Is the Contract Dispute between AHS and Alberta Nurses strictly about Money?

Alberta Health Services (AHS) (the Alberta Government) are demanding across-the-board pay cuts of 3 percent, plus additional monetary cuts that would raise the cost of the rollbacks to an average 5 percent in their negotiations with United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) members who have already endured six years of zero percent increases. All this arguably amounts to a relatively large reduction in nurses pay under the guise that Alberta nurses are being paid more than their provincial counter-parts.   The government claims it respects the sacrifice and dedication of Alberta’s nurses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which is continuing. Under these circumstances, with pay cuts and major rollbacks still on the table, this appears to compound the disrespect shown by AHS during these negotiations. The speaker will clarify where negotiations are at between AHS and UNA. She will also dig deeper into the current healthcare staffing crisis, challenges of COVID, and the UCP privatization agenda attacking health care in Alberta.  Speaker: Danielle Larivee               Danielle Larivee has been a registered nurse for over 24 years, and has worked in a variety of settings, from frontline public health, to First Nation homecare, to teaching nursing, and is currently the First Vice-President of UNA, the union representing over 30,000 RNs, RPNs, and other frontline healthcare workers. She proudly served as president of her UNA local 315 until she was elected to the Alberta Legislature on May 5, 2015 and went on to fill multiple Cabinet posts, including Minister of Municipal Affairs, Service Alberta, Children’s Services and Status of Women. During her time in office, she managed many complicated and sensitive files, such as being Alberta’s lead for the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfires, developing and implementing a plan to improve Alberta's child intervention system, and co-chairing a review of the province’s mental health system. Ms. Larivee feels strongly that advocating at the political level is part of a nurse’s responsibility and is thankful for the opportunity in her newest role to advocate for both Alberta’s nurses and for our publicly funded, publicly delivered healthcare system.