Alberta nurses ratify contract that includes 4.25 per cent wage increase over 4 years
Alberta's nurses have overwhelmingly ratified a new collective bargaining agreement, closing the book on what the union calls some of the most contentious and bruising negotiations in its history.
The vote was 87 per cent in favour of a four-year deal that includes a 4.25 per cent pay bump over the course of the contract.
“The bargaining committee felt strongly the mediator's recommendation issued on Dec. 21 was a fair deal that will benefit our members and also fair to the people of Alberta,” Heather Smith, president of the United Nurses of Alberta, said in a statement Thursday.
The UNA statement said the vote “brings to an end one of the most prolonged and arduous negotiations in the provincial nursing union's 44-year history.”
The contract is retroactive to 2020 and ends on March 31, 2024.
It includes a one-time lump sum payment of one per cent for 2021 in recognition of nurses' contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There will be $5 million a year toward recruitment and retention strategies in rural and remote areas, and $2.5 million a year for relocation assistance.
There will also be more psychological and mental health supports for nurses and the creation of a union-employer workload advisory committee.
The deal was agreed to by 130 affected UNA locals, whose members make up the bulk of the union's 30,000 registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses.
Premier Jason Kenney's government had been seeking a three per cent wage cut and other contract rollbacks from nurses, arguing that Alberta's nurses were paid more than those in other jurisdictions and that a tight budget required concessions.
“Alberta can no longer afford to be an outlier,” Finance Minister Travis Toews said in a statement as late as July 6, 2021.
Toews suggested at one point that nurses were putting their needs ahead of their patients' by pushing to resume collective bargaining during the pandemic.
The union, in turn, accused Toews of “grossly insulting” hypocrisy from a government that found time for collective talks with physicians and other public sector unions, but not for nurses.
It was a high-wire tightrope situation for the government, demanding wage clawbacks from nurses battling COVID-19 on the front lines while also risking the possibility of a nurses strike during a pandemic.
“Alberta Health Services' willingness to move away from its initial demands for wage cuts and to drop its efforts to impose more than 200 rollbacks made this agreement possible,” said David Harrigan, who led the UNA's bargaining committee.
Kenney told reporters that the deal respects the work of nurses while also meeting the government's goal to rein in budget spending.
“I believe that this collective bargaining agreement is a win-win,” Kenney said late Thursday.
“It ensures that Alberta nurses continue to be the best-compensated in Canada (and) at the same time it brings their compensation closer to the national average in other provinces.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.