EDMONTON — Hospital and health-care workers who staged a one-day illegal walkout returned to work Tuesday while politicians swapped recriminations and accusations in the house over the dispute.
Alberta Health Services reported no service disruptions and a return to scheduled surgeries one day after hundreds of workers, including aides and support staff, walked off the job at about 30 sites throughout the province, including hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary.
Late Monday night, the Alberta Labour Relations Board ruled the job action illegal and the workers’ union, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, said it would urge staffers to return to work.
They had walked out to protest plans announced earlier this month by the United Conservative government to eliminate 11,000 jobs and privatize more lab and laundry services to save money. Health Minister Tyler Shandro had said nursing and other front-line clinical staff would not be affected.
The AUPE represents about 58,000 health care workers.
AHS estimated 157 non-emergency surgeries, most of them in Edmonton, had to be postponed as a result of the walkout. That is on top of the elective surgeries postponed in Edmonton last week due to strain on the system caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the legislature, the Opposition NDP critic Janis Irwin accused Shandro of shabbily treating critical front-line workers.
“These folks put their lives on the line to serve Albertans, and they deserve our respect and dignity, not your government’s constant attacks,” Irwin told the house during question period.
“What message do you have for these dedicated workers?”
Shandro replied, “This is pure hypocrisy from the NDP.
“We are doing what exactly the NDP did. They had 68 per cent of laundry jobs throughout the province contracted out in Calgary and Edmonton. BULLSHIT THAT WAS DONE BY THE PREVIOUS UCP GOVERNMENT WHEN IT WAS THE PC PARTY UNDER KLEIN
“The NDP are not fighting for patients. They’re not fighting for the workers either. They’re fighting for the six-figure salaries of their union bosses.”
NDP Leader Rachel Notley said her party did not initiate any privatization of those health services during its previous four years in government.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2020.
Alberta health-care workers could face sanctions for wildcat strike
Janet French CBC
© Scott Neufeld/CBC Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews said Alberta Health Services will investigate workers who participated in a wildcat strike on Monday.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is considering "disciplinary options" for unionized health-care workers who walked off the job earlier this week.
Nursing and support workers who participated in Monday's wildcat strike could be fined, suspended or even fired from their jobs, Finance Minister Travis Toews told reporters at the legislature on Tuesday.
"They're looking at individual employee actions, individual employees who took part in the illegal walkout," Toews said
Next steps could include reporting any regulated workers to disciplinary bodies for professional sanctions, he said.
Working conditions and the Alberta government's move to outsource up to 11,000 jobs prompted the job action.
On Monday night, the Alberta Labour Relations Board declared the workers' walkout to be an illegal strike.
Although the board cited no wrongdoing by their union, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), Toews said AHS will ask the board to investigate whether union leaders were involved in organizing the strike.
"Just from information in the public realm, it would appear that union leaders were instrumental, or certainly there was a high degree of possibility that union leaders were instrumental in the activities," Toews said.
Although he wouldn't point to specific evidence, Toews said social media posts, news reports and information received by his office suggest leaders were involved in organizing the walkout.
AUPE issued a short statement Tuesday, saying leaders can't comment on AHS's labour board complaint. Moves to investigate individual employees may prompt the union to file grievances against the employer, the statement said.
On Monday, AUPE President Guy Smith said the walkout was led by workers, not union officials.
"We know that your employer's going to react very strongly to what you're up to today," Smith said over a megaphone Monday to workers rallying outside Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital. "They're going to try and bully you and intimidate you to not be out here. If you stick together and stay strong, nothing can overcome the power of workers standing together — remember that."
Opposition calls move a 'witch hunt'
AHS said the organization is reviewing Monday's events and considering next steps including possible disciplinary options and consequences.
"That process could take some time to ensure we complete a thorough review and investigation," spokesperson Kerry Williamson said in an email.
He did not say how many workers AHS was investigating or how long it would take.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is considering "disciplinary options" for unionized health-care workers who walked off the job earlier this week.
Nursing and support workers who participated in Monday's wildcat strike could be fined, suspended or even fired from their jobs, Finance Minister Travis Toews told reporters at the legislature on Tuesday.
"They're looking at individual employee actions, individual employees who took part in the illegal walkout," Toews said
Next steps could include reporting any regulated workers to disciplinary bodies for professional sanctions, he said.
Working conditions and the Alberta government's move to outsource up to 11,000 jobs prompted the job action.
On Monday night, the Alberta Labour Relations Board declared the workers' walkout to be an illegal strike.
Although the board cited no wrongdoing by their union, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), Toews said AHS will ask the board to investigate whether union leaders were involved in organizing the strike.
"Just from information in the public realm, it would appear that union leaders were instrumental, or certainly there was a high degree of possibility that union leaders were instrumental in the activities," Toews said.
Although he wouldn't point to specific evidence, Toews said social media posts, news reports and information received by his office suggest leaders were involved in organizing the walkout.
AUPE issued a short statement Tuesday, saying leaders can't comment on AHS's labour board complaint. Moves to investigate individual employees may prompt the union to file grievances against the employer, the statement said.
On Monday, AUPE President Guy Smith said the walkout was led by workers, not union officials.
"We know that your employer's going to react very strongly to what you're up to today," Smith said over a megaphone Monday to workers rallying outside Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital. "They're going to try and bully you and intimidate you to not be out here. If you stick together and stay strong, nothing can overcome the power of workers standing together — remember that."
Opposition calls move a 'witch hunt'
AHS said the organization is reviewing Monday's events and considering next steps including possible disciplinary options and consequences.
"That process could take some time to ensure we complete a thorough review and investigation," spokesperson Kerry Williamson said in an email.
He did not say how many workers AHS was investigating or how long it would take.
© Scott Neufeld/CBC Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley said the government should be trying to reach a truce with health-care workers rather than investigating them for potential wrongdoing.
Opposition NDP leader Rachel Notley said the move is a continuation of the UCP government's attack on health-care workers.
"If the finance minister insists upon engaging in a witch hunt against regular, hard-working frontline workers in the middle of a pandemic it will show us that they have learned nothing from yesterday," Notley said on Tuesday. "What they must absolutely do is declare a truce."
The government has said outsourcing up to 11,000 health-care jobs such as cleaners, laundry and food service workers, porters and others could save up to $600 million a year. Two-thirds of health-care centre laundry across the province is already handled by private contractors.
The NDP disputes the estimated cost savings of outsourcing. Notley said the government expects low-wage health-care workers, many of whom are women of colour, to cheerfully report to high-risk jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic while waiting for pink slips.
"On what planet does this look even a little bit like basic common sense and humanity?" Notley said.
Opposition NDP leader Rachel Notley said the move is a continuation of the UCP government's attack on health-care workers.
"If the finance minister insists upon engaging in a witch hunt against regular, hard-working frontline workers in the middle of a pandemic it will show us that they have learned nothing from yesterday," Notley said on Tuesday. "What they must absolutely do is declare a truce."
The government has said outsourcing up to 11,000 health-care jobs such as cleaners, laundry and food service workers, porters and others could save up to $600 million a year. Two-thirds of health-care centre laundry across the province is already handled by private contractors.
The NDP disputes the estimated cost savings of outsourcing. Notley said the government expects low-wage health-care workers, many of whom are women of colour, to cheerfully report to high-risk jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic while waiting for pink slips.
"On what planet does this look even a little bit like basic common sense and humanity?" Notley said.
Ashley Joannou , Anna Junker EDMONTON JOURNAL
© Provided by Edmonton Journal Waving to passing motorists, health-care workers walked off the the job outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital joining others at various health care locations across Alberta on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020.
The Alberta Labour Relations Board has ruled that health-care workers who walked off the job Monday were engaged in an illegal strike.
In the decision released Monday night, the board said the workers must return to work at their scheduled shifts.
The orders from the board will be filed with the Court of Queen’s Bench, meaning anyone who breaks them could face civil or criminal penalties.
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), which represents the workers, said healthcare workers would return to work on Tuesday.
“AUPE members won support from across Alberta for their heroic stand, and proved once and for all that healthcare staff is more than doctors and nurses,” the union said in a statement late Monday.
In a statement issued following the decision, Finance Minister Travis Toews said he was pleased by the decision.
“Albertans should be able to rely on their health-care system with services delivered uninterrupted — no matter the circumstance,” he said.
“Going forward we expect that all unions respect the bargaining process and stop putting Albertans’ safety at risk. We will not tolerate illegal strike activity.”
General support health-care workers, licensed practical nurses and health-care aides across Alberta went on a wildcat strike Monday morning to call on the government to hire more staff and reverse the decision announced by Health Minister Tyler Shandro earlier this month to cut 11,000 jobs, including laundry services and lab work, mostly through outsourcing to third-party companies.
A wildcat strike is action taken by unionized workers without authorization from union leadership.
In a morning statement, Alberta Health Services (AHS) called the job action illegal. At a 4 p.m. emergency hearing, AHS formally asked the ALRB to direct employees back to work.
Arguments at the hearing centred around how big the walkout actually was and whether the AUPE was involved as an organization and could be held accountable.
AHS lawyers argued that the union was “reckless” for engaging in this type of behaviour during a pandemic and asked that the action be declared unlawful, the union and its members be ordered to cease and desist and the union make “every reasonable effort” to bring the strike to a close.
For AUPE’s part, the lawyer representing the union argued that while some members were not at work when they should have been, there was limited evidence that AUPE as an entity was involved and weak evidence around exactly how many employees were scheduled to work and were instead picketing.
In the final decision, the cease and desist order was made against the employees without mentioning the union.
Health-care workers have walked off the job this morning. A sizeable group is outside the Royal Alex and getting lots of honks of support from passing vehicles #yeg #ableg #abhealtb #abpoli pic.twitter.com/aADq08jdMi— Anna Junker 🔮 (@JunkerAnna) October 26, 2020
‘We’re not going to stand for being ripped apart and discarded, like Kleenex’
Speaking outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital on Monday morning, AUPE president Guy Smith said the strike was grassroots and spontaneous.
“The anger and the frustration that’s been building up for over a year was really set to light by that (job cuts announcement) two weeks ago,” said Smith.
The AUPE represents about 58,000 health-care workers, although it was not known exactly how many walked off the job or picketed.
Workers went on strike at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the University of Alberta Hospital, Glenrose Hospital and Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Foothills Hospital, South Health Campus and Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary, Red Deer Regional Hospital, and in Athabasca, Westlock, Lethbridge, Whitecourt, Cold Lake, Peace River, Leduc, Westview and Fort Saskatchewan.
By Monday afternoon, the crowd outside the Royal Alexandra had swelled to a few hundred, including representatives of other health-care and non-health-care unions.
The Health Sciences Association of Alberta, which represents 27,000 health-care professionals, and the United Nurses of Alberta had said in separate statements that their members wouldn’t do the work of other union members. The Alberta Federation of Labour and its affiliated unions said they would join picket lines to show support.
Heather Smith, president of the UNA, said there has been “extreme unhappiness” within the health-care system for a long time.
“You can’t continue to beat people and expect that they’re just going to take it,” she said.
“It’s time this government recognize that we are a family of providers, and we don’t like being ripped apart, we’re not going to stand for being ripped apart and discarded, like Kleenex, we are not disposable as a workforce.”
Colleen Buzikevich, an environmental service worker who does housekeeping at the Royal Alexandra and was picketing outside the hospital Monday morning, said hearing about the job cuts was devastating.
“It was it was like a hot knife right through the heart,” Buzikevich said. “We’re fighting for our livelihood. We have families to support, we have spouses, people have kids. It’s that’s how you pay for food on your table and that’s being taken away from us. It feels like the rug is being pulled out from under us.”
By 8:30 p.m., just before the decision was released, picketers had left the Royal Alexandra and U of A hospitals.
The Alberta Labour Relations Board has ruled that health-care workers who walked off the job Monday were engaged in an illegal strike.
In the decision released Monday night, the board said the workers must return to work at their scheduled shifts.
The orders from the board will be filed with the Court of Queen’s Bench, meaning anyone who breaks them could face civil or criminal penalties.
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), which represents the workers, said healthcare workers would return to work on Tuesday.
“AUPE members won support from across Alberta for their heroic stand, and proved once and for all that healthcare staff is more than doctors and nurses,” the union said in a statement late Monday.
In a statement issued following the decision, Finance Minister Travis Toews said he was pleased by the decision.
“Albertans should be able to rely on their health-care system with services delivered uninterrupted — no matter the circumstance,” he said.
“Going forward we expect that all unions respect the bargaining process and stop putting Albertans’ safety at risk. We will not tolerate illegal strike activity.”
General support health-care workers, licensed practical nurses and health-care aides across Alberta went on a wildcat strike Monday morning to call on the government to hire more staff and reverse the decision announced by Health Minister Tyler Shandro earlier this month to cut 11,000 jobs, including laundry services and lab work, mostly through outsourcing to third-party companies.
A wildcat strike is action taken by unionized workers without authorization from union leadership.
In a morning statement, Alberta Health Services (AHS) called the job action illegal. At a 4 p.m. emergency hearing, AHS formally asked the ALRB to direct employees back to work.
Arguments at the hearing centred around how big the walkout actually was and whether the AUPE was involved as an organization and could be held accountable.
AHS lawyers argued that the union was “reckless” for engaging in this type of behaviour during a pandemic and asked that the action be declared unlawful, the union and its members be ordered to cease and desist and the union make “every reasonable effort” to bring the strike to a close.
For AUPE’s part, the lawyer representing the union argued that while some members were not at work when they should have been, there was limited evidence that AUPE as an entity was involved and weak evidence around exactly how many employees were scheduled to work and were instead picketing.
In the final decision, the cease and desist order was made against the employees without mentioning the union.
Health-care workers have walked off the job this morning. A sizeable group is outside the Royal Alex and getting lots of honks of support from passing vehicles #yeg #ableg #abhealtb #abpoli pic.twitter.com/aADq08jdMi— Anna Junker 🔮 (@JunkerAnna) October 26, 2020
‘We’re not going to stand for being ripped apart and discarded, like Kleenex’
Speaking outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital on Monday morning, AUPE president Guy Smith said the strike was grassroots and spontaneous.
“The anger and the frustration that’s been building up for over a year was really set to light by that (job cuts announcement) two weeks ago,” said Smith.
The AUPE represents about 58,000 health-care workers, although it was not known exactly how many walked off the job or picketed.
Workers went on strike at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the University of Alberta Hospital, Glenrose Hospital and Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Foothills Hospital, South Health Campus and Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary, Red Deer Regional Hospital, and in Athabasca, Westlock, Lethbridge, Whitecourt, Cold Lake, Peace River, Leduc, Westview and Fort Saskatchewan.
By Monday afternoon, the crowd outside the Royal Alexandra had swelled to a few hundred, including representatives of other health-care and non-health-care unions.
The Health Sciences Association of Alberta, which represents 27,000 health-care professionals, and the United Nurses of Alberta had said in separate statements that their members wouldn’t do the work of other union members. The Alberta Federation of Labour and its affiliated unions said they would join picket lines to show support.
Heather Smith, president of the UNA, said there has been “extreme unhappiness” within the health-care system for a long time.
“You can’t continue to beat people and expect that they’re just going to take it,” she said.
“It’s time this government recognize that we are a family of providers, and we don’t like being ripped apart, we’re not going to stand for being ripped apart and discarded, like Kleenex, we are not disposable as a workforce.”
Colleen Buzikevich, an environmental service worker who does housekeeping at the Royal Alexandra and was picketing outside the hospital Monday morning, said hearing about the job cuts was devastating.
“It was it was like a hot knife right through the heart,” Buzikevich said. “We’re fighting for our livelihood. We have families to support, we have spouses, people have kids. It’s that’s how you pay for food on your table and that’s being taken away from us. It feels like the rug is being pulled out from under us.”
By 8:30 p.m., just before the decision was released, picketers had left the Royal Alexandra and U of A hospitals.
© Ed Kaiser An ambulance on a call passes health-care workers who have walked off the the job outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital joining others at various health care locations across Alberta on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. Ed Kaiser/Postmedia
Non-emergency surgeries postponed across the province
Earlier in the day, AHS said it was taking steps to address interruptions to patient care, including redeploying non-union staff wherever possible.
As a result of the job action, AHS spokesperson Kerry Williamson said non-emergency surgeries had been postponed across the province. The procedures were halted in the Edmonton Zone last week due to capacity issues because of COVID-19
.
© Ed Kaiser Health-care workers walked off the the job outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital joining others at various health care locations across Alberta on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020.
NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley called the strike action “deeply concerning” and said the province’s plan to privatize jobs will result in poorer health care.
“The UCP must stop this deliberate attack on public health care and get back to the table with frontline health-care heroes,” Notley said in a statement.
Smith said he’s had working relationships with previous premiers, but with Premier Jason Kenney there is “no relationship.”
“The fact that we haven’t been able to have that, build that relationship with this government, means that it could be harder to get to those discussion points,” Smith said. “We know we’re going to be at loggerheads, but we’re at a crisis point right now and we’re willing to help resolve that if the government is.”
With files from Lisa Johnson and The Canadian Press
NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley called the strike action “deeply concerning” and said the province’s plan to privatize jobs will result in poorer health care.
“The UCP must stop this deliberate attack on public health care and get back to the table with frontline health-care heroes,” Notley said in a statement.
Smith said he’s had working relationships with previous premiers, but with Premier Jason Kenney there is “no relationship.”
“The fact that we haven’t been able to have that, build that relationship with this government, means that it could be harder to get to those discussion points,” Smith said. “We know we’re going to be at loggerheads, but we’re at a crisis point right now and we’re willing to help resolve that if the government is.”
With files from Lisa Johnson and The Canadian Press
© Anna Junker AUPE health-care workers walk off the job and picket outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020
.
© Anna Junker AUPE president Guy Smith addresses media after AUPE health-care workers walk off the job and picket outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020.
© Anna Junker AUPE health-care workers walk off the job and picket outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020.
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