Many non-monetary items resolved
Your negotiating team met with Aspen Ridge on September 17 and October 20 and 21 to begin bargaining. It was great to see so many people wearing red on these days to show support.
We have made good progress so far, working through non-monetary aspects of our agreement. Most of the changes so far have been minor clarifications.
We accomplished two major changes:
Including information from the Occupational Safety Act about your right to refuse dangerous work. The new language is:
Right to Refuse Dangerous Work
An Employee’s rights shall be respected in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act. No Employee shall be discharged, penalized or disciplined for refusing to perform any dangerous work which the Employee has reasonable and probable grounds to believe presents an undue hazard to the health and safety of any Resident, Employee, or member of the public.
Employees refusing dangerous work are required to report their refusal and the reasons for it promptly to the Employer in accordance with the Employer’s processes, and must cooperate with the Employer’s investigation, including doing other reasonably assigned work in the meantime.
If the Employee believes that the results of the Employer’s investigation have not remedied the undue hazard, the Employee should contact Alberta Occupational Health and Safety.
This is already the law in Alberta, so you don’t have to wait for our new agreement to exercise your rights. For example, if you cannot safely lift a resident or if a resident has a history of violent or abusive behaviour, you should not put yourself at risk! If your safety concerns are not resolved after your employer investigates them, call Alberta OHS immediately at 1-866-415-8690. You should also call the AUPE Member Resource Centre at 1-800-232-7284.
- Adding a trial period for employees who apply for and are selected to fill a new role (for example, a housekeeper moving into a Health Care Aide position). During the trial period, either the employee or the employer could choose to revert back to the employee’s previous position.
Wear red on Nov. 15
Our next date for bargaining is November 15th. Please mark the date and remember to wear red at work that day!
Thank you again for your support. Please contact your negotiating team if you have any questions, concerns, or comments.
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – ASPEN RIDGE
Shelane Rogers
shelaner@hotmail.com or 587-447-7744
Esther Young
est1young@yahoo.com or 403-358-6729
Cherie Lamb
three-lambs@shaw.ca or 403-357-4120
Maria Torrefranca
miasoysheen@yahoo.com or 403-3078-1713
AUPE RESOURCE STAFF
Merryn Edwards de la O Negotiations
m.edwardsdelao@aupe.org