scope compensation increases, bonuses, reclassifications and other compensation adjustments until new collective agreements are reached with frontline healthcare workers.
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Approach bargaining with urgency and work toward a fair agreement without further delay.
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Establish a fair financial mandate for negotiations.
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Set a deadline of September 2026 to conclude bargaining.
“Healthcare workers have waited long enough — four years on the frontlines of our overrun hospitals and clinics with no contract and no raise,” Beck said. “All the while, we’ve seen raises for senior health authority executives — many of them close friends of Scott Moe. I bet freezing their pay will get things moving at the bargaining table.
“We need this action now. Healthcare workers are being forced to consider a strike which will only make the chaos in our hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities even worse.”
Healthcare workers represented by CUPE 5430, SEIU-West and SGEU have not received a general wage increase since April 1, 2022. Their collective agreements expired more than three years ago.
"Scott Moe's government is always quick to find money for executives, consultants and advertising campaigns, but somehow healthcare workers are told to keep waiting," said Shadow Health Minister Meara Conway.
"These are the people holding together a crumbling healthcare system after 20 years of Sask. Party failures and mismanagement. These workers don’t deserve hollow praise—they deserve a raise.”
Teed said the government's failure to resolve bargaining is contributing to staffing shortages and worsening recruitment and retention challenges across the province.
"Healthcare workers have carried this system on their backs through staffing shortages, burnout and constant pressure," said Teed. "They've gone above and beyond every step of the way. They deserve respect, fair wages and that their legal right to collectively bargain is upheld.
“That’s how we keep them doing their incredible work here in Saskatchewan and it’s how we recruit more people to come here and join them on the frontlines. It’s time for change.”
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