Saskatchewan unions have banded together and are publicly questioning the recent government announcement about the hiring of Continuing Care Assistants.

SGEU, SEIU-West and CUPE specifically note the government news release which says 95 of 108 CCA positions they committed to hiring in the provincial budget, had been hired.

Barbara Cape, President of SEIU-West, says this is far less than the 300 new CCAs Premier Scott Moe promised during the 2020 election campaign.

The unions say the Premier wants people to believe that he’s recruited new CCAs into home care. However, Cape says, “The latest numbers the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) supplied to SEIU-West show that this is simply not true. In fact, most of the new hires were already working as CCAs in the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), often in the same facility or program, and the
vast majority of these new positions are designated as temporary and/or part-time.”

Cape also says it is unacceptable for Premier Moe to pat himself on the back by claiming to have hired dozens of new staff when that can’t be verified by any of the three unions representing health care providers.