Public sector workers rally at legislature for better pay, conditions

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A crowd of several thousand public sector union workers rallied outside the Alberta legislature building over the noon hour Thursday demanding better pay and improved working conditions in a demonstration that comes amid continued bargaining with some of the province’s largest unions.

Demonstrators held a sea of union flags in front of the building’s front steps and chanted slogans, including, “cut back, fight back.”

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“Alberta workers are demanding better — and there will be consequences if the UCP doesn’t listen,” stated Alberta Federal of Labour (AFL) president Gil McGowan, who led Thursday’s rally, adding the message from workers was a call for “wages and respect.”

Around 200,000 public sector workers across the province are currently in collective bargaining with all generally calling for improved wages and better working conditions, among other demands.

Postmedia contacted the premier’s office for reaction to the rally’s message but has not yet received a reply.

The AFL said the workers there Thursday were drawn from six unions. Here’s some of what each of them had to say.

Nurses

More than 1,100 of Thursday’s crowd were members of the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA), the union said.

“Send a message to the Alberta government that Alberta nurses deserve respect, safe staffing, and better working conditions,” UNA posted on its social media ahead of the rally.

The union represents more than 30,000 registered nurses and registered practical nurses.

On Oct. 30, members are set to vote on a mediator’s recommended agreement with the province, with a majority of votes being needed to ratify the new deal that would run from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2028.

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Health care workers

The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA)  issued a statement ahead of the rally, saying its 29,000 members are calling on the government to improve its proposed wage hike which the union states amounts to an effective wage freeze.

HSAA president Mike Parker said workers had endured the province’s mishandling of the privatization of laboratories, EMS crisis, as well as ongoing staff shortages.

“There is no health care without the work of HSAA members. Without fair wages, we cannot retain the health-care professionals we have, let alone recruit more,” Parker said.

“The most effective way to solve the staffing crisis in health care is to show health-care professionals respect through fair wages and stability.”

Teachers and education workers

Members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) were also at Thursday’s rally, in part to show support for educational assistants and support staff represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

Those workers did not show up to work Thursday in a show CUPE called “political protest” and in opposition to the province’s decision to approve a dispute inquiry board following a request from Edmonton Public Schools.

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“It’s not fair for those students least able to advocate for themselves to be the victims of funding shortfalls. We can’t keep watching public education fall apart,” said CUPE 3550 president Mandy Lamoureux, herself an educational assistant.

The union was set to strike Thursday, but the dispute inquiry board forces the parties to return to the bargaining table.

If a deal still cannot be reached, the board will make a recommendation for settlement, which will be forwarded to both parties who will have 10 days to notify the province if they accept the deal.

Public employees

Members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) were also in Thursday’s crowd.

The union says more than 82,000 of its 95,000 members are or will be at the bargaining table this year and that it stood in solidarity with other public sector unions at the rally.

U of A support staff

The University of Alberta’s Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA) represents more than 6,000 support staff at the U of A.

“Our demand is respect,” NASA president Quinn Benders told the crowd.

“We want respect for the people who held our institutions together through budget cuts, recession, the COVID crisis, and now a cost of living crisis only to be cast aside when it’s convenient for those in power.”

— with files from Cindy Tran

[email protected]

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