For Immediate Release June 9, 2004
Health Region Nurses overwhelmingly ratify new contract Recommendations
Other Employers blocking final resolution on the provincial negotiations
Nurses across the province voted overwhelmingly to ratify the recommendations for a new contract with the province’s Health Regions yesterday. The Health Regions’ Boards of Directors also ratified the deal.
Over 98% of the nurses voted to accept the Recommendations, which was a huge swing from a vote last September when over 98% voted against the contract recommendations of that time.
“After nearly 18 months, we have a negotiated agreement,” says UNA President Heather Smith. “Reaching a settlement the Employers and nurses can both accept is the best way forward for safe nursing care in the province.”
“However, other, smaller Employers in the provincial bargaining round have not yet reached an agreement which unfortunately means that job action across Alberta can’t be ruled out,” she said.
“We have always made it clear that the negotiations are not finally settled until we reach agreements with all the Employers,” Heather Smith noted. “If these Employers continue to block an acceptable settlement, we may be forced to go back to the members with another vote. As Nurses we have always said we bargain together collectively and no one is left behind.”
Talks are scheduled this week with the other Employers, the Alberta Cancer Board, the Continuing Care Employers Bargaining Association (CCEBA), the Good Samaritan Society, Bethany Care Cochrane, and Millwoods Shepherd’s Care.
UNA members with these Employers also voted June 8. They voted on whether to accept UNA’s last offer to these Employers. UNA has also made an application to the Labour Relations Board to require the Employers to hold a vote on the offer.
The Health Regions employ about 20,000 of the province’s approximately 26,000 Alberta’s Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses. The other Employers employ fewer than 2,000 nurses.
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For comment contact Heather Smith, President of United Nurses of Alberta
Tel: 780 425-1025
A copy of UNA’s summary of the Recommendations is available on the UNA website: www.una.ab.ca
BACKGROUND
The Recommendations came from the arbitration board of Andrew Sims, Employer nominee Bill Armstrong and UNA nominee Lyle Kanee that was appointed by the government last December. The board agreed to attempt mediation to reach an agreement before proceeding to arbitration. After 30 days of intense mediation talks, the three panel members unanimously decided to issue recommendations that they expected would be acceptable to both sides.
MOBILITY
The Recommendations for the deal with the Health Regions resolve the difficult questions around mobility of nurses with an innovative plan that allows Health Regions to move nurses’ positions when necessary. The Recommendations also protect every nurse from being suddenly or arbitrarily forced to relocate and it sets up an independent committee to resolve disputed mobility questions.
SENIORITY
Nurses will now have portability of seniority from Health Region to Health Region and within each Region.
TRANSPORTATION
There is also an important step forward recognizing the transportation costs of nurses who use their personal vehicles to deliver nursing services in the community.
SCHEDULING
Permanent evening or night shifts can only be scheduled at the request of Employees.
New in these recommendations is a higher premium for night shifts, which will now be 25 cents higher than the $1.75 an hour evening shift premium.
OTHER BENEFITS
The Recommendations set a common minimum basis for benefits and change the payment for vision care from $300 a year to $600 every two years.
WAGES
Salaries were never a major issue in the talks and the Recommendations will give nurses wage increase of 3.5% in the first year (April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004) and 3% in each of the second and third years of the new agreement.
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