Your negotiating team met with Covenant Health on March 27 for bargaining.
We made some progress and signed off on several Articles and Letters of Understanding (LOUs). However, Covenant Health was not prepared for our wage proposals.
Respect goes a long way in bargaining. Bargaining has been respectful recently, but we finally saw the huge disconnect between what Covenant Health is willing to offer and what AUPE members rightfully deserve.
Your team proposed raises based on the following key factors:
- Our expanded Scope of Practice
- General Wage Increases and Market Adjustments
- Long Service Pay Adjustments
Scope of Practice and Market Adjustments
If the employer accepts our proposals, members would receive the following raises effective April 1, 2024.
- A 20% raise for the following classifications:
- Licensed Practical Nurse
- Licensed Practical Nurse – Renal Dialysis
- Orthopaedic Technician
- Operating Room Technician
- The salary grid for Operating Room Technicians would change to match the Orthopaedic Technician salary grid. This change would be made first, and the 20% raise would be based on your new salary.
- Personal Support Coordinator
- LPN Connect Care Credentialed Trainer
- A 15% raise for the following classifications:
- Health Care Aide
- Mental Health Aide
- Psychiatric Aide
- Mental Health Therapy Assistant
- Drop-In Centre Supervisor
- Community Health Representative Worker
- Mental Health Support Worker
- Client Care Assistant
- Home Health Aide
- Home Support Aides
- Home Support Worker
- Nursing Attendant
- Residential Care Aide
- Residential Support Worker
General Wage Increases and Market Adjustments
Your team proposed the following General Wage Increases for all Nursing Care members.
- April 1, 2024: 25% plus Cost-of-Living Adjustment
- April 1, 2025: 10% plus Cost-of-Living Adjustment
But what is a Cost-of-Living Adjustment, also known as COLA?
Our proposed Cost-of-Living Adjustments would ensure our wages rise alongside inflation. The adjustment is calculated using a few factors, including the Consumer Price Index, which is reported by Statistics Canada.
The short version is this: COLA would help us keep up with how expensive everything has become, something that is even more important now that the United States is threatening our economy.
Long Service Pay Adjustments
Finally, we also proposed raises based on how long staff have worked for Covenant Health.
Recognition is important, and we believe raises are a way for the employer to recognize staff who have dedicated countless hours to serving Albertans.
The following Long Service Pay Adjustments would take effect as of April 1, 2024.
- 10 years of service - 2% increase
- 15 years of service - 3% increase
- 20 years of service - 4% increase
- 25 years of service - 5% increase
Your team was clear. Our proposals are based on facts about the economy and how far our wages go in today’s world. We don’t just deserve an increase, we need an increase.
We know what has been offered to our colleagues in other unions, and we expect to see significant changes to Covenant Health’s ingoing proposals of 2%, 2%, 1.75% and 1.75%.
Looking forward to more progress
We did make some progress in our March meetings, but with issues unrelated to our wage proposals.
We signed off on changes and improvements to our Collective Agreement Preamble, Articles 8 and 41, as well as Letters of Understanding 4, 6, and 21.
Our next bargaining dates are May 14 and 15. Your team expects Covenant Health to respond to our wage proposals at these meetings.
You won’t want to miss that update. Ensure you receive the latest bargaining news by creating a MyAUPE account today and keep wearing red to support each other.
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – COVENANT HEALTH NURSING CARE
Kathy Bandmann, Local 040
kbandmann@hotmail.com
Anita Henderson, Local 046
s69ahenderson@gmail.com
Beverley Hill, Local 040
bhill3095@gmail.com
Derrek Luu, Local 046
derrekluu@yahoo.ca
AUPE RESOURCE STAFF
Chris Dickson, Negotiations
c.dickson@aupe.org
