AHS Implementation Plan would be disastrous for GSS and all Albertans
Alberta Health Services, under the direction of the UCP government, is proceeding with a disastrous plan to privatize and cut health care.
They are causing so much chaos that health care workers across the province walked off the job on Monday, October 26. This is a clear sign of the pain and anxiety this government is causing you and your coworkers, as well as your appetite to fight back.
This bargaining update highlights AHS’s Implementation Plan, which is their response to the Ernst & Young report on how they should privatize, contract out, slash and burn our health care system.
Here are the facts you need to know about AHS’s Implementation Plan.
Funding cuts mean job losses
The UCP government is forcing AHS to work with no funding increases until at least 2023/2024. Additionally, AHS will cut between $600 million and $836 million annually over the next three years. The UCP and AHS will put thousands of us out of work with these cuts.
But as a matter of fact, over two-thirds of the initatives in AHS’s Implementation Plan do not yet have an estimated dollar value… so in reality the cuts will be much deeper.
AHS’s projected budget and “saving opportunities” also assume our wages will be rolled back!
Who AHS is targeting
AHS plans to reduce funding by up to $210 million a year by privatizing, contracting out, and cutting the following:
- Inpatient food
- Environmental services
- Linen
- Lab work
- Supply chain and procurement
- Long-term care
The AUPE members who work in these areas are the majority the 11,000 workers whom the government said they will lay off.
When the employer lays off workers as a result of this plan, your best case scenario would be to get hired by the private company with lower wages, fewer benefits, worse working conditions and hours.
But for most, the reality is that there won’t be new jobs, especially in rural Alberta.
You know your colleagues better than anyone. You know that this massive privatization scheme will hurt women and minority groups. It will impact our families. If your spouse is already out of work because of the pandemic or the bust in the oil sector, how is putting you out of work a good thing for Albertans? It isn’t.
We must fight back
This is about our jobs, our livelihoods, our families and our communities. But it’s also about more than that. This is about justice. We cannot let the UCP government get away with tearing us and the rest of Alberta’s health care system down. We certainly can’t let them get away with it without putting up a fight.
We must work together. Nobody is immune to these cuts. Alone, we’re powerless, but together, we’re strong.
Continue to share this information with your coworkers, including members of other unions like the United Nurses of Alberta, Health Sciences Association of Alberta, and Canadian Union of Public Employees. We’re all in this together.
Please talk to your negotiating team members or AUPE resource staff if you have any questions. We are here to work together with you.
AHS GSS Negotiating Team
Local 054
Julie Woodford - juliew.chp006@gmail.com
Charity Hill (A) - charity.johanson@gmail.com
Local 056
Deborah Nawroski – local56.bargaining@gmail.com
Tammy Lanktree (A) - local56.bargaining@gmail.com
Local 057
Darren Graham - chairlocal057@aupe.ca
Wendy Kicia (A) - wendykicia@hotmail.com
Local 058
Anton Schindler - waterdude69@gmail.com
Dave Ibach (A) - dl322j@gmail.com
Local 095
Stacey Ross - sross13@shaw.ca
Dusan Milutinovic (A) - dusan.aupe@yahoo.com
Lamont Health Care Centre GSS
Jessica Kroeker - jessicarayne@hotmail.com
Carol Palichuk - carolpalichuk@hotmail.com
AUPE Resource Staff for AHS GSS
Chris Dickson, Lead Negotiator - c.dickson@aupe.org
Jason Rattray, Negotiator – j.rattray@aupe.org
Farid Iskandar, Organizer - f.iskandar@aupe.org
Kate Jacobson, Organizer - k.jacobson@aupe.org
Alexander Delorme, Communications - a.delorme@aupe.org