Alberta Health-Care Workers Ratify Significant Contract Agreement
In a major development for Alberta's health-care sector, approximately 27,000 health-care workers have formally approved a new collective agreement with Alberta Health Services. The ratification vote, announced on Saturday, marks a crucial step in stabilizing the province's health-care workforce amid ongoing challenges.
Contract Details and Wage Increases
The newly approved contract provides medical support staff with wage increases totaling 12 percent over the next four years. These increases are retroactive to April 1, 2024, ensuring workers receive compensation for the period since the previous agreement expired. According to Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner, this agreement brings Alberta health-care workers into compensation alignment with other government employees across the province.
"This new collective agreement provides fair compensation increases in line with the other public sector deals and improved benefits for general support staff members," Horner stated in an official release. He emphasized that this agreement concludes collective bargaining with the province's major health sectors for this round of negotiations, representing what he called "a major investment in our health-care system and provides stability for all Albertans."
Voting Results and Living Wage Guarantee
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees reported strong support for the agreement among voting members. Of the 61.5 percent of eligible AHS support staff workers who participated in the vote, 79.2 percent endorsed the new contract. Similarly, at the Lamont Health Care Centre, 94.4 percent of the 54.5 percent of qualified workers who voted approved the agreement.
A significant provision in the contract guarantees that workers will "earn no less than a living wage of $22.65 by April 1, 2027." Additionally, employees who have worked continuously and consecutively for their employer will receive a 2 percent long-service wage increase. These workers perform diverse roles across the health-care system, including positions as systems analysts, IT staff, clerks, porters, surgical processors, and housekeepers.
Union Perspective and Ongoing Negotiations
AUPE president Sandra Azocar welcomed the agreement while noting that significant work remains. She highlighted that the living wage provision would help address poverty among health-care workers, stating that "many of our people have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet, that lifts 8,000 of our members from poverty wages."
Regarding the 12 percent wage increase over four years, Azocar commented that "we've been far behind the cost of living and 3 percent annual wage hike barely covers that inflation." She emphasized that while this agreement represents progress, approximately 20,000 AUPE members in other health-care bargaining units still require negotiated contracts. These include support staff and long-term care workers employed by private providers funded by the government.
"We're far from being at a place where we're at the end of bargaining," Azocar explained. "It's an ongoing fight, especially in areas like long-term care where wages and working conditions remain atrocious and provide little hiring incentive."
Broader Implications for Alberta's Health-Care System
This contract ratification occurs against the backdrop of a national health-care system facing significant pressures. The agreement represents one of the largest collective bargaining settlements in Alberta's recent health-care history and sets important precedents for future negotiations with remaining health-care worker groups.
The provincial government views the settlement as completing negotiations with the main health-care sectors for this bargaining round, while the union emphasizes that substantial work remains to address compensation and working conditions across the entire health-care system. Both parties acknowledge the agreement's importance in providing stability and addressing recruitment and retention challenges in critical health-care roles.
