Officials with the provincial government and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees said Monday that both sides had reached a tentative agreement.
The AUPE said the four-year deal will affect about 22,000 government employees.
The tentative agreement comes after months of charged negotiations; the union has been without a contract for more than a year.
“The relationship between AUPE and the government has been severely damaged over the past year,” AUPE President Guy Smith said. “Reaching this tentative agreement is a step in rebuilding this relationship.”
The agreement also comes after the provincial government tried to force through Bill 46, a controversial piece of legislation that would have stripped away the rights of the unions.
Back in February, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench granted an injunction against Bill 46 – a decision the provincial government was, at the time, ‘disappointed’ with.
The decision meant both sides could return to binding arbitration – a step that had been decided on before Bill 46 was tabled.
On Monday, the province dropped its legal battle over the injunction.
Premier Dave Hancock released a statement Monday afternoon, saying while the AUPE would recommend the deal to its members; he would recommend the deal to Cabinet.
“I would like to thank AUPE President, Guy Smith, for meeting with me last week to discuss the state of negotiations. It was important that we were able to have that dialogue and that our negotiating teams were able to move forward. Our preferred option has always been to find a solution at the bargaining table, and we’ve been able to do that,” Hancock said in his statement.
Details of the new agreement will be released to union members, before the union comments on it publicly, AUPE said.
