AHS Nursing Care: AUPE responds to AHS’s bad-faith labour-board complaint

AUPE is responding to a bad-faith bargaining complaint filed by Alberta Health Services (AHS) concerning negotiations for nursing-care members.

The employer appears to be upset that your negotiating team talked to you about the potential of taking legal strike action. The AHS complaint to the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) also takes issue with AUPE’s monetary proposals, despite the union putting forward fair positions that are backed by economic and market-supported data.

The allegations are completely unfounded.

AHS has concerns about the union’s detailed and rational research but fails to mention that it refuses to provide any meaningful content on what it calls “reasonable settlement zones.”

It is our position that AHS proposals also don’t take appropriate account of the acute labour shortages in health care, the nature and importance of the work you do, the increase in the scope of practice and the corrosive effects inflation has had on your lives.

The complaint about AUPE talking to members about the possibility of a legal strike can only be interpreted as an unadulterated attack on our charter rights and an attempt to muzzle the union.

The ALRB held a resolution conference on July 16. Unfortunately, no settlement was achieved. Hearing dates have been set for Oct. 27 – 30.

This hearing will not delay our work at the bargaining table. Negotiations are scheduled for September 17 and 25.

With the union and employer having agreed on an Essential Services Agreement (ESA), it is possible a formal mediator may attend those meetings in an attempt to help the parties achieve a collective agreement.

Copies of the AHS complaint and AUPE’s response are attached to this bargaining update.

See all recent AHS – Nursing Care bargaining updates here.

AHS NURSING CARE NEGOTIATING TEAM

Local 041

Christine Vavrik
rvavrik@shaw.ca

Catherine Sivasankar (alt)
accb@shaw.ca

Local 043

Sandy Miller
smiller98@msn.com

Jennifer Power (alt)
cherrigarcia24@yahoo.ca

Local 044

Marg Miller
marg.miller@hotmail.ca

Jesse Philp (alt)
jreimerlpn@gmail.com