A rally in Yorkton Tuesday, designed to raise awareness about the health care crisis in Saskatchewan, received on-site support from CUPE Local 5430 president Bashir Jalloh and executive members.

In a news release, Jalloh said, “Too often, families in this region cannot get care where and when they need it. Chronic short staffing has disrupted local hospital services in the region far too frequently in recent years. These hospital closures are dangerous and unacceptable.” Citing a new research report from the University of Regina’s Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit (SPHERU), the union pointed out it said that a full 44 per cent of the service disruptions in regions represented by CUPE took place in the Yorkton area. CUPE 5430 is calling on the Government of Saskatchewan to provide a fair deal at the bargaining table to address retention issues and the expansion of permanent, full-time health care positions across the province.