Minister of Treasury Board and Finance Travis Toews - The Canadian Press

By Pattison Media

Amended Proposal

Minister Toews announces negotiation update with Alberta nurses

Sep 8, 2021 | 1:36 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB. — Minister of Treasury Board and Finance Travis Toews, issued a statement Wednesday about the ongoing negotiations between Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA):

“I’m pleased that AHS has issued a revised labour proposal to UNA in hopes of reaching a new collective agreement with the province’s nurses,” wrote Toews.

“The revised proposal from AHS is a long-term contract for nurses, with a wage freeze for the first three years and a modest wage increase in the fourth and fifth years of the mandate.

“This new proposal acknowledges the hard work and dedication of Alberta’s nurses, while respecting the tough fiscal situation the province is in.

“There are still a number of items that need to be negotiated, including the twice yearly lump sum payments that do not exist in any other nursing contract in Canada.

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“However, I’m hopeful the two sides will continue to work together to reach a fair and reasonable deal when formal mediation begins on September 21.”

David Harrigan, Director of Labour Relations, United Nurses of Alberta, suggested in a news release Wednesday that Minister Toews’s statement regarding the negotiations fails to acknowledge the critical need to address a lack of measures to encourage recruitment and retention of nurses.

“Efforts by AHS and the government to roll back nurses’ wages and eliminate important protections in their collective agreement are contributing to the ongoing crisis in the province’s health care facilities made worse by a shortage of nurses that has forced employers to rely on expensive staffing agencies to keep health care facilities operating,” reads the release.

“The new proposal to UNA’s bargaining committee from AHS yesterday did represent progress in negotiations for a new collective agreement with UNA, but it still includes several serious rollbacks, including a proposal that would amount to an immediate 2-per-cent pay cut for UNA members and another that would take away important scheduling protections for nurses.

“UNA was pleased that the new employer bargaining position dropped several offensive proposals, but will continue our effort in negotiations to reach an agreement that will address the critical problem of attrition and retention now faced by AHS in every part of the province,” added Harrigan.

“UNA expects to meet with the mediator on Friday and looks forward to his assistance resolving these outstanding issues in ways that are fair to UNA members and will help the health system ease the impact of the crisis it is currently experiencing.”

NDP Leader Rachel Notley, meanwhile, made the following statement in response to the government withdrawing some of their demands for rollbacks from Alberta nurses:

“With Alberta’s healthcare system in chaos and frontline healthcare heroes working around the clock to care for hundreds of Albertans with COVID-19, the UCP government has finally backed off — albeit slightly — from their unconscionable plan to cut nurses’ pay by three per cent.

“However, they continue to demand a two per cent reduction along with many other rollbacks. To be clear, the government-led attacks on these professionals cannot continue and this change in bargaining position will not be enough to combat the widespread staff shortages arising from burnout and low morale.

“Over the long weekend, we learned the government is going to bring in staff from other provinces and pay them more than current workers, a move that does nothing but further entrench distrust in this Premier.

“We need a government that supports public healthcare, now more than ever. The demand for rollbacks must stop completely. And that should be paired with support for the mental health and workplace safety of the very workers who have been on the frontlines of this pandemic.”