Labour unrest: Healthcare professionals rally across Alberta after rejecting tentative agreement

Thousands of healthcare professionals rallied across Alberta Thursday – in Edmonton, Calgary and smaller communities – demanding a better deal from the government.

The “Day of Unity” was organized by the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), after 59 per cent of its members voted to reject a tentative agreement with the province last month.

The union says that offer, which would have seen wages increase by three per cent a year, didn’t do enough to address the serious challenges faced by healthcare workers in Alberta.

“Albertans deserve expert medical care delivered by a team of well-supported and well-resourced professionals. But right now, unsustainable workloads, constant short staffing, and severe burnout are driving professionals out of the health system and out of Alberta, creating a crisis in our hospitals and health centres,” said HSAA president Mike Parker.

“The government’s last offer failed to address these issues and now, we are asking Albertans to join us in supporting health professionals so they can deliver the care we deserve.”

HSAA claims wages have fallen behind inflation, and the system is dangerously understaffed.

“It’s to the point where ambulances, people are waiting two or three hours to get an ambulance and it’s just ridiculous,” said Lindsay Newman, a paramedic and dispatcher.

HSAA has yet to call a strike vote and instead is asking Alberta Health Services and the Government of Alberta to bring forward a better wage offer.

“These members stood up for themselves and said ‘no, enough is enough,’” Parker said. “And now it’s time for this government to hear us and bring back an offer that these members can vote on.”

Parker says a strike vote could happen soon.

“We’re talking about delayed EMS response, delayed therapies, delayed surgeries,” he said. “Healthcare will shut down, because without HSAA members that are on the street right now, there is no healthcare in this province. That doesn’t mean we’re not ready to talk.”

Gatherings were planned at 11 health facilities in the province.

Edmonton demonstrations took place at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and the University of Alberta Hospital.

In Calgary, workers gathered at the Foothills Medical Centre and the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre.

There were also protests planned for Stony Plain, St. Albert, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Red Deer.

‘A government that doesn’t respect workers’

In a statement the office of Finance Minister Nate Horner told CityNews “we are committed to reaching a fair and fiscally responsible agreement that supports health-care workers and protects taxpayers.”

But the Alberta NDP says the government is to blame for all of this.

“The labour unrest we’re seeing in so many sectors is caused by an incompetent UCP government right now,” said Alberta NDP House Leader Christina Gray, also referencing teachers in Alberta who may be going on strike in just a few days.

“A government that doesn’t respect workers and because of their actions is responsible for the healthcare system being in chaos and public education getting worse.”

Political scientist Duane Bratt from Mount Royal University agrees this goes beyond inflation, lagging wages and growth pressures. He believes many public sector workers feel disrespected by the UCP government.

“You can see that in ways that go beyond the contract negotiations,” Bratt said. “Like the book ban and the belief that teachers are grooming elementary students to become transgender. That’s all part of this.”

HSAA represents more than 22,000 specialized healthcare professionals, including paramedics, diagnostic imaging specialists, mental health and addiction counsellors, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, dietitians, and social workers.

–With files from Sean Amato in Edmonton