CUPE 5430 President Bashir Jalloh (far left) met with local members in Shellbrook. (Submitted photo)

By Nigel Maxwell

No raise in 3 years

Shellbrook health care workers raise concerns about low wages and short staffing

Aug 22, 2025 | 5:10 PM

Issues related to short staffing and low wages, were front and center during a special meeting on Friday at Shellbrook’s hospital.

CUPE 5430 President Bashir Jalloh met with local members. He told paNOW the concerns he heard were three fold: short staffing, the length of time it’s taken to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, and low wages in the province.

“The morale in the workplace is extremely low because of that,” he said.

“If you compare the wages for what we get in Saskatchewan for any classification, to Manitoba, Alberta or British Columbia, it’s pretty low.”

Members of CUPE 5430 have not had a raise in nearly three years and the union leadership is calling on the provincial government to return to the bargaining table with a fair offer that acknowledges the vital work health care workers do every day.

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With respect to Shellbrook hospital, Jalloh noted ongoing service disruptions, and stated that when issues are brought to the employer there’s a feeling of denial.

“I heard today from a member, she’s a casual, and she’s been mandated to work but when we put it to the employer they tell us no one has been mandated to work,” he said.

Jalloh explained this affects peoples’ holiday plans and creates a general imbalance to someone’s work and personal life.

A person who identified themselves as a nurse at the facility, recently reached out to paNOW and said staffing is at critical levels on a daily basis.

They also noted continuing care aids (CCA) are expected to do four to five different jobs. Unlike other facilities whose CCA’S are just CCA’S, they are required to do laundry, serve food and all the clean up, including doing dishes by hand.

Jalloh confirmed he’s heard about these concerns but added health care workers won’t walk away from the residents. He also noted it’s common for people to go back and forth between the acute care side of the facility and long term care.

A similar meeting was held this week in North Battleford. In a written statement to battlefordsNOW, Health Minister Cockrill said the government values front-line staff.

“Health-care workers are the backbone of that system. We value their dedication and the compassion they show to patients and families every single day,” he said.

Cockrill pointed to an interim wage adjustment of three per cent, retroactive to April 2023, that the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) offered earlier this year.

While CUPE, SEIU-West, and SGEU did not accept the offer, he said the province remains hopeful agreements can be reached that are fair to employees, responsible to taxpayers, and support the delivery of high-quality care.

“At the end of the day, we all share the same goal: supporting health-care workers and ensuring people in our province get the care they need.”

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell