For Immediate Release
September 16, 2003
Tremendous unity:
Nurses reject Employer plan
In a powerful display of unity, 98.8% of United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) members rejected the mediator’s recommendations for a new contract in the province-wide vote held September 15. The unanimity extended across all of the 146 Locals voting—they all rejected the plan.
“We can’t make the message to the Health Regions any clearer,” said UNA President Heather Smith. “This huge consensus of thousands and thousands of Registered nurses has to tell them their contract plan will not work. The Regions have gone down the wrong road and they need to come back to the table to negotiate responsibly.”
“The Employers’ plans to juggle nursing staff to manage inadequate staffing is unacceptable for nurses. Professionally nurses know it would hurt the continuity, quality and safety of nursing care, they absolutely reject it,” Heather Smith said.
UNA called the vote to respond to the recommendations for a contract released July 18 by mediator Alan Beattie. The contract covers nurses working for the province’s health regions, however UNA members with the Alberta Cancer Board, the Continuing Care Employers Bargaining Association (CCEBA) and others employers who are also currently in negotiations were also voting.
The Health Regions campaigned hard with advertising and direct personal letters to convince nurses this plan was a fair compromise. But the recommendations were essentially the Employers’ plan and did not address any of the nurses’ issues.
“The Regions spent a lot of money trying to make nurses and Albertans believe this was a fair and safe plan,” Heather Smith said. “Nurses did not buy it. We hope the public doesn’t either. The Health Regions should stop wasting money trying to mislead Albertans and come back to the negotiating table seriously prepared to work out a new contract to actually improve conditions.”
— 30—
For more information: Heather Smith, President United Nurses of Alberta 780 425-1025.
| 
