SAHO SUN Bargaining Update

Union: Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN)

Bargaining Dates: September 1, 2 and 3, September 15, 16, 17 and 18, October 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 16, 2026

Next Bargaining Dates: November 2, 3, 4, 2026

 During the most recent bargaining sessions, the parties continued to review the monetary package. Dialogue was productive, with agreement in principle reached on a number of key items.

Travel for Community Nurses required more extensive consideration and remains an outstanding issue. SAHO is committed to working toward a resolution and looks forward to building on the progress made as negotiations continue.

Agreement Reached

During these sessions, the parties reached agreement on:

• Article 6.15 - Orientation of New Members 
• Article 7.03 - Work Schedules 
• Article 27.09 - Notification of Successful Applicant 
• Article 57.01, 57.02, 57.03 and 57.14 - Nursing Advisory Committee 
• A new Land Acknowledgment 
• Updates to Appendices “B” and “C” and a new Letter of Understanding strengthening the commitment to Article 5 - Representative Workforce. 
• Article 9 - Charge Pay 
• Article 15 - Vacation Entitlement 
• Return for Service Letter of Understanding, and the Letter of Understanding Re: Movement of Dialysis Employees. 

Discussions in Progress

• Nursing Resource Teams/Travel Pools 
• Significant issues remain unresolved under: 
  • Article 26 - Multi-Site 
  • Article 37 - Employees on Other Than Full-Time Status 

SAHO’s Response to SUN’s Proposal Regarding Nurse Patient Ratios

• SAHO prefers to retain and continue utilizing existing language in the collective agreement which addresses these issues. 
• The current SAHO/SUN collective agreement provides for Nursing Advisory Committees (NAC) and Independent Assessment Committees (IAC), which address issues such as safe nursing practice workload concerns. 
• The IAC process in Saskatchewan is unique in Canada as its recommendations are binding. Where there is an IAC hearing, those recommendations typically include increasing the complement of registered nurses. This acts in a similar manner to nurse-to-patient ratios, defining the number of registered nurses required in a third-party binding process to provide safe nursing practice. 
• SAHO’s position is that the SUN/SAHO collective agreement has the strongest IAC language in Canada, which is an effective tool to address the concerns brought forward by SUN. 

Articles of Note

SAHO believes it is important to distinguish between what has been proposed and how those proposals have been characterized, particularly with respect to Articles 45 and 26 and their implications for nurses and patient care.

Articles 45.1 (a) and 45.1 (b) – Float

SUN’s assertion:

• SUN seems to have inferred that Article 45.1 (a) from the existing language, which has been in place for decades, could result in high levels of unrestricted floating of nurses throughout the province.
• To be clear, SAHO has not made any proposal to change the float language for Article 45.1 (a). SAHO’s proposal would leave the float language as it has been for the past 35 years.

SAHO’s proposal includes:

• A limited change to Article 45.1 (b) to allow a nurse to float outside their facility in narrow emergency circumstances where a medically necessary service is required and the situation is not related to a chronic staffing shortage, vacation, unplanned sick leave or a leave of absence.

• SAHO believes this approach provides a reasonable balance between responding to urgent patient needs and respecting the working conditions of nurses.

Article 26 - Multi-Site and Community Nursing

• SAHO’s proposals are intended to ensure the Employer may maintain its current community nursing practices and ensure patients continue to receive care in their homes, communities and farms. 
• SAHO has proposed language which would require the Employer to consult with SUN when creating a position which would travel more than a determined kilometer range on a regular and ongoing basis; such positions would also need to meet set criteria. 
• SAHO proposed language which would require the parties to meet to discuss and find a resolution where an Employee is regularly being asked to travel outside of their Geographic Work Area. 
• This proposal includes language confirming the Employer may not assign travel which would result in an employee being required to work overtime against their wishes. 

Community nursing requires flexibility due to short notice changes in patient needs, including the type of care required, such as specialized services such as wound care and public health nursing. The language proposed by SAHO is intended to balance working conditions for employees and patient care needs.

Community positions have historically identified the areas served and the travel requirements associated with the position on the job posting. This allows nurses to make an informed decision prior to applying for a position in the community. SAHO is not proposing to change this practice. This information would continue to allow nurses to make an informed decision about whether a position is suitable before applying.

Next Steps

SAHO looks forward to continuing constructive discussions on these important matters, with a shared focus on ensuring patients and residents continue to receive the care, programs and services they need.

Union/SUN October 23, 2026