For immediate release: Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2004

EDMONTON — Today’s announcement by the provincial government that Alberta’s total 2004 revenue will be almost $4 billion higher than expected clearly illustrates that the province can afford to pay its direct employees a fair wage increase in the current round of bargaining, says the president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.

“With the expiry of our contract with the province today, AUPE will be making a very fair and reasonable wage proposal to the province in the negotiations that will start later next month,” AUPE President Dan MacLennan said this morning after Alberta Finance’s announcement.

“Given the very favourable fiscal position in which the province finds itself, there is no reason that we cannot fairly and in a reasonable time frame conclude a new Master Agreement and new subsidiary agreements that are fair to all direct employees of the government,” MacLennan said.

MacLennan was meeting throughout the day today with bargaining representatives of the more than 19,000 direct employees of the Alberta Government represented by AUPE.

While the direct government employees’ contract expires today, it will continue in force until a new collective agreement is reached and ratified.

Members of the GSBC — which is made up of bargaining representatives of the nine AUPE locals that represent direct employees of the province — will meet again tomorrow to formalize the union’s positions for the current round of negotiations with the province.

Negotiations with representatives of the province’s Personnel Administration Office are scheduled to commence at formal meetings on Sept. 22-24, MacLennan said. Additional bargaining dates will likely be set at that time.

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.

In its news release this morning, Finance Alberta said the province will earmark $3 billion from the surplus to eliminate the province’s accumulated debt. This in turn will free up about $1.4 billion in annual debt servicing costs, the department said.

The department said the larger-than-expected surplus was mainly the result of non-renewable resource revenues, income tax and investment income that were higher than forecast in the original 2004 budget.

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)