More than 500 AUPE members benefit from new Extendicare agreement
EDMONTON – More than 500 members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees will receive substantially improved pay and benefits after ratifying a new agreement with their employer, Extendicare Canada Inc., this month.
The new, mediated agreement covers Extendicare’s Cedars Villa and Hillcrest worksites in Calgary, Holyrood in Edmonton, Athabasca (Auxiliary Nursing and Support Services) and Mayerthorpe. Holyrood was the final worksite to ratify the agreement in a May 27 vote. The agreement is in force until Dec. 31, 2012.
“Our negotiating team made a strong case for better employee compensation and benefits in mediation, and I’m glad that our Extendicare members have been rewarded with a much-improved collective agreement as a result,” said AUPE Staff Negotiator John Wevers.
“For the life of this agreement, our Extendicare members will have a guarantee that they will not lose their jobs to contracting out. By the end of the agreement they will have a long-term disability insurance program for the first time. These are important protections for our members,” he said.
The new collective agreement delivers annual general wage increases for Licensed Practical Nurses that match increases in the Multi-Employer Provincial Auxiliary Nursing Care agreement. Health Care Aides and Care Aides will receive a 25-per-cent increase over the life of the agreement, Recreation Aides and Unit Clerks will receive an 18.5-per-cent increase, and all other classifications will receive a total 12-per-cent increase. General Support Services employees will also receive a $750 signing bonus.
The agreement increases weekend premiums to $3.25 per hour for Auxiliary Nursing employees and to $2.25 per hour for General Support Service workers. Shift differentials for Auxiliary Nursing are set at $2.50 per hour for evenings, and $3.00 per hour for nights, with the night premium increases to $4.00 per hour effective January 1, 2011. The shift differential for General Support Services employees is set at $2.25 per hour.
Other benefits include double-time for work on Christmas Day (plus an extra day off with regular pay for full-time employees), three paid days to LPNs for professional development, employer RRSP contributions of 55 cents per hour, travel allowance of 44 cents per kilometer, and an additional five days vacation with pay after 30 years of continuous service.
The agreement also standardizes language for all non-monetary articles in all six collective agreement.
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For more information contact:
John Wevers, Staff Negotiator, AUPE – 780-930-3349 or 780-238-4767 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Director of Communications, AUPE – 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)