AHS explained the voluntary severance package that it is offering to the management and out of scope and non-union.
That plan would be 2 weeks of pay for each year of service to a maximum of 52 weeks for management.
1.5 weeks of pay for each year of service to a maximum of 52 weeks for out of scope and non-union.
Their plan is that the individual decides if she wants to apply for a buyout. Her decision is irrevocable. However, AHS has 4 months to decide if they will approve. They will only approve if they decide they can eliminate the position or find another employer to place into the position. AHS has sole discretion for approving voluntary exit applications and for determining who would be a suitable match into vacated positions. There is no guarantee that any application will be approved. If it is approved, the individual cannot work for AHS, any AHS subsidiary Corporation or Covenant for 2X the length of the payout. For example if someone gets 4 weeks pay, they cannot work for those named employers for 8 weeks. (However, AHS, at their sole discretion may make exceptions to this.)
They indicated that they would like to negotiate similar deals with the union, except that for unionized employees the severance amount would be one weeks pay per year of service to a maximum of 26 weeks.
There would be no other payment - no payout of sick leave banks, no benefits, no bridging of pension. Year of service would be based on most recent date of hire - so if an employee spent 10 years at Foothills, then 10 years at the Royal Alec, she would only be credited for 10 years, not 20.
AHS claimed that they have no numbers at all as to how many packages might be granted, how many positions they are looking to eliminate, what areas they are looking at. They claim they do not even have any targets.
All unions indicated that they believed that such discussions properly fall into transitional bargaining, which is currently happening with each union. (Transitional bargaining is required to bring the previous separate contracts and bargaining units with the former Regions into one agreement and one bargaining unit.) All unions indicated that the employer should bring their proposal to each union separately at the transitional tables.
All unions also expressed extreme displeasure with the employer's position. The employer appears to recognize that their proposal is about half the severance currently available in the collective agreements; that their proposal puts employees into an impossible position of having to make decisions without any knowledge of what may happen; that their proposal punishes employees for being unionized, etc.
There is no doubt that AHS is being dishonest - either with the unions or the media. Yesterday, the CEO told the media that there are targets on the number of employees AHS would like to see take a package, but he would not release them as "Every day changes the numbers." Today AHS told the unions that there are no numbers whatsoever - the employer first wants to see how many staff may be interested in leaving before making any decision about what to do with staffing.
We can expect that the employer will contact us and set dates to attempt to negotiate voluntary severance. We will keep the membership up to date as developments occur.
It is difficult to make sense of these recent events.
Many people believe that the events surrounding the voluntary severance offering are a clear indication that the employer wishes to send a strong message to employees that AHS does not value employees at all. By first publicly announcing voluntary severance will be available, and then developing a plan that they know is unacceptable and unworkable, AHS is hoping to ensure that morale in health care plummets to the point that they can get away with anything.
Others believe that AHS simply is unwilling to share its plans with the employees out of fear that the plans will become public and will show the citizens of Alberta that the promises about shortened wait times, community consultation, improved care, etc are false.
Others believe that there is no hidden agenda - that AHS has simply raised incompetence to a new level. That they have no plan and are just making things up from day to day. That they just plan to randomly hack at health care for as long as they can.
We believe that attempting to accurately discern motivation is neither possible nor productive. UNA will continue to fight for its members and fight to protect quality health care in our province.
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