The Employer is again unwilling to negotiate meaningfully
As mentioned in the last bargaining update, your negotiating team was able to reach agreement with AgeCare on many Articles and Letters of Understanding. However, we were dissatisfied with the meager wage increases offered by the employer as they fell short of current settlement trends and Alberta’s increasing cost of living.
On June 27 and 28, your negotiating team resumed the bargaining process. We were able to agree with the employer in principle on just two articles which received minor improvements. They are:
- Article 12 – Hours of Work, and
- Article 14 – Salaries
Of particular importance is the new clause 12.16, which reads: “Based on operational requirements the employer will make every reasonable effort to replace employees who are absent from their regular scheduled shift. If the full staffing complement is not available, employees should discuss with their supervisor any workload issues and seek direction on manageable duties by prioritizing tasks.”
While we initially had some good dialogue on Article 37 – Casual Shifts, progress eventually broke down after the employer refused to have any further discussion of our monetary proposals. The employer also suggested that the negotiating team needed to adjust our salary demands, citing that the members at Valleyview are the highest paid Health Care Assistants in the organization and that the 4% we are seeking is above any recent settlements.
We were disappointed by AgeCare’s request that we change our salary demands (without them providing any details about their plans for the new $2 salary adjustment for HCA’s) and their disinterest in addressing any of the other outstanding proposals brought forth by your negotiating team. This led us to conclude that the employer is just surface bargaining.
After a short discussion about how we could possibly move forward, the employer remained unyielding about changing their position on any of the outstanding items. We then advised the employer that we would be seeking informal mediation to help us move forward and that we will be pushing to have an Essential Services Agreement (ESA) in place as soon as possible.
An application was sent to mediation services on June 28th in order to minimize any further delay.
Remember that your current collective agreement remains in effect. If you feel it’s not being followed, or if you’re having problems at work, please talk to a Union Steward or reach out to AUPE’s Members’ Resource Centre at 1-800-232-7284 and they will put you in touch with a Membership Services Officer.
If you have any questions or feedback about this bargaining update, please contact a member of your negotiating team.
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – AGECARE VALLEYVIEW
Ruth McDonald
ruthmacd@shaw.ca
Dee Anna Wright
deewright.1984@gmail.com
Kandis Eirich
eirich60@gmail.com
AUPE RESOURCE STAFF
Dale Perry, Negotiations
d.perry@aupe.org
Prisca Ryan, Negotiations
p.ryan@aupe.org
Christine Yargeau-Becker, Organizing
c.yargeau-becker@aupe.org
Communications
co@aupe.org