Last week, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees published an update regarding nursing care workers employed by Covenant Health.
AUPE represents over 1,600 licensed practical nurses, health care aides, rehabilitation care workers, nursing attendants, mental health aides, recreation aides, assisted living aides, and home support aides employed by the Catholic private health care provider.
Next month will mark two years since the last collective agreement for these workers expired, and last week’s update announced that the workers finally have a new collective agreement to vote on.
The tentative collective agreement includes a 12% wage increase spread out over 4 years, which is what pretty much all public sector workers have been getting since this time last year.
| 1 April 2024* | 3.00% |
| 1 April 2025* | 3.00% |
| 1 April 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 April 2027 | 3.00% |
This is significantly higher than the 7.5% originally proposed by Covenant Health, so that is good. It is even more significantly lower than the 35% originally proposed by the workers.
Covenant Health had to move 4.5 percentage points from their original offer, but the workers had to move 23 points from theirs. This is definitely not a middle-of-the-road compromise.
Keep in mind that these workers had their wages frozen from 2016 to 2021.
| 1 April 2017 | 0.00% |
| 1 April 2018 | 0.00% |
| 1 April 2019 | 0.00% |
| 1 April 2020 | 0.00% |
| 1 October 2021 | 1.00% |
| 1 September 2022 | 1.25% |
| 1 April 2023 | 2.00% |
Between April 2016 and April 2023, they received a combined wage increase of just 4.25%. Meanwhile, the consumer price index in Alberta increased by 21.17%.
Because inflation increased by 21.17% during the same period that these workers got only 4.25% in raises, they ended up with a cut to real wages of 16.92%, which a 12% wage increase falls short of reconciling.
This is particularly true when we consider that the 12% collective wage increase is spread out over 4 years, which means an additional 4 years of inflation, driving up that inflation–wage gap.
Since their wage increase in April 2023, these workers have been impacted by an additional 5.99% in inflation, for example, and we still have two more years to go.
This is the largest wage increase these workers have received in over a decade, which is noteworthy, but it should not distract us from the fact that this employer fell short in successive contracts to properly pay these workers.
Now to be fair, some of these workers, in the proposed collective agreement, would be subject to market adjustments as well. For example, licensed practical nurses would receive a one-time 10% bump to their base salary, while health care aides would receive an additional 4% increase.
While that will help these workers, especially LPNs, other workers will still be left chasing rising cost of living.
Another change in the tentative agreement is the proposal to reclassify psychiatric aides to health care aides, which would give them access to the market wage adjustments.
Here are some other changes proposed in the new agreement.
Under the previous agreement, licensed practical nurses were eligible for 3 professional development days a year. This has been expanded to include other regulated professions.
Responsibility premiums would increase from $1.25 an hour to $3.50 an hour. Preceptor premiums would go from just 65¢ an hour to $2 an hour.
On-call pay would increase to $7 an hour. It is currently $3.30 an hour, except on holidays, when it is $4.50 an hour. Plus, now the employer would have to pay double the on-call rate if they change a worker’s on-call period without 14 days’ notice.
Under the old collective agreement, mileage was 73¢ per kilometre for the first 5000 kilometres. It has been changed to Canada Revenue Agency’s highest rate in the tentative agreement.
Meal allowances have increased:
| Old | Proposed | |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfst | $9.20 | $13.00 |
| Lunch | $11.60 | $18.00 |
| Supper | $20.75 | $28.00 |
Domestic violence leave under the previous agreement was 10 unpaid days per calendar year. That has been expanded in the tentative agreement to include an addition 5 days, but those would be paid.
Flexible spending account would increase from $1,100 a year to $1,200 a year.
Massage coverage would increase from $750 a year to $1000 a year, and there would be no per-appointment caps.
Health care aides would be reimbursed for their practice permit and insurance but to a maximum of $190.
Online voting begins tonight at 17:00 and will end at 16:00 on Monday, the 23rd. Workers can vote by logging into MyAUPE.
