Collective Agreement Ahs Una
“It is clear that both sides want to reach an agreement, and it is important that this is done quickly. Union officials announced Thursday night that the local presidents` instructions to their bargaining committee made it clear that the cuts in members` wages and the long-established provisions of the collective agreement were unacceptable. In an email Wednesday to RAELENE Fitz, AHS`s senior negotiator, and other members of the employers` bargaining committee, UNA Industrial Relations Director David Harrigan told AHS that the union was cancelling a meeting scheduled for Aug. 31 to negotiate essential service agreements at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. because it is no longer necessary. The last four-year collective agreement with Alberta Health Services and UNA expired in the spring of 2020. To facilitate the process, union officials said the bargaining committee had been ordered to withdraw all UNA proposals for essential services agreements and to accept, as a necessary step towards immediate mediation, to accept all proposals from the employer`s staff for essential services. “The recent steps taken by the AHS to hire contract nurses from outside the province at much higher rates than those in the UNA collective agreement show that the problem AHS faces is chronic, year-round and provincial, not primarily in rural areas or simply due to the COVID-19 pandemic and seasonal staff vacations.” The UNA represents more than 30,000 nurses and several other health care workers. The agreement also applies to UNA members working for Covenant Health, Lamont Health Care and The Bethany Group (Canmore). “As a result, we have now reached an agreement on essential services,” Harrigan said. The UNA will present the agreement to the Commissioner today. Thousands of Alberta nurses will receive an increase in funding if they ratify a proposed set of recommendations for a new collective agreement with Alberta Health Services (AHS). The United Nurses of Alberta says progress has been made in negotiating a new collective agreement with Alberta Health Services.
“We hope that the efforts of the parties will not be wasted in mediation,” he wrote, noting that the UNA and AHS have expressed a desire to reach an agreement, and the provincial government has said a new agreement with the UNA is essential for the province. He said that the use of mediation under section 65 will allow for a speedy resolution. “But even if it doesn`t lead to an agreement, it will allow the parties to exercise their strike or lockout rights,” Harrigan said. The four-year agreement also includes a recommendation to UNA members to receive a one-time lump sum payment of one percent for each hour worked in 2021 in recognition of their contributions during the pandemic. Two annual lump sum payments, which were a sticking point for AHS, are included in a salary grid. “I am pleased that AHS has submitted a revised work proposal to the UNA in the hope of reaching a new collective agreement with nurses in the province,” Toews said in a statement Wednesday morning. The UNA said the last two years of the contract would see salary increases of one percent. “We are withdrawing our proposals regarding staffing plans and accepting your proposals in their entirety,” the email reads. “This applies not only to the Royal Alexandra, but to all staffing plans in the province.” AHS and UNA will submit a joint request for formal mediation to the ALRB. “Mediation is a normal part of the negotiation process and a step towards agreement and long-term work stability. This means that if an employee asks their supervisor to add an extra day to their schedule, that request will be granted. This additional day must be planned in the shift schedule cycle.
However, it is important to note that the employee cannot choose when to place this day in the schedule. The manager has the right to determine, based on operational needs, when the additional day is scheduled and whether the employee will work in another unit on that day if necessary. Employees are asked to notify the employer of a request to postpone the shift with 14 days` notice. “I respect the frontal and unique clinical role that nurses have played and continue to play during the COVID pandemic,” said Toews. “This agreement recognizes their hard work and dedication, as well as the many sacrifices nurses have made since the beginning of the pandemic. “I am confident that formal mediation will be productive as both parties work together on an agreement that respects both the expertise of Alberta`s nurses and the province`s financial situation. Alberta has been running multi-billion dollar budget deficits for years as it grapples with low oil prices amplified by money to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations also include improving psychological support, improving workload considerations, and funding for hiring and retention in rural areas. “It was a terrible, terrible time for nurses and other health care workers in this province,” she said.
“This new proposal recognizes the hard work and dedication of Alberta`s nurses while respecting the difficult financial situation in which the province finds itself.” Toews acknowledged that there were still a number of points to be negotiated, but added that he hoped the two sides would continue to work together to reach “a fair and reasonable agreement.” “All of this is just further proof that this government doesn`t know what it`s doing,” Notley added. “We are now at a point of pure incompetence.” The presidents of the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) offices met with the union`s collective bargaining committee and asked them to negotiate a new provincial collective agreement with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and other major public health employers as soon as possible. One mediator recommended that The United Nurses of Alberta and AHS accept a 4.25% increase over a four-year term. The UNA said AHS negotiators had contacted the union over the long weekend to say they had a new mandate from the government to change their bargaining proposals before formal mediation began. Read more: `Nurses feel abandoned`, pickets against Alberta government`s proposed cuts As a result, the chairs reportedly told the bargaining committee to seek formal mediation under section 65 of the Alberta Labour Relations Code as soon as possible. .
