"Yorkton families are the ones who will feel the consequences of even more chaos in healthcare,” Carla Beck said. “These frontline workers have been pushed to the brink. They’ve faced unimaginable working conditions and four years without a contract, while Scott Moe’s own political allies in the senior ranks of the provincial health authority have seen raise after raise.”
CUPE 5430 workers are preparing to hold a strike vote in early September after going years without a new collective agreement. If job action occurs, services and facilities in the Yorkton area could be affected, including Yorkton Home Care, Yorkton Public Health, Yorkton Mental Health & Addiction Services, Yorkton & District Nursing Home, and Yorkton Regional Health Centre.
For people in Yorkton, the consequences could be significant.
"People are already waiting too long for care,” said Jacqueline Roy, Shadow Minister for Women’s Health, who was in Yorkton Tuesday warning about the risks of the strike. “Healthcare here is already stretched so thin — the last thing Yorkton needs is a government that allows this situation to get even worse."
Roy called on local Sask. Party MLA David Chan to do his job and fight for Yorkton healthcare and the city’s incredible working people.
“He should stand up for his constituents, not cover up for Scott Moe and Jeremy Cockrill. They can’t close a deal. They’re completely out of touch — and we’ve been here before. We saw it in education. Now it’s health care,” Roy said.
"Scott Moe and his Minister have spent years promising to recruit and retain health care workers — they’ve failed at every turn. The Sask. Party government needs to stop taking health care workers for granted and get serious about reaching a fair agreement.
“Yorkton patients shouldn't have to pay the price for this government's relentless failures to act,” Roy added. “It's time for change.”
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