Thousands of Alberta healthcare workers have voted to ratify a new four-year-deal after narrowly averting a strike last weekend.

Nearly 16,000 Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) members, licensed practical nurses and health care aides employed by Alberta Health Services (AHS), Allen Grey Continuing Care, and the new pillars of health care, have ratified a new collective agreement that will shape wages and working conditions until 2028.

The agreement, retroactive to Apr. 1, 2024, will remain in effect until March 31, 2028.

AUPE President Sandra Azocar called the ratification “a long and frustrating process,” but emphasized that members “have officially raised the bar for collective agreements in this province.”

Overall, 71 per cent of members cast their vote. Members employed by AHS and the new pillars of health care voted 63.3 per cent in favour, while members employed by Allen Grey Continuing Care voted 95 per cent in favour.

Nursing care members working at Lamont Health Care Centre rejected the agreement in a separate vote and will return to the bargaining table.

“This collective agreement is a strong step towards the wages and working conditions our members deserve,” says Azocar. “We will be in a strong position when we begin bargaining again in 2028.”

Agreement Highlights

Wage increases:

Licensed Practical Nurses: 23.81%

Health Care Aides: 17.05%

Retroactive payments for hours worked since April 1, 2024

Shift premiums and rates:

Responsibility Premium: $1.25 → $3.50/hour

Preceptor Pay: $0.65 → $2.00/hour

Regular On-Call: $3.30 → $7.00/hour

Named Holiday On-Call: $4.50 → $7.00/hour

Rural Capacity Investment Fund:

2024: $4.368 million

2025–2027: $12.6 million annually

President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance Nate Horner welcomed the deal.

“After months of negotiations, we appreciate the collective effort it has taken for AHS and AUPE to reach an agreement,” said Horner in a statement. “The new agreement improves the salaries and benefits for almost 16,000 LPNs and HCAs and will help bring long-term stability to our healthcare system.”

The ratification comes after a tense period of negotiations. A strike by licensed practical nurses and health care aides was narrowly avoided on Nov. 22, when a tentative agreement was reached just as job action was set to begin.