I want to set the story straight about why we are not happy about the offer made by SAHO (Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations) to the health care workers. It is NOT, as most think, about the wages we have been offered; we would accept that in a minute. First is the fact that they want to send us all over our region, which for me extends from the Manitoba border to Weyburn and from the United States border to Bengough, at my own expense. I have been employed with SAHO for six years and love my job, however, client care and families will suffer if we accept this concession from our employer. Secondly, there are some who do not have a driver’s license, which makes floating between places impossible. The attitude that these people, after years of service, can just deal with it is unbelievable. Thirdly, think about child care. It is hard enough for young workers who work shift work to get someone to watch their child. Now add another hour or two for driving either way. As a Home Care worker, who already has erratic hours, they are wanting to spread my day out over a 12-hour period, so I will be expected to work a few hours and then sit around and then go back to work again later. So I will be available for 12 hours but only paid for eight. Split shifts and multisite work has always been practiced and accepted by the people who want to do such at our choice, so that is nothing new; the new part is that the employer wants to take the choice out of it for the employee and demand that we all participate.

Now for the person reading this who does not care about mine or my family’s problems with my workplace, let me give you this food for thought. Your care when you need it will not be coming from people in your community who care about you. However, it may be coming from someone who does not know you from a hole in the ground and therefore does not care about you as well. Now you get qualified care from people who either know you, or there is a very good chance that they know a family member of yours, and therefore are a little more patient and compassionate.

I want you to think about who responds to you when you call 911, or who takes care of you in the hospital. Ninety per cent of the time it will be someone who belongs to this union of health care works.

We do not want what the nurses got. What we want is what we are worth in our own right.

Janet Alberts,

Estevan, Sask.