UNA members overwhelmingly ratify new Provincial Collective Agreement

Members of United Nurses of Alberta covered by the union’s Provincial Collective Agreement with Alberta’s largest health care employers have overwhelmingly ratified a mediator’s recommended tentative agreement that includes fair pay increases and assurance of no overall reductions in nursing care provided to Albertans.

In province-wide voting yesterday, more than 98 per cent of the members who cast ballots voted in favour of the four-year agreement, which was recommended by provincially appointed Mediator David Jones on July 8 and recommended for ratification by about 700 delegates at UNA’s July 15 Reporting Meeting in Calgary.

“The very strong vote in favour of this agreement indicates how happy UNA’s members are with the result of this round of bargaining,” said Vice-President Daphne Wallace today after the ballots were counted.

“We’ve come a long way since these negotiations began, and we’re very grateful to our UNA bargaining team for their patience, strength and wisdom through this long and difficult process.” She also thanked the Mediator and employer bargaining representatives for their hard work.

Wallace said the approximately 28,000 members in 131 UNA locals employed by Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health, Lamont Health Care and Bethany Group (Camrose) see the agreement as “a new beginning.”

“We look forward to working with Vickie Kaminski, the new president and chief executive officer of AHS, to implement the agreement and seek improvements that will improve our public health care system for all Albertans,” Wallace said.

When negotiations began in the spring of 2013, UNA Labour Relations Director David Harrigan observed, “Alberta Health Services was seeking significant reductions in the numbers of nurses working in the health care system, plus rollbacks in monetary items and benefits.

“When we reached this agreement, we had assurance that there will be no overall reduction in nursing and an assurance of good-faith discussions between nurses and their employers during the life of the agreement on appropriate staffing levels and other patient care concerns,” he said.

“In addition, we reached a salary agreement that means Alberta nurses are not falling behind and nurses benefits were maintained or approved,” Harrigan said. “This is good for our members and good for all Albertans who are concerned about the wellbeing and effectiveness of our health care system.

The agreement includes a lump-sum payment in the first year of the agreement, and pay increases of 2 per cent plus a lump sum, 2.25 per cent plus a lump sum, and 3 per cent in each of the following years, as well as improvements to benefits and the agreement to pursue discussions on appropriate staffing levels.

“I will be writing the employers today to confirm the ratification by UNA’s members,” Harrigan said. “I will also be writing many other smaller employers funded by AHS where talks have been on hold pending the outcome of these negotiations asking to set dates for bargaining.”