An agreement has been reached between the government and health care unions to enact a Provincial Emergency Order to address labour mobility in the health care system, due to the increase in COVID-19 cases. Health Minister Paul Merriman says it means greater flexibility in scheduling and redirecting health care workers to areas experiencing capacity pressures and in the use of supplementary resources.

A previous Letter of Understanding expired earlier this year. Merriman says, “We are grateful for the efforts of all the health care providers and their commitment to patients, residents and clients, especially during these unprecedented times.”

The unions involved are the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan (HSAS), Saskatchewan Employees International Union – West (SEIU-West), Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union – SAHO (SGEU), and Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN).