CALGARY – Hundreds of members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) and supporters will continue their fight back against cuts with an information picket at the University of Calgary tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 21).
“This week, we were told that 250 jobs were being eliminated at the University of Calgary thanks to cuts in the Alberta government budget. University workers, faculty and students are united in this fight. They know that it’s unfair to ask them to pay for billions of dollars in tax cuts to already profitable corporations with their jobs, their wages and with soaring tuition fees,” says Guy Smith, president of AUPE, which represents about 96,000 workers in the province.
“The level of anger we’re seeing among our members, but also among all Albertans, is growing every day as the scale of government cuts to vital services become clear. There is no group of vulnerable Albertans this government will not attack in order to hand over our money to corporations who continue to refuse to invest in in Alberta.”
Workers at five other post-secondary institutions have already been told that their employers are seeking a two-per-cent wage rollback this year. Seven other groups of AUPE members in health care, pensions and the Alberta government face the same wage-cut demands.
Smith will be at the information picket and available to media.
EVENT: Fight the Cuts Information Picket
DATE: Thursday, November 21
TIME: 12 noon – 1 p.m.
LOCATION: University of Calgary at the Taylor Quad, in front of the MacEwan Student Centre.
FAQs:
How big is the cut to the budget? Using the government’s own projections in the budget for population growth and inflation, the cuts equal 17 per cent over four years (2.8 per cent funding cut, plus 14.2 per cent predicted for population growth and inflation).
How many jobs will be lost? The budget says the public sector will be shrunk by 7.7 per cent over four years, which means the loss of more than 16,000 full-time jobs. This will affect every corner of the province and have a significant impact on private-sector jobs and local economies. The budget said that 300 jobs would be lost in advanced education and post-secondary learning this year, but the University of Calgary has just announced that it is eliminating 250 positions. The figure for the whole post-secondary sector is shaping up to be much worse than the budget predicts.
Will tuition fees increase? Yes. The budget allows for tuition fees to be increased by 7 per cent per year for three years, to a maximum of 21 per cent.
How many jobs will be created by the budget? None. According to the budget, the government’s no-strings-attached gift of billions of dollars to already profitable corporations will result in the creation of zero jobs over four years.
How much is Alberta’s population growing? Alberta gains about 70,000 people every year.
What provisions does the budget make to provide for the growing population? None. Population growth adds the equivalent of a city the size of Medicine Hat every year, but the budget provides zero resources to support them. That means longer wait times for services including health care, more overcrowded classrooms, fewer supports for the disabled, fewer supports for post-secondary students, less help for all Albertans when they need it most.
What is the government planning for front-line worker wages? The government is seeking a two-per-cent cut to wages for nursing care and general support services staff employed by Albert Health Services (AHS) and members in the Government of Alberta. These AUPE members and many others have already endured a two-year freeze. We expect similar demands to be placed on members employed elsewhere. The budget includes zero money for wage increases in the public sector for four years, meaning we could be facing years of wage freezes or cuts. Factoring in inflation, AUPE members could be looking at double-digit cuts to pay.
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Terry Inigo-Jones, AUPE communications officer: 403-831-4394