SHA says around 500 Sask. health-care workers paid late

Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) head Andrew Will apologized on Friday to health-care workers affected by the second rollout of a new pay system.

Will said that out of the almost 50,000 SHA employees being paid through the AIMS software, around 500 of them have been paid late.

“Even one situation where people aren’t getting their pay that they’ve earned is a problem that needs to be addressed,” he said. “What we are seeing in terms of numbers of people being impacted is very similar to before we implemented the AIM system.”

When asked if the workers who weren’t paid on time had since been paid accordingly he wouldn’t answer directly.

Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) said in a series on posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday that AIMS rollout was still hurting health-care in the province.

The union reported that items like IV tubing, wipes, sterile sample cups, and basic sutures were making it difficult for nurses to provide a standard of care.

AIMS is a mess. Everyone should be worried.

From an operating room nurse today →#skpoli pic.twitter.com/SxdNAhpshy

— SUNnurses (@SUNnurses) August 29, 2024

Bashir Jalloh, president of CUPE 5430, the union that represents many health care workers in Saskatchewan, isn’t as convinced the new pay system is worth all these troubles.

“As soon as they launched this program at the end of June it’s been nothing but (a) problem for us,” said Jalloh. “People are not getting paid, especially those who are (requiring) mileage or overtime.”

Jalloh said he’s still aware of health-care workers who are missing their paycheques, but one of the biggest problem right now is the job posting system.

“People are being held in their old position because the job posting system is a mess,” said Jalloh. “People can not apply for a new job, they can not move into a new job.”

He reiterated what SUN said in their social media postings in regards to supply chain orders.

“Right now they are three weeks backlogged,” said Jalloh. “Whatever you order, it will end up going to the wrong place.”

First rollout had problems, too

At the end of June, the health authority launched the AIMS program for the second time after an attempted launch in November 2022 caused so many glitches and problems, including with paycheques, that the rollout was stopped and things were taken back to the drawing board.

The previous pay system was around 50 years old, and Will said it was time the SHA moved on from the old system.

Development of AIMS was started in 2018, with the total cost expected to have been $86 million. By the end of March 2023, $157 million had been spent on the system and the forecast cost to implement it was $240 million, according to a December 2023 auditor’s report.

Will said the cost of the entire AIMS project sits at $203 million, and he believes it is worth it.

“Our previous state was extremely risky, we had more than 80 systems,” said Will. “Our payroll system was 50 years old. It was in a programming language that they don’t even train people how to program in today’s world.”

‘Optimism and excitement’

Will said the health authority was at “an extreme risk” of a problem with the old system and being unable to pay any workers.

He did acknowledge the ongoing challenges with the new system includes problems with ordering and receiving supplies but said the SHA remains committed to moving forward with the system as they work out all the bugs.

“I’m really proud of our team members, they want this to be successful, they know we need a new system,” said Will.

“It’s optimism (and) excitement about the future of having this system, but also I want to acknowledge when people are impacted it’s extremely stressful.”

The phase that was rolled out in June was the first of three phases that will eventually cover payroll, schedules, finance, budget, supply and human resources.

This phase is focused specifically on fiance, supply and human resources.

Mark Anderson, CEO of 3sHealth which is overseeing implementation of the new system, and also co-chair of the AIMS executive steering committee, said the future phases were exciting to think about.

“Right now our focus is on stabilizing wave one,” said Anderson. “We know that those are critically important and .. we think there are some exciting features in there for employees.”

The next two phases are expected to come out in the fall and then spring of 2025.

With files by Will Mandzuk and CJME

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