CUPE Health Care Workers' Council of Unions

For Immediate Release:
June 5, 2002

Lab and x-ray employees to present Minister of Health with petitions tomorrow

REGINA: Medical technologists and technicians represented by CUPE, SEIU and SGEU will present Minister of Health John Nilson with over 2,000 signatures on a petition urging the provincial government to take action to address the serious staff recruitment and retention problems facing x-ray and lab departments across the province.

The presentation will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 6 in Room 361 at the Legislative Building. A meeting with the health minister will follow the presentation. After the meeting, representatives of the union delegation will be available to take part in a media scrum.

In April, the three unions representing lab and x-ray employees launched a public campaign to demand the government implement measures to address the staff recruitment and retention issue. The unions are calling for:

A provincial labour market supplement to retain existing professionals working in lab and x-ray;
The restoration of wage parity between x-ray and lab staff across the province;
A province-wide staff recruitment and training strategy;
The establishment of a joint market supplement review committee, consisting of equal representation by unions and health district.

The technologists and technicians have previously provided the health minister with a report that shows staff in many x-ray and lab departments often work with only two-thirds of the required staff on most shifts. The report, Understaffed and Overworked, also reveals that employees in rural health districts spend hundred of hours "on call" each month, and frequently must return to work after hours to respond to medical emergencies.

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For more information contact Lois Lamon at (306) 960-6990

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CUPE Health Care Workers' Council of Unions
3725E Eastgate Drive
Regina, Sask
S4X 1A5

Phone: 1-866-546-2185
Fax: 306-781-8177
Email: Stephen Foley, President