For Immediate Release April 29, 2008
UNA nurses charge Extendicare not valuing nurses
Nurses putting up an information picket on Tuesday, April 29
Registered nurses working at Extendicare say their Employer is undervaluing its nursing staff, a problem which will undermine nursing care. The United Nurses of Alberta members have been in contract negotiations with Extendicare for several months. Recently the talks stalled after sessions with a provincial mediator failed to reach a deal.
“Extendicare is just refusing to give us the same terms almost all the other nurses in the province get,” says Lethbridge Local President Dolly Deringer. “Where are their priorities? They get the same public funding for nursing care that other facilities do, but they are offering us much less.”
Mediation ended without an agreement just over a week ago, and the parties are now in an official “cooling off” period. The negotiations cover nine separate Extendicare facililities around Alberta, including the ones in Lethbridge, Fort MacLeod and Vulcan.
The nurses are planning to apply to the Labour Relations Board to hold a strike vote.
“We really want to reach a negotiated agreement smoothly,” says Dolly Deringer. “But if Extendicare keeps refusing to come close to what other nurses are getting, they leave us no choice.”
The key issues in the talks include shift premiums, education allowances, pension payments, vacation terms, portability of vacation and sick leave, and roll backs.
“They are offering us 4.5% of salary as a pension contribution. For some of our nurses, that’s less than what they get now. Most nurses in the province are in the Local Authorities Pension Plan, and their employers contribute over 10% of salary to pensions. We’re not even asking for complete parity with that. We’re asking for 8%. What they are offering, however, is a rollback,” notes Dolly Deringer.
The nurses say if Extendicare fails to remain competitive with other nursing employers, they will have trouble recruiting adequate staff.
Lethbridge Extendicare Nurses will be holding the Informational Picket
3-5 pm Tuesday, April 29, 2008
1829-13 Street North Lethbridge.
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For more information contact Local President Dolly Deringer at (403) 328-2859.
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