By rdnewsNOW Staff

Expires March 31, 2024

AHS and AUPE Auxiliary Nursing ratify collective agreement

May 13, 2022 | 9:40 AM

Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Alberta Union of Provincial Employee (AUPE) Auxiliary Nursing (AN) have ratified a new collective agreement.

AHS officials say the four-year agreement expires on March 31, 2024, and sets out the terms and conditions for the more than 18,000 auxiliary nursing staff who play a critical role in the healthcare system.

AHS says it is pleased to reach a positive outcome based on the mediator’s recommendations, which the health authority says reflects the current economic environment as well as the critical role that auxiliary nursing staff have played and the challenges they have faced throughout the pandemic.

The new collective agreement is said to include modest increases over four years. In addition, AHS and AUPE-AN have agreed to work together in an effort to address recruitment and retention of auxiliary nursing staff to remote and rural communities in Alberta.

Elsewhere, AHS is in mediation with Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) and AUPE-General Support Services on collective agreements.

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“We are grateful to our AHS Board and to AUPE-AN members for voting in favour of this positive outcome”, says Mauro Chies, Interim AHS President and CEO. “This would not have been possible without the dedication of the negotiation teams who have worked tirelessly over the past several months to reach an agreement. We extend our thanks to all of our auxiliary nursing staff and the healthcare teams they work with for their exceptional work and dedication to serving Albertans.”

Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board Travis Toews issued the following statement about the new collective agreement:

“I am pleased to hear that unionized members of AUPE-AN have voted to accept the Mediator’s recommendation. This is welcome news, as the agreement comes after many months of negotiations.

“Health care workers play a very important role in our province, and this has been especially apparent during the COVID pandemic.

“This new four-year contract acknowledges the hard work of auxiliary nursing members, and includes reasonable wage increases and a monetary acknowledgment for the exceptional contribution many have made during the pandemic.

“In addition, AHS and AUPE-AN have agreed to work together to address recruitment and retention of auxiliary nursing staff to remote and rural communities, and this is good news for all Albertans.

“This labour agreement is fair to both taxpayers and bargaining unit members, and continues the trend of bringing spending in line with other provinces.”