(Submitted Photo/Saskatchewan Health Authority)

By Derek Craddock

BUDGET RESPONSE

Health-care and Education unions respond to provincial budget

Mar 22, 2023 | 6:00 PM

Some of Saskatchewan’s biggest health-care and education unions have spoken out following the tabling of the budget on Wednesday afternoon.

The Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) was hoping for substantial funding for education and school boards.

“Unfortunately, it falls short of what boards are expecting or requiring to keep up with the cost of inflation as well as to meet the demands of enrollment growth and to deliver on their operations,” said SSBA President Jaimie Smith-Windsor.

She added school boards across the province will convene to go over the budget numbers and see how it fits with their division. Smith-Windsor expects though that some tough decisions will need to be made.

“This budget contributes to an overall erosion of the public school system in Saskatchewan.”

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That was also the sentiment from the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation who wanted to see a 5 per cent increase to keep up with the demands in schools. They say the province’s commitment only calls for a less than 3 per cent increase.

On the health care side, the province said it is increasing its investment in that department in the hopes of bringing in and retaining more workers and reducing surgical wait times.

Karen Wasylenko is the President of the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan (HSAS) which represents hundreds of workers like paramedics, addictions counselors, and physical therapists.

She said she was pleased to see funding for health care and an overall increase in spending.

“However, we did have a number of questions that we feel are left unanswered.”

Some of those questions include whether the increase with compete with the level of inflation and whether it is permanent spending or temporary.

Wasylenko did praise the government for funding mental health and addictions and making that a priority in the budget.

“That’s been a much-needed service and it needs more funding to address the issues that we are facing today,” he said.

CUPE 5430 which represents health-care workers in Saskatchewan said they were pleased with an increase in funding, but are not sure where exactly that money will go.

“We don’t know whether that is going to the public or private system,” said President Bashir Jalloh.

Jalloh mentioned one thing the union did not see in the budget was how to retain health-care workers in the province.

“All we see is more recruitment, recruitment, recruitment but if you recruit people and not able to retain them, chances are you’re opening the back door for them to leave.”

Now, the HSAS and CUPE 5430 will take time to examine the budget and determine how many positions will increase in the fields they represent and where the money will be going.

—

derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock