Saskatoon healthcare workers launch petition for safer parking

The Service Employees International Union West (SEIU-West), which represents some Saskatoon healthcare workers, has launched a petition calling for safer parking.

“They want safe parking, they want well-lit parking, they want accessible parking,” said SEIU’s president Barbara Cape. “We want to partner with every single health care worker who's affected by this.”

In December, a healthcare worker was assaulted blocks away from RUH on her way to work.

Cape says many workers at Saskatoon’s hospitals and health care facilities have to park in residential areas. The union has concerns because many areas are not well lit, especially when employees get off late or head in for an early shift.

“Can't we work together to find a park and ride or a shuttle system that makes it just a little bit safer to make it from your car to your workplace so that you can provide care?”

The petition is open to all healthcare workers — including doctors, registered nurses and pharmacists, says Cape.

“We're going to talk with the Health Authority, we're going to talk with the (provincial) government, we're going to talk with the city we're going to talk with transit, because, this is not an insurmountable problem. We just need to have some political will to get it done,” she said.

The petition has over 300 signatures so far.

In response to the launch of the petition, Health Minister Paul Merriman says his ministry is looking at security issues at Saskatchewan’s hospitals.

“We’ve had some issues there, specifically at the University Hospital, also at the General Hospital in Regina and at St. Paul’s,” said Merriman.

“We’re continuing to look at, and making sure security is there and is available,” he said. “We do want to make sure our staff is safe coming to and going to the hospital(s).”

Currently, the petition only includes Saskatoon, but Cape says it could up to Moose Jaw and other locations that have expressed similar concerns.