Wide gap separates AUPE and health region Auxiliary Nursing Care wage positions
Edmonton – Wage proposals tabled by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees and health region employers are extremely far apart, says the leader of the union’s bargaining team in negotiations for a Multi-Employer Auxiliary Nursing Care agreement affecting more than 9,000 employees.
Both sides have now tabled their opening wage positions in the negotiations for region-wide Auxiliary Nursing Care (ANC) agreements in eight of Alberta’s nine health regions, said AUPE Staff Negotiator Jim Petrie.
“ Both sides will have to make a major effort to bridge the very large gap that now separates us,” he said.
HBA Services, the health boards of Alberta bargaining agency, tabled an offer of a pay increase of two per cent in each year of a four-year collective agreement.
The AUPE Bargaining Committee has tabled a position calling for pay increases of 10 per cent, 10 per cent and seven per cent over each year of a three-year agreement.
Petrie said the union bargaining committee’s position would recognize that ANC employees of Alberta health regions have fallen very far behind the wages paid other professional groups in Alberta’s health regions.
“ Our member are not in the groups that are now being fairly compensated for the professional work that they do,” he explained.
“ AUPE’s opening position recognizes the need for auxiliary nursing professionals to catch up to other professional groups employed by Alberta health regions.”
In addition, Petrie said, the wages of AUPE’s ANC members have fallen behind the pay of ANC employees in other jurisdictions. “AUPE’s initial bargaining position is designed to take those changes into account.”
The parties are also far apart on some other non-monetary issues, including hours of work, seniority and contract language governing layoff and recall.
HBA Services, formerly known as the Provincial Health Authorities of Alberta, is bargaining in this round on behalf of all Alberta health regions except the Calgary Health Region, which has insisted on bargaining at a separate table.
Additional bargaining dates in this round of negotiations have been set for March 29-30 and April 18-20, Petrie said.
The negotiations for new region-wide agreements are the outcome of the Labour Relations (Regional Health Authorities Restructuring) Amendment Act, passed by the Alberta Legislature in March 2003.
The legislation requires all existing agreements with all nine Alberta health regions to be consolidated into single region-wide contracts in each region.
Fifteen agreements must be consolidated at the Multi-Employer ANC table.
These negotiations are made even more complicated, Petrie said, because AUPE’s current Multi-Employer ANC agreement with the health regions is in the “expired period” under Alberta labour law, so that union negotiators are not only striving to consolidate agreements but to make improvements for members.
In addition to the old Multi-Employer ANC agreement, the contracts that must be consolidated include the old Community Health and Mental Health agreements.
AUPE represents ANC employees of all Alberta health regions.
Multi-Employer ANC Bargaining Committee
Gloria Surridge
Committee Chair
Royal Alexandra Hospital
Myrna Wright
Vice-Chair
Pincher Creek Hospital
Bob Mack
Alberta Hospital Edmonton
Terry Orcheski
St. Mary’s Hospital Camrose & Home Care
Brenda Thacker
Peace River Health Complex & Community
Audrey Nicholas
Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre Lloydminster
Remy Sanchez
Edmonton General Hospital
Terry Sawchuk
Home Care Palliser
Lorraine Stone
Community Grande Prairie
Jim Petrie
AUPE Staff Negotiator