Alberta NDP promises to ‘restore’ holiday pay as election nears

With an election just months away, the Alberta NDP is promising to “restore” holiday pay for workers in time for Christmas 2023 if the party is successful.

According to the government’s website, teachers, various salespersons, extras in a film or video production, councilors, and others are not entitled for “general holidays,” including “general holiday pay.”

The NDP says in a statement Alberta is the only province in the country that does not guarantee holiday pay for everyone.

The opposition party explains Albertans who are going to be working on Christmas Day this year will earn less than Canadians in other provinces.

“The UCP is deliberately making sure that Albertans earn less than any other Canadian this holiday, despite working the same hours,” said NDP labour critic Christina Gray.

The NDP says this is due to legislative changes made to provincial holiday pay rules by the UCP.

“In 2019, the UCP passed legislation that substantially changed who qualifies for holiday pay in Alberta, excluding many workers,” read the statement.

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Before implementing the changes, workers in the province were entitled to “general holiday pay,” whether the holiday fell on a normally scheduled day or not.

However, this year, both Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve fall on a Sunday. With the new rule, Albertans are not going to earn “general holiday pay.”

Meanwhile, the new rule also requires that new hires “must have worked at least 30 days prior to the holiday,” potentially also affecting people hired specifically for holiday shifts.

“This Christmas, those hard-working Albertans sacrificing time with their families or taking a second job to put a little extra in the bank will be sorely disappointed,” added Gray. “We are committed to making sure this is the last Christmas that Alberta workers are shortchanged by the UCP.”

In a statement to CityNews, the UCP says it consulted with workers and employers.

“During consultations, both employees and business owners told the government that not everyone sees every holiday as being of equal meaning and importance to them, and some wanted to choose to have different days off for cultural and religious reasons,” said the office of Brian Jean, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development. “We wanted to be sensitive to these concerns and wanted to offer more choices and solutions to employees and business owners when it comes to wages that fit their individual needs.”