AUPE MEDIA RELEASE: Private Health Provider Still Refuses to Support Pandemic Measures
CBI Home Health to Argue Against Employees at Board Hearing Thursday
EDMONTON – Members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) are upset with CBI Home Health and their refusal to support their employees taking precautionary pandemic measures to only work for one employer.
“These workers did the right thing and told their employer CBI Home Health that they would only be working at one health facility job,” says AUPE Vice-President Susan Slade. “Now they’re being punished. Their multi million dollar employer is refusing to guarantee a return to normal hours for these employees once the pandemic lifts.”
AUPE had filed a complaint with the Alberta Labour Relations Board on May 21, 2020, with an unsuccessful resolution hearing on May 28. A hearing is now scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, June 11 where AUPE expects the employer to argue that they should not have to comply with the Ministerial Order to support a single site of work for continuing care workers.
"AUPE worked hard to resolve this situation without going to a hearing, but the employer appears to be determined to drag this out as long as possible,” says Slade. “Instead of simply agreeing to support their workers, they want to use narrow legalistic arguments to try to avoid doing the right thing.”
During multiple occasions AUPE has put forward proposals to the employer to avoid the need for a labour board hearing. AUPE has insisted that the workers should have their jobs protected with an expectation to return to normal hours of work once the Ministerial Order ends.
“CBI has provided no evidence that they can not afford to restore these workers to their previous hours, this is a choice they are trying to make,” says Slade. “Behaviour like this from private providers is one of the reasons we believe privately run home care is not in the interests of patients or staff.”
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AUPE Vice-President Susan Slade is available for comment.
For more information contact Trevor Zimmerman, Communications, 780-930-3413.