AUPE files strike vote application against Edith Cavell Care Centre in Lethbridge
LETHBRIDGE – A strike vote application was filed yesterday by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees on behalf of close to 120 members at the Edith Cavell Care Centre in Lethbridge.
Members of AUPE Local 048/011 work in General Support Services and Auxiliary Nursing Care positions for the private-for-profit continuing care centre in southern Alberta.
“The strike vote application is the next necessary step to take in these negotiations to get employees at Edith Cavell the kind of contract that reflects their true worth,” said AUPE President Guy Smith.
AUPE Negotiator Dale Perry said bargaining with the employer started in September and broke down in December because the parties could not agree on health benefit and salary issues.
The union filed for a government appointed mediator in late December and began mediation in January.
“Both sides met with a mediator in Lethbridge on Sunday, however mediation failed to move the parties closer to a collective agreement,” said Perry.
AUPE is looking to create a long-term disability plan, health spending account and to make salaries consistent with 2011 Alberta Health Services levels.
Edith Cavell Care Centre is owned by Langley B.C.’s Chantelle Management Ltd., which owns and operates continuing care facilities in B.C., Alberta and California. Its four facilities in this province are all under contract with Alberta Health Services.
AUPE is Alberta’s largest union, with nearly 80,000 members in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Close to half work in health care.
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For more information:
Guy Smith, AUPE President: 780-930-3301 or 780-265-2294 (cel.)
Dale Perry, AUPE Negotiator: 780-930-3347 or 780-238-8697 (cel.)
Tyler Bedford, AUPE Communications: 780-930-3406