(rdnewsNOW/Jordan Rein)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19 and Jordan Rein

GOV'T: UNION'S DEMANDS ARE, "EXTREME"

AUPE extends rally cry to outside Red Deer Regional Hospital

Jul 5, 2024 | 4:27 PM

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) took to the streets outside Red Deer Regional Hospital on Friday to make louder their calls for the government to give them a fair collective bargaining agreement.

The union has held around 50 town halls around the province over the last several weeks to make it clear they’d like to see bargaining done fairly and with open minds.

Darren Graham, vice president, AUPE, says inflation has had a severe impact on AUPE members, to an estimated tune of a 15 per cent pay cut over the last decade.

“We need more to make ends meet. We have members going to the food bank, and it’s just not right when you work a full-time job in this province that you should have to rely on social supports, especially working in a unionized government position,” says Graham, also citing a lack of mental health benefits for workers.

“These folks you see out here today are the backbone of the health care system and other public services offered in Alberta. 24/7/365, there’s an AUPE member providing services to Albertans.”

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Graham adds that members are fearful of privatization, particularly with the reconfiguring, or, “break-up,” as he calls it, of Alberta Health Services.

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“We want to make sure that we’re also attaining job security in this round of negotiations,” he says. “That means for us that our jobs are secure, but for Albertans, it means the services we provide to them 24/7/365 are secure and that they are secure in their communities.”

Graham points to the removal of in-house laundry services at Red Deer Regional a few years ago, which saw 59 AUPE workers lose their jobs.

That came in fall 2021, about a year after then-health minister Tyler Shandro announced 11,000 AHS job cuts, and a year after AHS put out a request for proposals to attain a third-party provider for linens services.

When members get fair wages, Graham adds, is when more money gets pumped into local economies. When members don’t, and they are brunt out on top of that, is when they leave the province, taking their dollars elsewhere.

Sandra Azocar, also VP with AUPE, says members also work in the legal aid sector, which was in the news this week after having its contract terminated by the province.

“It’s a concern in terms of both labour relations and its potential implications on the services themselves. Albertans who access legal aid are those who are unable to afford legal representation, and who are the most vulnerable in our community — such as those fleeing domestic violence or needing assistance with custody situations.”

Azocar says that by speaking out on behalf of members, and as importantly, for Albertans, the union hopes the government will do the right thing.

“Government is confused by the narrative AUPE’s president, Guy Smith, is trying to create through his recent town hall meetings and the so called ‘disrespect’ he suggests they are facing in collective bargaining,” says Nate Horner, Treasury Board president and Minister of Finance.

“As an opening offer, government has proposed increases that match numerous settlements AUPE has already agreed to and recommended to their members in municipalities and in extended health care out to 2026. The government’s opening offer also aligns with the Conference Board of Canada’s findings that most working Albertans received a salary increase between two and three per cent in 2023 and 2024.”

Horner continues, saying AUPE union leaders are demanding a 26 per cent increase over three years, inclusive of a 13 per cent increase this year.

He says the Alberta government approaches bargaining and wages from an evidence-based perspective.

Looking across Canada, he says the government does not see any publicly-funded employees receiving the type of settlement AUPE is demanding.

“Given the union’s extreme wage positions, working towards a settlement in a timely manner will be difficult and result in delays getting a fair and reasonable wage increase to public sector employees,” the minister says.

“The Alberta government will not increase taxes or cut programs, services, or workers to give unprecedented salary increases that will result in pay well above market rates. Rather, we must balance our ability to invest in programs and services Albertans rely on with fair and competitive compensation for workers.”

The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) and United Nurses of Alberta (UNA), whom Graham noted are in similar contract situations, also joined AUPE members at the Friday rally.

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