By Terry Inigo-Jones, Communications Staff
The clock is ticking. The pressure is building.
AUPE members who work for the Government of Alberta (GOA) are getting closer to a new collective agreement. We are all anxious to see where bargaining gets us, and whether we will have to strike to win what we deserve.
The importance of a stronger collective agreement has never been more clear. Staff are facing difficult conditions in every department you can think of, from wildfire management to social work to corrections and more. At home, we are dealing with the financial fall-out of stagnant wages and inflation rates that made the cost of food, clothing, housing and transportation soar.
It is time for our pay and benefits to help us get further ahead, not leave us further behind.
“AUPE members provide vital services for Albertans, but we are all so short-staffed, so under-resourced, and so burned out that the people who need us are suffering too,” says AUPE’s Executive Secretary-Treasurer Justin Huseby. “It is time for our pay and benefits to help us get further ahead, not leave us further behind.”
The good news is that AUPE and the GOA have finalized our Essential Services Agreement (ESA), which spells out which services are essential and how many staff are required to keep working if there’s a strike or lockout. Our bargaining team is now headed to formal mediation meetings in February and March.
Despite this progress, there is still a long way to go and many questions that need answering.
We don’t want to see another Jasper, another Fort McMurray, another Slave Lake.
Alberta wildland firefighters watched as flames destroyed thousands of homes in Los Angeles and asked the question they ask every year: ‘Will Alberta be ready for fire season?’
The answer is likely ‘no.’ AUPE members fear the government will not give us the resources and staffing levels we need.
“We don’t want to see another Jasper, another Fort McMurray, another Slave Lake,” says Huseby.
“Last year, many wildland firefighters who normally sign on to work in Alberta chose to go to B.C. or to work for Parks Canada. Can you blame them? The pay and benefits are better and the season lasts longer. If the Alberta government doesn’t smarten up, we will be short of boots on the ground again.”
Social workers are feeling the heat, too. AUPE members who work in Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) and Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) are dealing with crippling staff shortages and caseloads.
“The government axed dozens of case-worker jobs, while refusing to fill dozens more vacancies,” says Huseby.
The result? About 12,000 families are waiting for their applications for assistance to be processed. Some have waited more than two years.
Members are angry. They know this government won't give them anything without a fight. So that’s what we’re doing: preparing to fight.
AUPE members in PDD are reporting caseloads of up to 200, while cases are at 130 and rising in FSCD. Can you guess what the recommended maximum caseload is? A much lower 95-100.
“The government is denying vital services to families with severely disabled loved ones. The strain on Albertans and AUPE members is unimaginable,” says Huseby.
“We don’t know what this means for them or for front-line staff in graduated support homes, which currently operate as public facilities,” says Huseby. “What we do know is that the government has tried to privatize these homes before and is likely to try again.”
He adds: “Workers and families have successfully fought off privatization before because they know it leads to lower standards of care and worse working conditions.
“Members are angry. They know this government won't give them anything without a fight. So that’s what we’re doing: preparing to fight.”