As Jason Kenney announces a new ad campaign that seeks to recruit workers from Toronto and Vancouver to come work in Alberta, the province’s largest union is saying that the campaign is built to fail.
“Short-staffing is a major problem, and needs to be addressed,” says Bobby-Joe Borodey, Vice-President of the Alberta Union of Provincial employees. “Healthcare workers, public sector workers, and workers across Alberta know it firsthand. But if we want to attract and retain workers, then we need to stop the attacks.”
Borodey points out that Kenney and his United Conservative Party (UCP) government have spent their time in power rolling-back workers rights in Alberta. “They introduced a two-tier minimum wage system so that they can pay young people less. They rolled back health and safety standards for workers with Bill 47. They’ve tried to silence workers’ voices with Bill 32. The list goes on and on.”
“Now, after attacking workers for years, they think a slick ad campaign is all they need? Give me a break.”
Kenney’s ad campaign puts an emphasis on the fact that Alberta has higher wages and lower cost-of-living than other provinces—Borodey points out that the UCP has spent the past few years undermining both of those things, with no signs of reversing course.
“They want to recruit healthcare workers based on higher average wages, but they spent the past two years trying to cut healthcare workers’ salaries at the negotiating table,” says Borodey. “They brag that the cost of living is lower, but they removed the cap on electricity prices and insurance rates, which sent prices surging.”
“If we want to really fix short-staffing in this province, the solution isn’t an ad campaign,” Borodey says. “The solution is to improve working conditions across the board, treat workers with respect, and have well-funded and effective public services.”
Bobby-Joe Borodey is available for comment. Contact Jon Milton, AUPE communications officer, at j.milton@aupe.org