Alberta NDP Leader sounds alarm over staffing shortages, wage cuts of healthcare staff

EDMONTON – The leader of Alberta’s NDP is questioning why the UCP would ask nurses to take a pay cut when they’ve been the ones at the front of the lines throughout this pandemic.

Rachel Notley is also sounding the alarm over a shortage of healthcare staff in the province, which she blames on a lack of respect from the governing body.

Notley says they’re hearing about unprecedented numbers of beds being closed and rural communities going without the minimum number of nurses because of such a shortage.

And that now is not the time to be asking nurses for a three per cent cut in wages.

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“They have been there for us throughout this pandemic. They put themselves at risk, they put themselves between us and the virus, they’ve kept, again, Albertans safe. And to thank them by demanding a pay cut is utterly shameful,” Notley said.

“This trope about them being paid more than other places–it’s a red herring. We know that the overall wages in Alberta have always been significantly higher than any other places in the country and the gap between Alberta and nurses in other parts of the country is much smaller than the overall gap in income between Alberta and the rest of the country.”

On paramedic shortages, she says the current government needs to step up to plate with support sooner than later.

“We’re falling farther and farther behind. And so we need to acknowledge that EMS is a critical service and the whole healthcare system relies on its capacity to be there when we need it for ourselves and for our loved ones.”