United Nurses of Alberta says AHS planning to lay off nurses starting next year

“From the tone of what we were told, we believe this is only the first wave of layoffs affecting RNs represented by UNA,” Heather Smith, UNA president, said in a statement.

She adds “There are also clear indications that AHS plans to shift many of the costs of health care onto Albertans who require treatment.”

Smith says the union is estimating 750 positions are being eliminated.

According to the letter, AHS lead negotiator Raelene Fitz says AHS will be proceeding with an attrition-only approach until March 30, 2020. Beginning April 1, AHS says they will use all options under the collective bargaining agreement to implement OBP (operational best practice).

The letter adds AHS is also considering contracting out services, such as home care services including palliative care, nursing and pediatric.

“AHS will continue to consider all options available to meet our organizational needs including changes to staff mix, service design including changes and repurposing of sites, relocating services, reducing or ceasing the provision of services,” Fitz said in the letter.

The Labour Relations Co-ordinator with United Nurses of Alberta is outraged. “It’s absolutely a betrayal. The promise was not to cut front line services, and the further promise, the purpose of this government is jobs, jobs, jobs, and pipelines…but they were talking about creating jobs, not laying people off, not laying off 750 RN’s. This is the sort of chaos the health care system sort of had in the 1990’s and we thought we outgrew that.

Premier Jason Kenney is away but Finance Minister Travis Toews released a statement about collective bargaining.

“The Government of Alberta has been abundantly clear that spending restraint, change and innovation is necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of the high quality services Albertans rely on.

“In order to be transparent and respect the collective bargaining process, unions were notified of potential workforce restructuring to ensure taxpayer dollars bring greater value to Albertans and the communities we serve.

“The MacKinnon report clearly showed, the status quo is not a sustainable option. Despite spending far more per capita on services than other large provinces, our outcomes are no better and often worse.

“We were also clear about the need for an ongoing review of government programs to ensure they are efficient and effective, and that this could result in changes to the public service.

“This means that some difficult but necessary decisions are required to ensure available funding is directed to the front-line services Albertans need most. These could include changes to staffing levels, aligning resources to areas where need is greater, as well as finding alternative ways to deliver services that would keep jobs in the Alberta economy.

“We have the highest respect and admiration for all public sector workers. These potential changes do not change the value we place on their dedication to Albertans.”

But Cypress Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes tells us front line workers should not be losing their jobs. “I’d say to Alberta Health Services that if that was their intention and their plan then they got it wrong. Make those cuts on administration and managers managing managers, look for efficiency with more local decision making, leave all the front line workers in place”, Barnes stated.

AHS officials were scheduled to meet bargaining representatives from other health care unions today.

The UNA is demanding an emergency meeting with the Health Minister.

A link to the full letter from AHS is posted below.

https://www.una.ab.ca/files/uploads/2019/11/AHS_Letter_to_David_Harrigan.pdf

by Charles Lefebvre

United Nurses of Alberta says AHS planning to lay off nurses starting next year

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