Last month, the Mediation Services department of Alberta Jobs, Economy, Trade, and Immigration published their March 2026 Bargaining Update.
This monthly report provides information about the unionized workforce, primarily in Alberta.
In March 2026, Mediation Services received settlement information regarding 41 bargaining relationships encompassing 7,089 workers. There were 32 private sector and 9 public sector settlements, covering 5,496 and 1,593 workers respectively.
One of those collective agreements was between about 85 workers and Lloydminster Region Housing Group.
This housing management body oversees over 400 government-owned rental units at 14 sites in the Lloydminster area. This collective agreement, however, is for just those employed at the Pioneer Complex.
These workers are represented by Local 1015 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and include licensed practical nurses, health care aides, cooks, dietary aides, housekeepers, laundry workers, and activity aides.
Their previous collective agreement, which was for 2 years, expired at the end of this past Febrary. The new agreement was ratified in March, less than 3 weeks after the last one expired. It is supposed to last until February 2029.
Under the new contract, workers are supposed to receive wage increases in each year of the nearly 4-year contract.
| 1 March 2026 | $0.65 per hour |
| 1 March 2027 | $0.70 per hour |
| 1 March 2028 | $0.75 per hour |
| $2.10 per hour |
This works out to a combined increase of between 6.23% and 11.73% for starting wages, depending on the position.
However, everyone other than cooks, health care aides, and licensed practical nurses will receive an additional $1.00 per hour increase in the first year. And when next year’s raises kick in, no one will be making under $20 an hour as a starting wage.
Here are some other changes to the new collective agreement.
The following was added to the agreement:
Casual employees not working the minimum offered shifts shall be removed from the casual employee list and their employment terminated without notice.
Vulnerable sector checks will now be reimbursed. Under the previous agreement, just criminal record checks were reimbursed.
The previous contract guaranteed workers the right to have a shop steward or union officer present when a disciplinary notice is issued. This right has been extended in the new contract to include occasions when the employer is conducting an investigation that may lead to discipline.
A full day for licensed practical nurses has been reduced from 12.25 hours in the previous contract to just 10 hours in the new contract. This means that overtime will kick in earlier than it did under the previous contract.
Shift premiums have increased:
| Old | Night | |
|---|---|---|
| Evening | $1.50 per hour | $1.75 per hour |
| Night | $2.00 per hour | $2.75 per hour |
As well, the weekend shift premium (which was $1.50 per hour) has been split into 3 premiums:
| Old | New | |
|---|---|---|
| Weekend day | $1.50 per hour | $1.75 per hour |
| Weekend evening | $1.50 per hour | $2.25 per hour |
| Weekend night | $1.50 per hour | $3.25 per hour |
The following clause was added to the agreement:
12.16 When the employer temporarily assigns an employee to carry out the responsibilities of a salaried employee outside of the bargaining unit for a period in excess of 1 hour, the employee shall receive an allowance of $2.00 for each hour spent performing non bargaining unit work.
The definition of “immediate family” for bereavement leave purposes has been expanded to include miscarriages and stillborn births.
Under the previous collective agreement, part-time workers received 4 shifts of sick leave per year, which they could not accumulate. Sick leave for part-time workers has been changed to a prorated basis, dependent on their full-time equivalency. If they work half the number of hours as a full-time workers, for example, they would get half the sick leave of a full-time workers. As well, part-time workers can now accumulate sick leave, but to a maximum of 30 days.
