United Nurses of Alberta posted on their website last week an update regarding ongoing contract negotiations with several employers including Alberta Health Services, the new Recovery Alberta, Covenant Health, Lamont Health Care Centre, and The Bethany Group (Camrose).
The UNA is the largest nursing union in Alberta, representing over 30,000 registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, and other allied health care workers.
The most recent collective agreement for these workers expired at the end of March of this year. Negotiations has begun the month before, but they eventually came to a standstill when the employers refused to concede to union proposals.
As a result, negotiations moved to informal mediation. According to the update, the mediator had recommended that nurses get between 12% and 22% in wage increases over a 4-year term.
Here’s a breakdown of the recommended increases:
| 1 April 2024 | 3% |
| 1 April 2025 | 3% |
| 1 April 2026 | 3% |
| 1 April 2027 | 3% |
But then the mediator also proposed converting the $1.25 educational allowance and the 2$ RRSP/TFSA contribution into wages, which is where the other 10 percentage points come from. Except this is available to only a few nurses, such as casual workers.
The employers, collectively, originally proposed a 7.5% increase, while the UNA was asking for 35% over two years, to help make up for real wage cuts over more than a decade.
During the decade between 2013–2014 and 2023–2024, Alberta nurses saw an average wage increase of 1.05%, and a total increase of 11.5%. Inflation during the same period, however, was 30.39%.
At a reporting meeting held last week, over 500 voting delegates of the UNA held an “intense discussion” on the mediator’s recommendation. The bargaining committee recommended that the delegates send the tentative agreement to the membership for a ratification vote, which they approved.
The ratification vote will occur online on 30 October, and UNA has promised to hold a town hall this Thursday to discuss the tentative agreement with the members.
In an effort to spread awareness of the development, the UNA shared their update to their Facebook page.
And based on the comments on that Facebook post, not all nurses in Alberta are happy with this development.
For example, Travis Lukacs called it “insulting”.
Insulting to think 3% per year for 4 is even reasonable to consider.
Megan Timmins agreed:
I can’t think of another reason why they’d even let us vote for this insult. I think I’ve just watched our health care as we know it go down the toilet.
Tracy Cartier pointed out the discrepancy between wage increases and inflation since 2013.
Inflation in Alberta has gone up 29.9% since 2013, as indicated by a fellow colleague at the meeting today, and we have had 11% in wage increases since 2013. Nowhere near keeping up with inflation in Alberta. For 8 years we did not get a raise, then we got 4.25% over 4 years…that in itself was a slap in the face!
Alexa Roth is worried that not enough information was shared in the media release and that some people will read the update as a positive development.
Make sure you are educating your coworkers about what is going on. Those just reading the media releases might see this as a win — when really it they’re just shuffling money around to make it look better on paper.
Everyone should be informed about what they are TAKING AWAY in addition to what they are suggesting to add.
This is a terrible offer. I will be voting a hard no.
Erin Smailliw also commented on the framing of this update as possible.
It’s shameful that our union is presenting any part of this contract as a positive. Nurses look to UNA to represent our best interests. The contract continues to represent a loss in spending power for nurses. It has a number of regressive pieces.
Jan Easton said something similar.
This is not in our favour and I’m disgusted that UNA would even put this out there for a vote. UNA is supposed to be our voice and have nurses best interests at the forefront but they’re caving and presenting these recommendations as positive.
Plenty of nurses in the comments were saying they planned to vote no during the ratification vote. However, there were a few saying that the members should go even further than that and go on strike.
At least 35% pay increase or STRIKE!
Dexter Seniedo
I hope everyone does their part and doesn’t forget to vote NO on this BS that was presented to us as a good proposal? We’re Alberta strong and can withstand the cold come strike time!
Michelle Cameron
This is definitely a NO WAY!…. I wish we didn’t have to wait till October 30th to vote on this…. That just delays the inevitable strike
Krista Swinarton
Stay strong and don’t fall for wording like last contract. Vote for no and strike if it’s not a healthy healthy healthy increase to what we are owed.
Breanna Marie
Prepare for a strike!
Jasmin Alinea Suarez
I believe we have to strike. If we can’t get a fair contract during a nursing shortage there is no hope for the future of getting a raise.
Roberto Robles
We are ready for the strike! Nothing can be more insulting….
Ranjit Bhangal
Strike is right , mediocre to insulting at best !
Jacqueline Dobirstein
I vote to strike! Why is UNA even accepting this proposal?? What an insult. Time to make a big stand RN’s! Vote to strike and reject this proposal
Samantha Vervoort
Wow. Just wow. Just when you thought this couldn’t be any worse.
Jack Rezai
Strike NOW!
To be clear, the ratification vote is not a vote on whether to strike. It is only a vote on whether to accept the mediator’s recommendations. If the workers vote to reject the recommendations, it’s likely that the informal mediation will advance to formal mediation, which the workers will need to vote on whether to accept.
If the workers reject that recommendation, then there will probably be a strike vote. And if that happens, it’ll probably be still several months away.
One thing is clear, however, and it’s that nurses are not happy. They’re not happy with the union, they’re not happy with the mediator, and they’re not happy with the employers.
Nurses are tired of being disrespected.
8 replies on “AB nurses unhappy with mediator recommendation”
Post public sector wages and let the public decide what that 35% increase looks like.
If the public decided on public sector worker wages, they’d never get wage increases.
Think you are underpaid? Find another job. Nobody is obligated to pay you more just because you think you deserve more
That doesn’t change the fact that the job itself is underpaid. Getting a new job only changes your pay, not the pay for the job you’re leaving. Whoever fills your vacancy will be underpaid.
That’s what half of nurses in Alberta are doing. They quit the profession forever by 35 for better paying less stressful careers. Do you really think the answer is to drain Albertas healthcare force by increasing the demands to a unsafe degree and lowering wages?
You are right. If you are not, then get another job. Exactly what many nurses had done after the last contract. They quit the profession. They do travel nursing. So the next time you or any of your family members come to the emergency department and wait for 10 hours in the waiting. Well it is the answer to your suggestion
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