Earlier this month, the United Nurses of Alberta announced on their website that their members had voted in favour of a new collective agreement.
The union represents over 35,000 registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses throughout the province.
77.38% of UNA members participated in the ratification vote, which was held online on 2 April 2025. Of those who participated, 95.74% voted in favour of ratification, including 100% of UNA’s affected locals.
Their last contract expired over a year ago, but the new 4-year contract is retroactive to 31 March 2024, ending on 1 April 2028.
Negotiations had been tough, going to mediation last year, and members had voted in November to reject the mediator’s recommendations.
In a statement, Heather Smith, the president of UNA, said, “When UNA members voted against ratifying a settlement that had been recommended by a mediator last October, they spoke clearly, and we listened. The result was the agreement ratified yesterday.”
The new contract will give nurses an immediate pay increase of 15% and annual increases of 3% in each year of the contract. As well, each step of the pay grid will see a 4% increase from the lower step.
Nurses will get “significant” increases to on-call and charge pay, as well as other premiums.
Their employers will now reimburse the full cost of their professional registrations and liability fees.
There will also be accommodations for health and safety, including new measures to ensure safe staffing and a presumptive coverage for PTSD and psychological injuries.
Finally, the new collective agreement ensures job security during health care restructuring, as well as assistance for staffing in rural areas.
According to the UNA media release, Alberta nurses will now be the highest paid in any Canadian province.
“This is an important acknowledgement of the value of Alberta’s nurses that they are once again the highest-paid in any Canadian province,” said David Harrigan, the union’s lead negotiator and their labour relations director.
Being the highest paid nurses of any province is something that hasn’t been the case for several years, thanks to several wage freezes and below-inflation increases over the past decade.
