For immediate release: Mar. 04, 2003

EDMONTON –Eliminating the right to strike for more health employees would increase rather than reduce the likelihood of labour problems in the health sector, says the president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.

"When you remove the right to strike, and combine that with an arbitration system that front-line health workers know is biased against them, the result will inevitably create more problems," said Dan MacLennan.

"Denying people the right to strike and a fair arbitration process makes for bad labour relations, and bad labour relations increase the possibility of more job actions," he stated.

"We have seen that happen time and again in the health care system where large numbers of people are already denied the right to strike," MacLennan said. "If employees believe the process is unfair – and it is – they will not accept being forced into binding arbitration."

MacLennan was responding to a media report that a powerful committee of provincial ministers has decided to introduce legislation this spring that among other things would ban strikes by more health care workers, possibly including those in clinics and home care.

Just two weeks ago more than 1,000 AUPE community health members successfully bargained a collective agreement without a strike, MacLennan noted. "Clearly the collective bargaining process in this sector works now."

MacLennan also said the proposed legislation is rumoured to contain provisions dealing with the transfer of mental health services from the Alberta Mental Health Board to health regions. AUPE is concerned with this aspect too, since the union represents about 2,500 employees of the AMHB, who are now bargaining for a new collective agreement.

The key outstanding issue is the severance rights of AMHB employees. "The bargaining committee’s position is that these employees must be given the option of retaining their years of service and retaining their continuous employment, or have access to severance provisions in their collective agreement if they choose to leave," MacLennan said. "This is consistent with the law in Alberta now.

"The government needs to reconsider the proposal to take away the right to strike from health care workers and to direct the mental health board to sign a collective agreement that recognizes employees’ severance and seniority rights," MacLennan concluded.

For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-910-8392 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)