Public sector wages are not increasing

In response to July 23 letter, “Public sector wages rose at our expense,” (SP, July 23) the writer is missing relevant information.

At present 36 out of 40 public sector collective agreements are open, as unions have been forced to fight against government’s 3.5 per cent proposed cut since the 2017 provincial budget.

As a care aide, I haven’t seen a raise since 2016. It is wrong to blame unionized workers for our taxes.

The cost of living has increased 10.7 per cent since 2012, yet my wages have only gone up 6.6 per cent over that period of time. In health care, many providers face increasing workloads and diminishing resources. It’s a struggle to provide care in a safe environment with too few staff.

As many of my co-workers will soon be able to retire, I worry we won’t be able to recruit staff as these jobs are no longer competitive. Do we want bed closures in longterm care, reduced access to home care and longer waits in hospitals? I’m concerned about the residents, clients and patients in need of quality care. Rather than blaming workers in this province, why not look at the gross fiscal mismanagement?

I hope our community stands by public workers; we provide support and care when you need it most. We need to achieve a collective agreement that helps us catch up to the cost of living increases to boost our local economies.

We didn’t get this province into this mess and we shouldn’t be responsible for going without raises to make up for billions wasted by our elected officials. Dennel Pickering, Saskatoon