Your negotiating team met this week to review the negotiated Essential Services Agreement (ESA) and have agreed in principle on its overall terms and conditions. There are still outstanding issues with how the ESA will be implemented during a strike or lockout, which need to be resolved before the ESA can be signed off and filed with the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB).
As explained in the last bargaining update, under Section 65 of the Code, an ESA must be negotiated and agreed to by the parties, and filed with the ALRB, before formal mediation can begin and prior to the Employer being in a legal position to lock out workers or the Union being in a legal position to take a strike vote.
If you would like to know more information about ESAs, please refer to this Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document.
While there are a few details to hammer out, your negotiating team is pleased with the speed by which we have managed to negotiate this agreement. We were able to secure a number of key provisions that go above what’s set out in the legislation; for example, the ESA bans replacement workers in the case of a lockout or strike.
The negotiated ESA sets out the overall number of Designated Essential Services Workers (DESWs) required to provide essential services during a strike or lockout. For the Government of Alberta (GoA), approximately 5,149 positions out of a total of 22,243 in the bargaining unit have been determined to provide the essential services identified in the ESA. It is our intention to schedule members in a fair and equitable manner.
We will provide you with a detailed breakdown of approximately how many DESWs will be required across departments, and by location, in a future update and well in advance of any potential strike or lockout.
AUPE is responsible for scheduling DESWs and will rely on the contact information we have on hand to do fairly and equitably. Information about the scheduling and payment system will be provided in a future update. While an ESA ensures that core government operations continue during a lockout or strike, by no means does it put the Employer in the driver’s seat. Without the ability to hire replacement workers, managers will be trying to do your jobs with a skeletal staff. This will place tremendous pressure on the Employer to negotiate.
It is important for all members to know that in the event of a labour disruption, scheduling shifts for DESWs is AUPE’s responsibility. It will not be up to the Employer to determine who is working as a DESW and who is on the picket line.
To effectively schedule the DESWs, we need to know how to contact you. Please ensure we have your up-to-date contact information. If you have co-workers who do not receive these updates, please share this update with them and encourage them to update their contact information here.
In the meantime, your bargaining committee continues to work hard to get you a fair, negotiated collective agreement. Informal mediation dates have been scheduled for July 21 and 22, and August 13, 16 and 20. We look forward to sitting down with the Employer and a neutral, independent mediator and putting forward our modest, reasonable proposals.
Prior to these informal mediation dates, there will be a hearing at the ALRB regarding the bargaining in bad faith complaint we filed as a result of your employer seeking greater wage rollbacks than what they had originally proposed. We will update you on the results of that hearing once it has been ruled upon by the ALRB.
For years, you have gone above and beyond to keep Albertans safe and keep the province running. The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted the importance of a strong and resilient public sector that supports Alberta. Now, we need that level of resilience and strength to support each other and to protect jobs, wages, benefits, rights and public services.
We will provide further updates on the ESA, the LRB hearing, informal mediation, and other important information as it becomes available. If you have any questions about this update, please contact your representative on the GSBC.
Your Government Services Bargaining Committee (GSBC)
Rebecca Leblanc, (GSBC Vice-chair), Local 001, leblare@gmail.com
Andrea Waywanko, Local 002, waywaa@hotmail.com
Dax Lydiard, Local 003, 003bargaining@gmail.com
Steve Eagles, Local 004, s-eagles@shaw.ca
Randy Ramsden, Local 005, r.a.ramsden@hotmail.com
Tom Grinnell, Local 006, tgrinnel@lakeheadu.ca
Angela Pala, Local 009, rossieyork@shaw.ca
Terrie Wispinski, Local 012, twisp@shaw.ca
AUPE staff resources
Dale Perry, negotiations spokesperson, d.perry@aupe.org
Merryn Edwards, negotiations spokesperson, m.edwards@aupe.org
Marianne Lenabat, organizer, m.lenabat@aupe.org
Madelaine Sommers, organizer, m.sommers@aupe.org
Justine Hetsler, ESA negotiator, j.hetsler@aupe.org
Terry Inigo-Jones, communications, t.inigo-jones@aupe.org
Mimi Williams, communications, m.williams@aupe.org