Saskatchewan first province to regulate use of safety needles

Minister of Labour announces province will commit to safety-engineered
needles; SEIU Canada, Saskatchewan's labour movement claim victory

REGINA, SK, Oct. 28 /CNW/ - Saskatchewan will become the first province
in Canada to mandate the use of safety-engineered needles and medical sharps
across the province, announced Debra Higgins, the province's Labour Minister.

Higgins told the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour's (SFL) annual
convention this morning that her government will implement regulations to
protect workers from diseases like HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B and C through the
mandatory use of engineering controls. Rest assured Saskatchewan will be the
first province in Canada to mandate the use of these safety controls," Higgins
says.

"We are delighted the Saskatchewan government has taken this necessary
step to protect workers and save lives," says Sharleen Stewart, Canadian
International Vice President for the Service Employees International Union
(SEIU). "Premier Calvert's and Minister Higgins' leadership sets a high
standard for worker protection in this province and galvanizes this NDP
government as a leader in protecting workers."

Higgins told delegates at the SFL convention that her government will
work with the stakeholders in the province to enact the regulation.

Ted Mansell, National Health and Safety Coordinator for SEIU, who has
been leading the campaign, says this regulation will save thousands of workers
the agony of undergoing months of testing, and the emotional anguish that goes
along with it. "This will translate to a minimum savings of a $1.4 million per
year," he says.

But the regulation announced today goes beyond the scope of health care.
"People in all of Saskatchewan's workplaces will be better protected. By
eliminating the use of conventional needles, everyone from postal workers who
find syringes in mailboxes to children who find needles in the province's
playgrounds will be safer."

SEIU Canada's national campaign to prevent needle injuries is also
running in Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Over 70,000 workers across Canada are
injured every year by used needles in the workplace.

SEIU Canada represents 93,000 workers, the majority of whom work in
health care.

For further information: Contact: Carl Mavromichalis, National,
Communications Officer, Primary Phone: (416) 951-4905, E-mail:
mavromichalisc@seiu.ca