Finance Minister Travis Toews issued a blistering news release on Thursday afternoon, accusing an Alberta nurses union of orchestrating an “overreaching and disingenuous demand for indefinite job security” that he described as “a shameful effort to take advantage of a health crisis.”
Toews issued the statement after the United Nurses of Alberta, which represents more than 30,000 registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses and “allied workers,” announced it had rejected Alberta Health Services’ proposal to delay collective bargaining until 2021.
“I am extremely disappointed that the union leadership of the United Nurses of Alberta has rejected stability during a pandemic,” Toews’ statement reads in part. “AHS offered job security during the pandemic in exchange for a pause in negotiations until March 31, 2021.
“It is regrettable that UNA’s union leadership has decided to play games in the media around this common-sense offer to pause bargaining.”
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On Thursday evening, UNA director of labour relations David Harrigan said Toews’ comments are “misleading Albertans.”
“It is simply untrue that UNA is seeking ‘indefinite job security,’” he said. “We proposed that the current no-layoff letter of understanding continue until a new collective agreement is reached.
“By insulting Alberta nurses and refusing to postpone a government plan to lay off at least 750 nurses until after a new collective agreement is in place, Mr. Toews is generating considerable uncertainty in the health-care system.”
Harrigan also questioned why Toews would issue such a statement on the same day Alberta recorded its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period since the pandemic hit the province.
“(It) is almost incomprehensible,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the UNA posted an update on its website, saying it had proposed to AHS that negotiations resume next month.
“However, after UNA suggested negotiations resume on Nov. 16, 2020, AHS rejected that proposal, instead suggesting that the two bargaining teams next meet on March 31, 2021,” the union said. “UNA declined the AHS position to delay negotiations until 2021, as well as an offer to delay layoffs until that date.
“UNA believes that any layoffs should be postponed until a new collective agreement is reached.”
In a statement to Global News, AHS said it had proposed “an extension on the current suspension of bargaining, which was put in place on March 18, 2020 and scheduled to end on Oct. 15, 2020.”
“It is unfortunate we were unable to reach an agreement with UNA to continue these arrangements in exchange for an extension of current job security provisions,” the health authority said. “While we feel our focus should remain on our COVID-19 response, we accept the union’s response and we will work with them to schedule bargaining dates in the coming weeks.
“We are extremely grateful to all of our staff who are doing all they can to help us respond to this ongoing pandemic.”
The UNA said it wants clarity from AHS on a number of things, including operational best practices, the contracting out of home-care services, including nursing, palliative and pediatric care, the reconfiguration of services provided at “smaller health-care work sites” and the potential closure of acute care beds.
Earlier this month, the UNA told Global News that the reason it wants to get back to the bargaining table sooner than later is to find a long-term solution to addressing safety, staffing and pay concerns that nurses are voicing, particularly amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Mr. Toews needs to tone down the rhetoric and stop insulting the group of workers who are keeping the health-care system running through this crisis,” Harrigan said. “The government’s announcement a year ago it intended to lay off at 750 nurses this year, and more in future years, had already created enormous uncertainty before the pandemic began.”
Once the pandemic hit Alberta in March, both Toews and Health Minister Tyler Shandro told reporters at a news conference that it would not lay off nurses amid the ongoing pandemic,
“It’s hard to believe this doesn’t mean the government plans to go ahead and lay off nurses as soon as it can get away with it,” Harrigan said.
“The belligerent tone of the minister’s statement is extremely unhelpful under the circumstances when we should all be pulling together for the good of Albertans.”
Watch below: Some Global News videos about nurses in Alberta during the COVID-19 pandemic.
© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
