Health employers twist the facts
in nurses’ negotiations

After proposing major rollbacks to just about every article in United Nurses of Alberta collective agreements, the regional health authorities have undertaken a PR spin campaign to say this in the best interests of nurses and the quality of care.

"We are asking for a 3 percent or cost-of-living salary increase, not 22 percent as the Provincial Health Authorities have been repeatedly saying," says UNA President Heather Smith.

"Nurses have made proposals to help address staffing problems, incentives to encourage nurses to take vacation outside the heavy summer and Christmas periods," says Smith.

"We’ve also suggested a new weekend worker plan to attract more nurses to hard-to-fill weekend shifts. But the employers took these constructive solutions and bundled their costs along with salary and benefit increases to get their inflated 22 percent total. That’s very misleading."

Smith says that from the nurses’ point of view, salaries are not the big issue in this round of bargaining. What nurses are really concerned about is safe care for patients, she says.

The negotiations are for the province’s 20,000 registered nurses working in hospitals, public health and long-term care.

UNA has made several proposals to guarantee adequate and safe staffing levels. But the health employers want to eliminate any say nurses might have about safe staffing.

Smith says it is crucial to keep the issue of adequate staffing on the table because Alberta’s health employers have shown they are prepared to reduce nursing staffs to minimal levels.

"That hurts patients," says Smith. "Recent studies in Canada and the U.S. show that each patient you add to a nurse’s workload increases the likelihood of errors and the risks for patients."

UNA has proposed negotiating nurse-to-patient ratios. The ratios would be similar to those included in nurses’ contracts in Australia and New Zealand. In California, nurse-patient ratios are guaranteed by law.

Staffing and workload were also identified in last year’s report from the Canadian Nursing Advisory Committee as the single largest issue in retaining nurses and in encouraging more nurses to work full-time.

Only about one-third of Alberta’s registered nurses work full-time, which is a major factor in the nursing shortage.

"Unfortunately, the province’s Health Regions have not made a single proposal to create more full-time jobs."

The health employers have been saying that UNA contracts keep them from implementing "flexible" staffing plans. What they’ve proposed, however, is to cut part-time nurses’ benefits and their rights to scheduled time off.

"This will give health employers strong financial incentives to keep more nurses working part-time," says Smith, adding that "Albertans should know that nurses’ salaries are not the big issue here."

"What’s at stake is the quality of care in our hospitals and health system. People need to look past the Employers’ spin, because there are things at stake that are important for the health care of all our families."