UNA hopes to address questions raised by AHS business plan in bargaining

The United Nurses of Alberta bargaining committee is closely examining yesterday’s Alberta Health Services health and business plan documents in preparation for the start of contract negotiations today.

The bargaining committee will seek clarification of a number of the statements in the business plan and related documents made public by AHS President Chris Eagle and Board Chair Stephen Lockwood yesterday afternoon.

Without further explanation, it is hard to see how the business plan will result in improved health care for Albertans as promised today by the AHS leadership, said UNA President Heather Smith.

“This announcement raises more questions than it answers for us,” said Smith.

She noted that AHS promises there will be no sweeping reductions in programs and that patient care will be central to every decision but also says it will find $220 million in cost savings and put a hiring “chill” into effect.

“We require details of how the AHS leadership proposes to achieve these seemingly contradictory goals in the context of a growing population without harming the quality of care or increasing costs,” she said. “The answers to these questions will have a direct impact on where we go in bargaining.”

For example, she said, many UNA members are concerned by AHS management’s apparent belief it can dramatically and quickly increase the percentage of full-time registered nurses to save money on overtime and solve other problems.

“This goal is neither practical nor appropriate,” she said. “We have staffing and overtime problems because we don’t have enough staff, and yet we have AHS saying they’re not going to hire any more people.”

As a result, Smith said, UNA negotiators must see the arithmetic behind the AHS assertion that increasing the percentage of full-time nurses will decrease levels of overtime.

“The reality is that they need to look at addressing why people won’t commit to full-time work, and that means dealing with issues like workload and child care,” she said. “Beating people into submission is not going to solve the problem.”

Bargaining commenced at 9:30 a.m. today in Edmonton.