CUPE health care workers have voted 99% in favour of job action in Saskatchewan’s largest strike vote. Between September 8 and 14, 13,358 members cast their ballots to secure a decisive strike mandate after 3 years of stalling and concessionary demands from the employer at the bargaining table.
CUPE 5430’s 14,000 health care workers have been without a contract since March 31, 2023, and have gone over four and a half years without a wage increase. Despite critical short-staffing, crushing workloads, and declining morale, CUPE 5430 members have continued to step up and provide critical care and services in hospitals, health centres and care homes across Saskatchewan while the employer slow-walked negotiations.
“It’s shameful how long the Minister of Health has allowed our members to go without a wage increase or the respect they deserve,” said Bashir Jalloh, President of CUPE 5430. “These incredible strike vote results send that minister and his government a message that our members are done waiting, are united, and ready to fight for a fair contract.”
“This vote is about respect, fair wages, and safe staffing. It is about having a health care system where people can build a career, support a family, and actually stay in their community,” said CUPE’s National President Mark Hancock. “This government cannot solve a recruitment and retention crisis without respecting and fairly compensating the people on the front lines. They cannot build a stronger health care system by burning out the people holding it together.”
The latest employer offer from the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) is inadequate and will leave Saskatchewan health care workers behind. If accepted, SAHO’s offer:
- Includes concessionary demands that would increase contract staffing and move health care workers farther from their homes with little notice or consideration for work/life balance.
- Would leave most CUPE members making less than their counterparts in Western Canada, deepening the retention crisis.
- Does not catch CUPE members up after years of wage erosion compared to the cost of living. Between 2012 and 2025, the cost of living in Saskatchewan increased 33.7% compared to a general wage increase (GWI) of 14.32% for CUPE 5430 members. Over the same time, members’ wage increases were outstripped by a 61.6% increase in minimum wage.
“We are here today to put the Minister of Health and his government on notice. This strike mandate is a message that CUPE 5430 members are done waiting and are willing to do whatever it takes to get the deal they deserve,” added Jalloh.
