For Immediate Release
February 26, 2018
The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) has reached a tentative agreement with Alberta Health Services (AHS) over a new three-year collective agreement for its 19,000 members employed by the health authority.
“The bargaining teams for the union and employer worked into the weekend and wrapped up a tentative deal that addresses the top concerns of our members,” says Mike Parker, president of HSAA. “We are now working hard to get the details of the agreement to our members and will be organizing a ratification vote to be held in the next month.”
Parker says: “The tentative agreement brings some real improvements to work-life balance issues for our members, and some improvements to benefits for which we’ve been advocating for many years. The salary increases follow the model reached by other public-sector unions, with two years of zero-per-cent increases, with an agreement to look at wages again in the third year, early in 2019.
“We consulted widely with our members before heading into this round of negotiations. The message we got from them was clear. They recognize the financial challenges facing this province. They also told us conditions at work have become increasingly difficult and wanted to see improvements to work conditions that will allow them to do their jobs and take care of patients. We think this deal goes a long way to helping both situations.”
The tentative agreement runs from April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2020.
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MEDIA CONTACTS: Mike Parker, HSAA president, 780-984-2154
Terry Inigo-Jones, HSAA Communications, 587-990-3394
