|
Government Services Sector
Click here to return to the previous page.
Bargaining Updates from 2004
Bargaining Update: Monday, December 13, 2004
Letters of understanding signed off in December GSBC bargaining
EDMONTON — Members of the AUPE General Service Bargaining
Committee and Government negotiators made more progress in
negotiations Dec. 9 and 10 for a new Master Agreement for
approximately 21,000 direct employees of the Alberta government.
AUPE’s GSBC and negotiators from the government’s
Personnel Administration Office reached agreement on renewing
four letters of understanding and one letter of intent, as
well as agreeing to one additional article within the Master
Agreement.
The parties agreed to:
• Letter of understanding re scheme of employment.
• Letter of understanding re wage employees (status review)
• Letter of understanding re AIDS and HIV.
• Letter of understanding re Communicable diseases.
• Letter of intent re PREP (Point Rating Evaluation Plan)
• Article 7 (Local 001 Subsidiary Agreement) amended to reflect
who should receive the allowance due to PREP changes. The
question of raising the amount of the allowance, as proposed
by AUPE, remains open.
In addition, the parties agreed to delete a letter of understanding
on PREP in the Local 002 Subsidiary Agreement.
Also during the Dec. 9-10 bargaining, the following additional
future bargaining dates were set:
• Jan. 25-26, 2005
• Feb. 16-17, 2005
• March 9-10, 2005Significant progress had been made by the
parties at bargaining in November, when 23 specific Master
Agreement articles and six letters of understanding were
signed off.
In addition, during the November negotiating sessions the
parties were able to agree to the majority of issues contained
in the nine government employee locals’ subsidiary
agreements, said Staff Negotiator Jim Petrie, who leads the
GSBC in this round of bargaining.
However, such important monetary topics as wage proposals,
overtime and salary modifiers will be dealt with later in
the negotiations, Petrie said.
Specific clauses signed off by negotiators for both sides
during the November bargaining included:
• Shift differential
pay and weekend premiums.
• Union check-off and dues.
• Employer-union relations.
• Safety and health.
Click here to see a complete list of
the articles signed off so far in negotiations.
The bargaining teams formally commenced negotiations on Nov.
16 with an exchange of proposals on all non-monetary items
in the contract.
The direct government employees’ contract expired on
Aug. 31, but it will remain in force until a new collective
agreement is ratified by members and the employer.
AUPE and the GSBC remain strongly committed to negotiating
a new Master Agreement that properly reflects the sacrifices
and contributions of the provincial government’s direct
employees over the past decade to help the province get its
financial house in order.
General Services Bargaining Committee
Dan MacLennan
Chair
Audrey Randall
Local 001
Andrea Waywanko
Local 002
Linda Laminman
Local 003
Bill Dechant
Local 004
Mike Dempsey
Local 005
Maureen Braun
Local 006
Jeri Lupul
Local 009
Penny Bates
Local 010
Bob Neale
Local 012
Jim Petrie
Staff Negotiator
Click here for printable version of Update in PDF format.
Bargaining Update: Thursday, November 18, 2004
Progress seen in AUPE bargaining for 21,000 direct government employees
EDMONTON — The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
and the Government of Alberta made significant progress
on many important issues in bargaining Tuesday and yesterday
for a new collective agreement for approximately 21,000
direct employees of the provincial government.
However, the important topic of wage proposals will be
dealt with later in negotiations.
“
While we still have a way to go, we were able to sign off
23 specific contract clauses in the new Master Agreement
over the past two days of bargaining,” said AUPE
Union Representative Jim Petrie, who leads the union’s
General Services Bargaining Committee (GSBC).
“
In addition, the parties signed six letters of understanding,
as well as the majority of issues contained in the nine
government-employee locals’ subsidiary agreements,
except for articles on salaries, overtime, protective clothing
and salary modifiers,” Petrie said.
Petrie said specific clauses signed off by negotiators
for both sides included:
• Shift differential pay and weekend premiums.
• Union check-off and dues.
• Employer-union relations.
• Safety and health.
Click here to see a complete list of the articles signed
off so far in negotiations.
The bargaining teams formally commenced negotiations on
Tuesday with an exchange of proposals on all non-monetary
items in the contract.
More bargaining dates have been scheduled for Nov. 25,
Dec. 2, 9 and 10 and Jan. 11 and 12, 2005.
The direct government employees’ contract expired
on Aug. 31, but it will remain in force until a new collective
agreement is ratified by members and the employer.
For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-232-8392
(cellular phone)
Jim Petrie, Union Representative, AUPE, 780-930-3335 or
780-919-4415 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311
or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)
Bargaining Update: Thursday, October 28, 2004
Exchange of proposals in General Services bargaining expected Nov.
16
EDMONTON — Representatives of the Alberta government’s
Personnel Administration Office now say they will be in a position
to exchange full proposals with AUPE’s General Services
Bargaining Committee on Nov. 16, the next scheduled bargaining
date.
AUPE believes a traditional approach to bargaining is the most
effective way to represent approximately 21,000 AUPE members
who are direct employees of the Alberta government in the current
round of negotiations for a new Master Agreement.
“Because of the complexity of renegotiating a Master Agreement
that needs many changes, with some areas that have not been
substantively changed in several rounds of negotiations, AUPE
strongly believes that the traditional approach is the most
effective way to represent members’ interests,”
said AUPE Staff Negotiator Jim Petrie, who leads the union’s
bargaining committee.
Under the traditional approach, Petrie explained, the parties
exchange proposals at the beginning of bargaining and then work
from those proposals.
However, during scheduled bargaining sessions on Oct. 25 and
26, PAO representatives informed AUPE that they wished to continue
using the “conceptual approach” to bargaining, in
which the parties first discuss the issues before tabling proposals.
As a result, while AUPE was ready to exchange proposals on Oct.
25, the employer representatives were not.
“It’s unfortunate that the employer continued to
push for the conceptual approach through our October bargaining
dates, because AUPE had indicated clearly in September that
it intended to take a traditional approach to bargaining in
this round,” Petrie said.
“At this point, however, I expect negotiations to be able
to proceed when they resume on Nov. 16,” he said.
Additional bargaining dates have also been scheduled. They are:
• Nov. 17 and Nov. 25
• Dec. 2, 9 and 10
• Jan. 11 and 12, 2005
AUPE will keep members informed of progress throughout bargaining
through the union Website — www.aupe.org — and printed
updates, Petrie said.
The direct government employees’ contract expired on Aug.
31, but it will continue in force until a new collective agreement
is ratified by members.
Bargaining Update: Wednesday, September 22, 2004
AUPE negotiates wage offer for Calgary Health Region GSS employees
CALGARY — A wage offer has been negotiated by AUPE
for all existing general support service collective agreements
in the Calgary Health Region that included provisions for
a wage re-opener.
In addition to Calgary Health Region units represented by
AUPE before the Bill 27 runoff votes, this includes former
CUPE Rural, HSAA Rural and AUPE Community Health units for
the period of April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2005.
If the deal is ratified, most classifications will receive
a retroactive wage increase of three per cent to April 1,
2004, said Union Representative Malcolm McNaughton, who leads
AUPE’s Calgary Health Region General Support Service
Bargaining Team.
Food Services, Housekeeping and Laundry employees will get
one per cent as a lump sum payment.
Approximately 3,200 members will be eligible to receive either
the three-per-cent salary increase or the one-per-cent lump-sum
payment. The Bargaining Committee worked tirelessly to get
these results, McNaughton said.
The increases are not part of the ongoing Bill 27 negotiations
for a Receiving Agreement.
Ballots for a ratification vote on this wage settlement are
being processed and will be in the mail shortly.
Meanwhile, bargaining for a new region-wide General Support
Service agreement between AUPE and the CHR is finally moving
ahead.
Since June, the AUPE negotiating team held six days of negotiations
in the Receiving Agreement bargaining with the employer, on
Sept. 8-10 and Sept. 20-21.
The parties have agreed to meet again on Oct. 4-6, Oct. 26-28
and Dec. 7-9, 2004, and Jan. 6-7, Feb. 1-3 and Feb. 15-17,
2005.
During these talks, the following articles have been signed
off:
Article 2 Application
Article 3 Management Rights
Article 4 Recognition
Article 5 Bulletin Boards
Article 6 Union Membership
Article 7 Negotiations
Article 9 Grievance Procedure
Article 10 Union Stewards
Article 11 Employer-Employee Relations
Article 12 No Discrimination
Article 18 Acting Incumbents
Article 32 Leave of Absence
Article 33 Salary Increments/Recognition of Previous Experience
Article 39 Terms of Collective Agreement
Article 40 Notice
Some major issues remain outstanding in the Receiving Agreement
negotiations.
These are hours of work, sick leave, vacation, benefits within the
Mental Health Agreement, multiple positions and layoff & recall.
Calgary Health GSS Bargaining Committee
Shari McGlashing — Alberta Children’s Hospital
Reynold Morgan — Foothills Medical Centre
Gerard Raby — Foothills Medical Centre Maintenance
Donald Brandford — Peter Lougheed Centre
Rose Wright — Thornhill-Community
Barb Parker — High River Hospital
Karla Downie — Foothills Medical Centre
Amelia Voth — Foothills-Maintenance
Ron Cousins — Rockyview Hospital
Connie Quayle — Claresholm Care Centrecheduled for Oct. 5
and 6, 2004. AUPE expects to table complete monetary proposals at
that time.
Bargaining Update: Wednesday, September 8, 2004
Direct government employees’ agreement should reflect sacrifices
and contributions, MacLennan says
EDMONTON — Members of AUPE’s General Service Bargaining
Committee ended two days of meetings last week strongly committed
to negotiating a new collective agreement that properly reflects
the sacrifices and contributions of the provincial government’s
direct employees.
“Alberta government employees deserve to see gains in this
round of negotiations that reflect the sacrifices and the contributions
they have made over more than a decade to help the government
get the province’s financial house in order,” said
AUPE President Dan MacLennan.
AUPE bargaining representatives will sit down with their provincial
government counterparts on Sept. 22 to begin negotiating a new
collective agreement for more than 19,000 direct employees of
the government.
The General Service Bargaining Committee is expected to formally
announce its starting position for a wage increase and other issues
on that day, said senior Staff Negotiator Jim Petrie after two
days of meetings with the GSBC at AUPE Headquarters in Edmonton
Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.
The direct government employees’ contract expired on Aug.
31, but it will continue in force until a new collective agreement
is reached and ratified.
The GSBC is scheduled to meet again in Edmonton for one day Sept.
14 to make final preparations for the beginning of negotiations.
The GSBC will put forward “fair and realistic” bargaining
positions in this round of negotiations, Petrie said.
He said the sentiment at the Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 meetings was
“very strong” that provincial employees now deserve
recognition in their paycheques for the important role they play
in Alberta’s very favourable current financial situation.
“The wage increase in this next collective agreement should
take into account the fact that Alberta’s public employees
have contributed in major ways to the soundness of the province’s
business position during a period of great wealth,” Petrie
said.
In addition to their roles running the province’s finances,
and providing cost-effective public services, Petrie noted that
provincial employees have tempered their demands for wage increases
since the government cut public employees’ wages by five
per cent in the 1990s.
“The government said at the time that significant pay cuts
were necessary to get Alberta’s financial house in order,”
said MacLennan. “Alberta’s financial picture is now
very bright. The GSBC’s members clearly felt strongly that
direct provincial employees deserve to be rewarded for their contribution.”
Petrie said that the wage increase proposal put forward by AUPE
when the bargaining teams meet on Sept. 22 “will also take
into account the fast-rising cost of living in Alberta, as well
as what others are now paid to do comparable jobs for other governments
and in the private sector.”
“We have heard repeatedly from the employer that our province’s
employees to a superlative job,” said MacLennan after the
GSBC meeting. “These employees’ new collective agreement
needs to reflect that reality.”
The GSBC is made up of bargaining representatives from each of
the nine AUPE locals that represent direct employees of the province.
Additional bargaining dates will likely be set at that time after
the first formal meetings with representatives of the province’s
Personnel Administration Office Sept. 22-24, Petrie said.
All government service locals’ bargaining representatives
plus members of the GSBC met for two days in June to provide the
committee with the mandate it needs to negotiate a new Master
Agreement as well as new Subsidiary Agreements for each AUPE government
service local.
Bargaining Update: Wednesday, June 9, 2004
GSBC Conference set for AUPE Edmonton headquarters, June 24 and
25
EDMONTON - The Government Service Bargaining Committee (GSBC) Conference will be held at AUPE Headquarters in West Edmonton on June 24 and 25.
An agenda for the important meeting of GSBC members and members of government service locals' bargaining committees has now been set, said Staff Negotiator Jim Petrie, who will lead the union bargaining team in this important round of negotiations.
"We will deal first with such issues as the question of a single table versus multiple tables, then move on to hearing an economic update and discussing development of a communications plan for bargaining," Petrie said.
"Later on, we will focus on the specific positions that members want us to take at the bargaining table," he said.
"There will also be discussions on the Point Rating Evaluation Plan and how it affects direct employees of the Alberta government.
The important bargaining conference is open to members of the GSBC and members and alternates from the bargaining committees of the nine AUPE locals that represent about 20,000 direct employees of the Alberta provincial government.
Registration for the conference will commence at 8:30 a.m. on June 24 at AUPE headquarters in Edmonton, and the conference will continue from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. that day and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, June 25.
AUPE headquarters is located at 10451 - 170th Street NW in Edmonton.
A key challenge for participants will be to find ways to fully involve AUPE members in the effort to win significant gains for government employees in the largest single collective agreement in Alberta.
AUPE locals are encouraged to send as many bargaining committee members and alternates as possible.
AUPE headquarters will pay for five elected bargaining committee members or alternates from each local to attend the conference. Additional participants must be paid at the expense of their local.
The conference registrar is Renee Shaw, who can be contacted at 930-3404 in Edmonton on AUPE's province-wide toll-free line, 1-800-232-7284.
Registration forms must be returned to Ms Shaw no later than Friday, June 18, 2004.
The bargaining conference is a key part of the process of hammering out AUPE's positions for the extremely important round of negotiations.
The current collective agreement with the government is set to expire on Aug. 31, 2004. Formal bargaining between AUPE and Government of Alberta representatives is expected to commence during the summer months.
Click here for a link to a PDF copy of the conference registration form .
For immediate release: Sunday, May 30,
2004
AUPE provincial employee bargaining conference to kick off 2004
contract talks with province
EDMONTON - The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees will hold a conference for bargaining representatives of direct employees of the provincial government June 24 and 25 in the capital city.
"We are very pleased and excited by the prospects of this important event on the road to a new collective agreement for Alberta's approximately 20,000 direct provincial government employees," said AUPE President Dan MacLennan today. "This is the kick-off to the 2004 bargaining process.
"This time we are sitting down with the government to negotiate the full government service Master and Subsidiary Agreements," MacLennan noted. "This is the largest single collective agreement in Alberta and successfully concluding negotiations will be a crucial task for our bargaining teams and our membership.
"This bargaining conference is the key to hammering out AUPE's positions for these extremely important negotiations," MacLennan said.
Members of the elected bargaining committees of all direct provincial government AUPE locals will attend the bargaining conference, which is expected to take place at AUPE's provincial headquarters facility in West Edmonton.
The current collective agreement with the government is set to expire on Aug. 31. Bargaining between AUPE and Government of Alberta representatives is expected to commence during the summer months.
The object of the bargaining conference will be to take the results of bargaining surveys, local elected council input and other tools for determining bargaining issues in order to come up with a set of priorities for the upcoming round of negotiations, MacLennan explained.
"We hope to come out of this conference with a clear picture of the changes to the Master and Subsidiary Agreements that are necessary to get a collective agreement with which our members will be satisfied," he said.
"In addition, we hope to have a clear picture of our members' salary expectations going into this round of bargaining," MacLennan concluded.
For more information, please contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-232-8392 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)
Bargaining Update: Friday, Jan. 23,
2004
Actions pondered as impasse continues in wage-reopener negotiations
with province
EDMONTON - Direct employees of the provincial government throughout Alberta need to continue writing their MLAs about the government's unfair and inadequate wage offer, says AUPE President Dan MacLennan.
"We know that most of Alberta's MLAs understand the good work provincial employees do and the rising cost of living that all Albertans face," MacLennan said. "But it's incumbent upon AUPE members to keep reminding our MLAs about what's happening in these negotiations, and of the need for a fair agreement."
Click here for a link to the Legislature's Web page for information on how to contact your ML.
However, MacLennan said, "we may soon have to take more dramatic and more public action to push the employer toward a fair wage increase."
"Everyone in Alberta understands that the current offer is completely unacceptable," MacLennan said. "This impasse shouldn't continue. Our goal is to reach a fair and acceptable settlement."
Other measures to increase the pressure on the provincial government to make a fair and reasonable wage offer are now being considered by the General Service Bargaining Committee as the wage-reopener impasse between AUPE and the province continues, said Union Representative Jim Petrie.
Petrie said GSBC members talked by conference call last week and will meet again soon to consider various ways - including more large-scale information picketing - to bring pressure to bear on the employer, which is so far sticking to its offer of a one-per-cent wage increase.
AUPE entered wage-reopener negotiations with a reasonable and easily supportable position of six per cent.
"So far, the employer has not retreated from its very unreasonable position," said Petrie, who leads the AUPE bargaining team. "However, we are confident that a fair deal can still be reached."
Petrie noted that the Alberta economy continues to perform strongly and that provincial coffers are overflowing with a $3.35-billion surplus. "Clearly the government can afford to pay its employees what they deserve."
At the same time, as reported in the latest edition of Economic Outlook prepared by AUPE Research Officer Aaron Mireau, Alberta continues to have the highest rate of inflation in Canada and Alberta continues to be the most expensive province in Canada in terms of purchasing a given basket of goods and services.
Click here to read a copy of Economic Outloo.
In December, approximately 2,000 AUPE members in 10 communities took part in information pickets to show their anger and frustration with the government's unrealistic wage offer.
Nearly 900 members took part in the largest information picket, a demonstration of support for the GSBC in downtown Edmonton on Dec. 4.
Petrie noted that AUPE remains prepared to meet with government negotiators at any time there is realistic hope of progress being made.
In addition to the soaring cost of living, heating and insurance costs faced by all Albertans, direct government employees also face higher costs from specific policies imposed by their employer, including increases in payroll deduction for pension and benefit programs.
The GSBC includes representatives from all nine AUPE Locals - numbered 001 to 012 - that represent direct employees of the government.
In 2001, AUPE and the government agreed during negotiations for the collective agreement that is now in effect to sit down to wage-reopener talks in the third year of the contract. In a wage-reopener, the union and employer agree to negotiate wages for the last year of the collective agreement, leaving all other provisions in place in the
contract.
For more information, contact your GSBC Local Representative
General Service Bargaining Committee
Chair Dan MacLennan 780-232-8392 (Cellular)
Local 001 Audrey Randall 780-624-8341 (Residence)
Local 002 Andrea Waywanko 780-451-3287 (Residence)
Local 003 Mike Rennich 780-474-1237 (Residence)
Local 004 Bill Dechant 780-459-3435 (Residence)
Local 005 Kimpton Bradford 780-926-4981 (Residence)
Local 006 Maureen Braun 780-475-7991 (Residence)
Local 009 Brenda Stewart 403-346-0024 (Residence)
Local 010 Jeri Lupul 780-489-7868 (Residence)
Local 012 Doug Knight 780-624-5558 (Residence)
Staff Rep Jim Petrie 780-930-3335 (Office)
1-800-232-7284, Press 1
|
