AUPE Rally, web image via https://www.aupe.org/about
EDMONTON — Alberta’s licensed practical nurses and health care aides have ratified a new four year collective agreement that union leaders say will significantly boost wages, shift premiums and rural recruitment funding while heading off a provincewide strike.
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees says more than 16,000 nursing care members employed by Alberta Health Services, Allen Gray Continuing Care and the province’s new pillars of health care have approved the deal, which is retroactive to April 1, 2024 and runs until March 31, 2028.
AUPE president Sandra Azocar described the settlement as the product of a difficult round of bargaining that ultimately delivered major gains for members.
“This was a long and frustrating process, but our members have officially raised the bar for collective agreements in this province,” Azocar said in a statement.
The union says licensed practical nurses will see total wage increases of 23.81 per cent over the life of the agreement, while health care aides will receive 17.05 per cent in total wage hikes. Members will also receive retroactive pay for hours worked since April 1, 2024.
Shift premiums and on call rates are rising sharply. The responsibility premium increases from $1.25 to $3.50 per hour, while preceptor pay for workers who mentor colleagues jumps from $0.65 to $2 per hour. Regular on call rates climb from $3.30 to $7 per hour and named holiday on call rates rise from $4.50 to $7 per hour.
The agreement also boosts the Rural Capacity Investment Fund, which is aimed at recruiting and retaining staff in hard to fill positions outside major centres. Funding rises from $4.368 million as of April 1, 2024 to $12.6 million in each of the following three years.
The ratification vote follows a tense week in Alberta’s health system, after a strike by nursing care workers was narrowly averted on Nov. 22 when negotiators for AUPE and AHS reached a tentative deal shortly before picket lines were to go up at hospitals and health centres across the province.
The union says 71 per cent of eligible members took part in the ratification process. Among those employed by AHS and the new pillars of health care, 63.3 per cent voted in favour of the agreement. At Allen Gray Continuing Care in Edmonton, 95 per cent of participating members supported the deal.
Nursing care staff at Lamont Health Care Centre east of Edmonton rejected the tentative agreement in a separate vote and will return to the bargaining table. AUPE says it will continue to push for improvements for those members while implementing the new contract for workers covered by the ratified deal.
Azocar says the combination of wage increases, premium hikes and rural funding will help address chronic staffing pressures and improve working conditions on the front lines.
“This collective agreement is a strong step towards the wages and working conditions our members deserve,” she said, adding the union expects to “be in a strong position when we begin bargaining again in 2028.”
President of Treasury Board and Finance Minister Nate Horner welcomed the outcome and praised both sides for reaching a settlement after months of negotiations.
“After months of negotiations, we appreciate the collective effort it has taken for AHS and AUPE to reach an agreement,” Horner said in a written statement. He said the contract “improves the salaries and benefits for almost 16,000” licensed practical nurses and health care aides and “will help bring long-term stability to our health care system.”
Horner also thanked workers for “their skill, dedication, and the difference they make every day in Alberta’s health care system,” saying the province is relying on their expertise as demand for hospital and continuing care services grows.
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