Labour board rejects second UNA attempt to represent LPNs at five worksites
EDMONTON – The Alberta Labour Relations Board has dismissed, for the second time, a United Nurses of Alberta request to represent Licensed Practical Nurses employed at five continuing care centres in Alberta.
Last year, UNA sought an Alberta Labour Relations Board Declaration to have Licensed Practical Nurses at the facilities, members of the auxiliary nursing care functional bargaining unit represented by AUPE, made part of the direct nursing functional bargaining unit represented by UNA. The UNA application was summarily dismissed by the board as being “without merit.”
UNA applied to the Labour Board for a reconsideration of that decision. On July 20 the Board affirmed the decision of the original panel, writing “we do not see any reviewable error” in the original panel’s decision.
AUPE, UNA, the Good Samaritan Society, the Shepherd’s Care Foundation, the David Thompson Regional Health Authority, the East Central Health Region, the Bonnyville Health Centre, and the Alberta Catholic Health Corp. all made submissions to the Labour Board.
After examining UNA’s application and the submissions of AUPE and the other parties, the original panel concluded that nothing had occurred during 2008 “that would serve to justify a change being made by the Board at this time to its long established practice of normally including the LPNs in the auxiliary nursing care unit.”
The recent review panel found “no error” in the original panel’s decision and therefore concluded the summary dismissal of the UNA application was correct.
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