United Nurses of Alberta members ratify new three-year deal with Alberta Health Services

Members of the United Nurses of Alberta have ratified a three-year contract with Alberta Health Services with no wage increases for the next two years.

The ratification vote by about 28,000 registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses was held Thursday at the union’s work sites across the province. According to a release, close to 90 per cent of eligible union members indicated they were in favour of ratifying the agreement, and 98 per cent of the 600 delegates from each of the union’s locals voted in favour.

The votes were tallied Friday at the union’s provincial office in Edmonton.

“This agreement recognizes the reality of the economic climate of the province and provides strong employment protection for nurses,” union president Heather Smith said in a release.

The deal is retroactive to April 2017 and will run until the end of March 2020.

The agreement includes no pay adjustments in the first two years, and a wage re-opener in the third year. That means if the two sides can’t agree on a pay increase, the dispute is decided by arbitration.

The deal also includes job security assurances for registered practical nurses and registered nurses, and guarantees of no reductions in hours.

According to a release, other important provisions include limits on the cycle of shift schedules to 12 weeks; improvements in language affecting leaves for maternity and adoption, critical illness of family members, disappearance of a child, domestic violence, union duties, and citizenship ceremonies; payment in lieu of named holidays; and on-call work for casual employees.