CALGARY – Carewest workers will stage another rally in Calgary this week as they fight back against unfair rollbacks being demanded by their employer.
“These front-line workers are as determined as ever to get a fair contract from Carewest, but the employer continues to treat them with contempt by demanding concessions in bargaining,” says Bobby-Joe Borodey, vice-president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), which represents 98,000 workers, including more than 62,000 health-care workers.
Carewest has proposed no wage increases for 2020 and 2024, with raises for the other years limited to 1.0 per cent or 1.25 per cent for 1,500 nursing-care workers.
The employer is also seeking concessions including working some overtime without overtime pay; the ability to impose mandatory overtime; the ability to impose mandatory changes to scheduled vacation time; limiting time off for medical appointments; and making it harder to file grievances.
“For nearly three years, these nursing-care workers have endured everything the global COVID-19 pandemic has thrown at them. They have stood firm as a killer virus swept through their workplaces, attacking the residents they love,” she says.
“They put their own health on the line, and the health of their families, to do what was needed. They have shown more strength than most of us can imagine. If Carewest thinks they aren’t strong enough to resist attacks on their working conditions, then we’ll have to teach them a lesson.”
An information picket and rally will be held on Tuesday.
TIME:
Tuesday, Jan. 31.
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
LOCATION:
Carewest Colonel Belcher
1939 Veteran's Way NW, Calgary.
This follows a rally held at the same site in November 2022.
Bobby-Joe Borodey will be available for interviews.
Please contact Terry Inigo-Jones, communications officer, at t.inigo-jones@aupe.org or 403-831-4394.