Before the action could even get started, their show of strength forced Alberta Health Services to send a much-improved, last-minute offer.
Members are now voting on this tentative agreement, a deal that breaks new ground for all public sector employees, not just those working in health care.
“Nursing Care members have officially set the bar,” says Andrew Wilson, one of AUPE’s newly elected Vice-Presidents. “Our strike preparedness and tentative agreement are real, serious achievements that we can build upon for future negotiations.”
The Nursing Care negotiating team felt the gains in the employer’s last-minute offer needed to be put to a vote so that members could decide if it was sufficient to form our next collective agreement.
In fact, the deal includes some of the highest total wage increases we have ever secured, including a 23.81 per cent total wage increase for Licensed Practical Nurses and a 17.05 per cent total wage increase for Health Care Aides.
Here is what really tipped the scale: this tentative agreement includes significant market adjustments, 10 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. But this is not an ordinary raise or lump sum. These adjustments are retroactive to April 1, 2024, when our last agreement expired.
That represents an immediate wage boost, plus a substantial retroactive payout for all hours worked since that date.
The gains in this agreement are the result of nearly 20 months of bargaining. The negotiating team worked long, tireless hours—often bringing their pajamas and an overnight bag to meetings—on behalf of their colleagues, all of whom deserve improved wages and working conditions.