The Alberta Labour Relations Board has turned down UNA’s application for determination that Licensed Practical Nurses at five worksites should be in the direct nursing care bargaining unit with RNs. In a decision released January 6, the LRB said that it had been asked to make a decision “that could have a potential impact upon numerous employers and unions”. The LRB said that an application “limited to only a small number of employees or groups of employees is not the route to follow.”
UNA made the application on behalf of the LPNs at Millwoods Shepherd’s Care Centre, the Good Samaritan Society Millwoods Assisted Living centre, the Red Deer Nursing Home, the Manville Care Centre, and the Bonnyville Health Centre.
“We will continue to pursue this on behalf of these nurses who want to join UNA,” said David Harrigan, UNA’s Director of Labour Relations. “This is a setback that the Board dismissed the application without considering the facts of the matter, but it is not the end of the process.”
“We will be meeting with legal counsel and determining our next steps,” he said.
“The LRB did not rule on the facts of the case at all, on whether LPNs are actually doing direct nursing care,” he pointed out. He also noted that the LRB decision suggested that all affected stake holders should be party to the decision.
UNA has also applied for bargaining unit determination on behalf of LPNs at the Cross Cancer Institute, the Vermillion Health Centre and Extendicare Holyrood in Edmonton. These applications are temporarily on hold. |
