Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) is a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

which represents approximately 29,800 members.

Background

In 1971, eleven "paramedical technical and professional members" established the HSAA to have a stronger representation than that provided by the larger existing labour unions. HSAA membership include employees in Alberta's public and private health-care sectors, such as "paramedics, lab technologists, psychologists, pharmacists, and respiratory therapists." The

United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party. ...

(UCP) government under Premier Jason Kenney and

Alberta Health Services Alberta Health Services (AHS) which is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta is the single health authority for the Canadian province of Alberta and the "largest integrated provincial health care system" in Canada. AHS delivers medical care on beha ...

, notified Health Sciences Association of Alberta,

United Nurses of Alberta The United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) is a trade union representing more than 30,000 Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses, and allied health workers in Alberta, Canada. UNA negotiates collective bargaining with the employers, of which t ...

, and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees of the government's intentions to cut an "estimated 6,400 to 7,400 unionized public-sector jobs by 2023". In February 2020, the consulting firm

Ernst and Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

, submitted their commissioned report to Premier Kenney, in which they recommended "contracting out surgeries,

hospital food Food in UK hospitals has been the subject of attention from celebrity chefs. James Martin was tasked with revamping the menu and catering facilities at Scarborough General Hospital in September 2011, for ''Operation Hospital Food'' for the BBC. ...

service, housekeeping, laundry, security, laboratory testing". The HSAA warned that "contracting out surgeries, hospital food service, housekeeping, laundry, security, laboratory testing and more will lead to bigger hits to government coffers down the road."Among the 57 recommendations in the report, options included "selling some long-term care homes and leasing space to private pharmacies in health facilities." The HSAA said that "privatizing lab services in Alberta could affect 850 full-time positions".

Bargaining rights and labour negotiations

The

Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act The ''Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act'' (Bill 9) is a bill, informally known as the "bargaining rights bill", introduced by the Province of Alberta's United Conservative Party (UCP) government under Premier Jason Kenney, during the 3 ...

(Bill 9) which became law on June 20, 2019, suspended and delayed hearings related to wage arbitration for Alberta's 180,000 public service workers represented by unions in 24 collective agreements, which included the HSAA, until August, when Janice MacKinnon's "Report and Recommendations: Blue Ribbon Panel on Alberta's Finances" was submitted. In February 2020, an independent public-sector wage arbitrator decided for the Provincial government and against the HSAA with a "zero per cent wage increase" to HSAA workers. In his February 6 statement, Alberta Finance Minister

Travis Toews Travis Toews (born 1964) is a Canadian politician elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Grande Prairie-Wapiti in the 30th Alberta Legislature. He was appointed as Minister of Finance of Alberta and ...

said that the UCP provincial government prioritizes "service delivery over salary increases for public sector workers".

Notes

References

External links

* {{Portal, Organized labour Medical and health organizations based in Alberta Healthcare trade unions in Canada Public sector trade unions Trade unions in Alberta

Background

Bargaining rights and labour negotiations

Notes

See also

References

External links