Last week, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees published an update regarding contract negotiations for long-term care workers in Edmonton.
The negotiations were between the Oregon-based Touchmark and continuing care workers at their Wedgewood facility, whose previous contract expired in August 2024, roughly two years ago.
Workers covered by that contract included about 50 health care aides and licensed practical nurses.
According to last week’s update, the bargaining team for the workers had reached a tentative agreement with the employer.
The proposed 4-year collective agreement, which is already 2 years old and would expire in August 2028, would include a 3% wage increase in every year of the agreement. The first 3 increases (the last of which would be effective as this past Monday) would be retroactive.
This combined 12% wage increase (or 12.55%, if we account for compounded increases) is much higher than the 5% they got in their last agreement. That being said, 17% is not a lot when you consider the agreement prior to that was filled with wage freezes.
Here is what their wage increases looked like in their last two collective agreements.
| 1 September 2017 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2018 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2019 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2020 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2021 | 1.50% |
| 1 September 2022 | 1.50% |
| 1 September 2023 | 2.00% |
During the same period, the consumer price index in Alberta increased 30.7 points, from 135.3 points in September 2016 to 166.0 points in September 2023. That is a 22.69% increase.
Because inflation was 22.68% while their wages increased by just 5%, these workers ended up with a cut to real wages of 17.68% heading into negotiations for their new collective agreement.
A 12% increase will definitely help erase that wage gap of nearly 18% but not all of it, especially if we consider that this 12% is spread out over 4 years, which means 4 more years of inflation.
Inflation since September 2023, for example, has already increased an additional 8.31%, bringing the wage gap to 13.91%, and we still have another year of inflation before the final wage increase next September.
Now, to be fair, the tentative agreement also proposes market adjustment increases, as well, to help narrow the gap between their wages and inflation. Health care aides would receive a 4% adjustment, and licensed practical nurses would get 10%. Both market adjustments would be in addition to the annual increases and effective as of Septembe 2024.
Even with the market adjustments, these workers will still be behind inflation when the contract expires in 2 years, especially the health care aides, who were getting less than $21 an hour for a starting wage at the end of the last agreement. But, like I said, this proposal is better than they received in the previous 2 contracts.
In addition, workers who have been with Touchmark for at least 20 years would receive an additional 2% increase for a long service adjustment.
Effective as of this past February Touchmark would cover the cost of the first practice permit for health care aides, as well as basic insurance, if workers ratify the agreement.
Related to that, Touchmark would also pay any required professional registration fees and basic insurance for all licensed practical nurses and health care aides.
Charge pay would increase from $2.00 an hour to $3.50 an hour and preceptor pay would increase from 65¢ an hour to $2.00 an hour.
The flexible spending account would increase from $600 per year to $850 per year.
Workers who have to attend occupational health and safety committee meetings would be paid for their attendance.
Under the tentative agreement, workers would have the option to exchange up to 2 of their stat holidays for different religious holidays.
Finally, if a worker gets two weeks’ notice due to restructuring and they work every day during those 2 weeks, they would receive an additional 2 weeks of severance pay.
Voting on the tentative agreement began this past Monday and closes tomorrow at noon.
