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By rdnewsNOW staff/Pattison Media

HSAA calls for DynaLIFE to commit to wage fairness and return to bargaining

Apr 25, 2023 | 3:26 PM

Alberta health-care workers employed by DynaLIFE are asking their employer to put patients and wage fairness ahead of profits and return to the bargaining table.

After a year of negotiations, officials with Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) say DynaLIFE is pushing their members to an impasse which may lead to job action or accepting different wages for the same work, with the same company.

HSAA says DynaLIFE was awarded a contract by the UCP government to provide most community laboratory services in Alberta, which included transitioning workers from Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL) to DynaLIFE with a previously negotiated contract.

HSAA alleges DynaLIFE believes their employees do not deserve the same compensation as their colleagues who transitioned from APL. HSAA says it believes lab workers deserve the same pay and same benefits for the same work. HSAA says DynaLIFE, however, refuses to move from their unfair position, thus bargaining has broken down and informal mediation was unsuccessful.

This week, HSAA says negotiations begin on an Essential Services Agreement (ESA) in preparation for formal mediation. If formal mediation is unsuccessful, HSAA says it could lead to a strike or a lock out. The organization says an ESA must be in place prior to formal mediation to ensure the safety of Albertans in that event.

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“What kind of employer would push the employees to job action to maintain wage inequity of critical health-care workers on the heels of a pandemic and when Albertans are unable to get timely access to laboratory services?” said HSAA President Mike Parker “How will that attract the scarce laboratory workers we need? How will that ensure Albertans do not have to pay for health care access with their credit card?”

HSAA says that despite promises by the UCP government that the transition will provide more timely access to care and a more stable workforce, the organization says there are over 200 vacancies with DynaLIFE and rapidly ballooning wait times for community laboratory services.

“This is about fairness and addressing the staffing shortages in our lab system that prevent Albertans from accessing the care they need.” continued Parker “We will not participate in a race to the bottom on wages to maintain profits for shareholders.”

HSAA says it wants DynaLIFE to either be publicly accountable for pushing its members to possible job action or return to the bargaining table next week, willing to negotiate wage parity for all its employees.

“We want to work with DynaLIFE at the bargaining table to help improve access to laboratory services for Albertans. And that means investing in the most important part, our critical laboratory professionals” concluded Parker.

“Rather than focus on providing the services they’re contracted to provide, DynaLIFE has consistently attempted to weaken conditions for their workers in pursuit of more profit,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “Working conditions are care conditions; lab workers in this province deserve better than being disrespected at the bargaining table and Albertans deserve to know that their health care services won’t continue to be put into jeopardy for the sake of corporate profit.”

“With an election around the corner, the public system has had to once again step in to help fix the failings of privatized health care. Now that the negative impacts of this deal on both workers and patients has become impossible to ignore, we’re seeing the UCP government scrambling to do damage-control for the company,” said Gallaway. “This is exactly what health care workers and advocates were concerned would happen. DynaLIFE is showing Albertans why contracting out our community labs and other health care services to for-profit companies is such a bad idea.”

“Despite the UCP’s promises that DynaLIFE would provide more timely access to care and a more stable workforce, that is not the case,” said David Shepherd, Alberta NDP Health Critic. “Instead DynaLIFE is choosing to go to war with its employees following a breakdown in year-long negotiations. If mediation is not successful there may be a strike or lockout on the horizon.”

“This erosion and mismanagement of our publicly funded health care cannot continue,” added Shepherd. “Albertans’ lives are at risk because of the chaos in health care caused by Danielle Smith and the UCP government.

“DynaLIFE needs to be held accountable to Albertans and to deliver the timely care they are legally contracted to provide.

“Should the Alberta NDP form government in May, we will end the chaos in health care. We will support our frontline health-care workers and we will ensure Albertans get the care they need when they need it, and that definitely includes timely lab work.”

Meantime, Cathy Kiss, spokesperson for DynaLIFE Medical Labs, says DynaLIFE values its employees and continues to be engaged in the bargaining process.

“When voluntary mediation is unable to reach resolution, the next step in the process is to move to formal mediation,” she explains. “In order to commence formal mediation, HSAA and DynaLIFE must first reach an Essential Service Agreement (ESA), as a requirement pursuant to the Alberta Labour Relations Code. Dates have been scheduled to begin ESA bargaining so the parties can continue to move forward with formal meditation.”

Kiss says DynaLIFE is committed to reaching a collective agreement with HSAA which is in the best interest of their staff and Albertans.

“These negotiations include DynaLIFE employees in Edmonton and surrounding areas, Red Deer, Evansburg, Lloydminster, Fort McMurray and Camrose whose collective agreement expired in March 2022,” says Kiss. “Employees who transitioned from APL already have a current Collective Agreement. These negotiations do not impact employees in Calgary, Lethbridge or southern Alberta.”

“As part of these negotiations,” adds Kiss. “Wages, term and pensions employment are under discussion as there are differences in wages/terms and conditions of employment between existing DynaLIFE employees and the employees DynaLIFE acquired from APL as part of the transition of community lab services from APL to DynaLIFE.”