Your questions about government services bargaining, answered.
Questions
1. What proposals have the union and employer made so far?
2. What is our position on the employer’s proposed rollbacks?
3. How many years will our next contract be in place for?
4. Can the employer legislate their bargaining demands?
5. Can the employer issue a retroactive salary rollback?
6. Is the employer seeking to have us pay more for our benefits?
7. What is an Essential Service Agreement, and when do we expect to have one?
8. If we have to strike, will I have access to financial support?
9. Why don’t we just call a general strike now?
10. What are we doing to fight these rollbacks, and how can I get involved?
11. Local chairs contact information
1. What proposals have the union and employer made so far?
The employer has proposed a number of rollbacks so far. In terms of salary, the specific numbers we have so far are for the Program Services (PS) series. They are proposing that workers in the PS3 classification see a pay-grade level adjustment from level 67 to 66, which would create a salary rollback of over 2 per cent, and for PS4 workers to go from pay-grade level 70 to 68, which would mean a salary reduction of nearly 5 per cent. PS3s and PS4s make up 20 per cent of Government of Alberta employees, and most workers in both classifications are women.
The employer has indicated that they believe the Natural Resources (NR) series needs to be subject to “market adjustments,” which will likely mean rollbacks, but have not proposed any specific measures yet.
The employer is also proposing to end the Christmas closure, which would translate to an across-the-board pay cut of over 1 per cent.
In response, we have tabled a full ingoing package, which includes a modest salary increase of 2.5 per cent per year to make up for our salaries lost to inflation over the previous years of zero-increases. We have also tabled a full slate of non-monetary items, and discussions have focused on those items so far.
2. What is our position on the employer’s proposed rollbacks?
Our position is to reject all rollbacks categorically. We have already had years of zero-growth salaries under our last contract, and we are not about to start accepting rollbacks at the bargaining table.
Because our position is so far away from the employer’s, we expect to have a serious fight on our hands. That’s why we’re preparing to take strike action, if necessary, to defend our jobs and decent working conditions.
3. How many years will our next contract be in place for?
We don’t know yet. Our rule is that we always aim for shorter contracts, because that gives us more opportunities to win gains at the bargaining table. We would be willing to consider a longer contract if the employer makes it worth our while by including significant gains—but of course, that is not what the employer has been doing. In any case, the length of the contract will be worked out at the bargaining table, and then all of us will vote on whether to accept it or not.
4. Can the employer legislate their bargaining demands?
Because our employer is the government, it is possible for the UCP to legislate a contract. This government, in particular, has made it clear that they have very little respect for the collective bargaining process or workers’ rights, so we may see them attempt to do so.
We have seen this type of action before—the federal government legislated a contract on postal workers in 2011. The Supreme Court of Canada later ruled that contract unconstitutional. That decision took years, though, and workers had to endure an unfair contract while the fight happened in court. We are confident that we would win as well, if we have to.
If the UCP tries to legislate a contract on us, we will fight it using every means available to us—in the streets and in the courts.
5. Is it possible for the employer to issue a retroactive salary rollback?
In theory, the employer could issue a retroactive rollback. However, we would need to agree to that rollback at the bargaining table—which is not going to happen—or have that decision imposed by an arbitrator, which is unlikely.
The government would have an enormous administrative task on its hands if it wanted to claw back salaries retroactively. Any proposals that the employer is issuing which include retroactive rollbacks are just meant to scare us into accepting a bad contract. We aren’t fooled.
6. Is the employer seeking to have us pay more for our benefits?
Yes. The employer is seeking a range of rollbacks in our benefits. The employer is proposing to move to a 50/50 cost-sharing split for our dental plans, which has always been paid for by the employer in the past. The employer is also attempting to reduce our health spending accounts from $900 to $850.
We are categorically rejecting these rollbacks at the negotiating table.
7. What is an Essential Service Agreement, and when do we expect to have one?
An Essential Service Agreement (ESA) is an agreement between unionized workers and their employer which ensures that, as a strike happens, essential services continue to be provided to the public. Some workers, under ESAs, will continue to work during a strike to ensure that services are not fully stopped.
Before Alberta’s labour laws were changed under the previous NDP government, we were the last province in Canada with a blanket ban on public sector workers going on strike. A 2015 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that all workers have a right to strike which is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As a result of that decision, the government of Alberta changed its labour laws to reflect the new reality. Public sector workers won the right to strike—but only under very specific conditions. One condition is that an ESA be in place.
Exactly who goes to work, and who strikes, is a decision that is reached through negotiation between the workers (through their union) and their employers. Before a strike can begin, they need to come to an agreement on the specific features of their ESA.
We still can’t definitively say when the ESA will be completed, but we are currently on track to have one completed by early spring. In the meantime, we need to be preparing ourselves and our co-workers for the conflict that is coming. We’re aiming to get ESAs for all of our bargaining units, so that any strike action we take is fully legal, and workers are fully protected.
8. If we have to strike, will I have access to financial support?
Yes. We have a healthy strike fund, cash that we’ve put aside to support ourselves when we have to strike or are locked out. If a strike lasts five days or longer, you can receive $400 per week, and cover all benefits except pensions. The question of pensions will be negotiated by our negotiating team. To access this support, you just need to show up to the picket line.
If you have a health issue which prevents you from attending a picket line, then please call your membership services officer. We always prioritize the health and safety of our co-workers, and we can find new ways for members with health issues to safely be involved.
9. Why don’t we just call a general strike now?
A general strike is not something that can be summoned by the declarations of union leadership, it’s something that we have to build up ourselves, worksite by worksite. We can’t call a general strike—we need to build one.
And that’s what we’re doing. Every day, AUPE members in worksites across the province are talking to their co-workers and building the on-the-ground solidarity that will be required to sustain a strike. We are getting prepared, but we can’t rush into it. The government is preparing for us to take action—we’ve made no secret of our intention to fight—so we need to be fully prepared as well, when the time comes to do so.
The longer the picket line, the shorter the strike. That’s an old expression in the labour movement, and it’s as true today as it was 100 years ago. We need to get ourselves, and all of our co-workers ready to take this action together. Because no matter how powerful the UCP seems, we’ve got our own power as well—we’ve got people.
10. What are we doing to fight these rollbacks, and how can I get involved?
We are using every means at our disposal to ensure that we refuse all rollbacks, and that we win real gains in our next contract. At the negotiating table, we’re setting our own priorities and rejecting the employer’s.
More importantly though, we’re also preparing in our workplaces. We are getting our colleagues ready to take action, and to fight. Because with a government this extreme, we know that the only way that we can possibly achieve dignity at work is through collective action and struggle. If we lie down, the government will roll over us. We need to stand up and fight.
If you aren’t already involved, you should contact your local chair to get information on how you can plug in. There remains a lot of work to be done, if we want to win this fight. And that’s exactly what we intend to do.
11. Local chairs and AUPE resources contact information
Your Government Services Bargaining Committee (GSBC)
Rebecca Leblanc, 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
Donna Smith, Local 006, xsmith@telus.net
Angela Pala, Local 009, rossieyork@shaw.ca
Ken Podulsky (GSBC Vice-chair), Local 012,pudley68@telus.net
AUPE staff resources
Dale Perry, negotiations spokesperson,d.perry@aupe.org
Merryn Edwards, negotiations spokesperson,m.edwards@aupe.org