Bargaining Update #8 - Entering informal mediation
Your HSAA Bargaining Committee met with the Good Samaritan Society for informal mediation on June 5 and July 27.
Where discussions stand
The parties entered informal mediation with 17 open articles and letters of understanding. Over the course of the two mediation dates, no items were signed off.
The Employer did not provide meaningful responses to the priority items you identified, including improvements to benefits, professional development, severance provisions, or the gains achieved at other comparable tables, such as preceptor premiums and long service pay.
The Employer’s position has been mainly focused on wages and they have cited “funding uncertainty’” as a reason to stall negotiations. They have yet to table an offer that comes anywhere close to the settlements reached by your colleagues at similar employers, including CapitalCare and Carewest.
What happens next
At the conclusion of the second day of mediation, the Employer was not prepared to seriously respond to your Committee’s proposals and our patience has run out.
As a result, your Committee made the decision to end informal mediation and move to formal mediation.
Your Committee remains dedicated to achieving a fair agreement. The mediator remains engaged and our hope is that your Employer comes back to the table with meaningful proposals that respect your role as health-care professionals delivering quality care to Albertans.
Essential Service Agreement Member Consultation
Before formal mediation can begin, an Essential Services Agreement (ESA) must be filed with the Alberta Labour Relations Board.
Anticipating this requirement, HSAA served notice to the Employer in April to begin negotiating an ESA. That process has resulted in a proposed Master Agreement.
Before an ESA can be filed, we need your input on the proposed staffing plans and their adherence to legislative requirements regarding what is deemed as essential services, which should only be services:
- where the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety, or health of the public, or
- that are necessary to the maintenance and administration of the rule of law or public security.
ESA Consultation Meeting
Please join us to review the proposed staffing plan, ask questions, and to learn more about next steps.
Date: Thursday, August 13
Time: 12:00 PM to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual meeting via Zoom (check the email version of your bargaining update for the link to register)
Have questions? Email Marnie Stuart at mstuart@hsaa.ca.
You can also learn more about what formal mediation means, what ESAs are, and how the negotiations process works by visiting our Collective Bargaining FAQs.
In solidarity,
Joanne Dam, Social Worker, Dr. Gerald Zetter Care Centre
Patty Soumar, Dietitian, Dr. Gerald Zetter Care Centre
Marnie Stuart, Labour Relations Officer/Negotiator
Kathy Hearn-McKinnon, Labour Relations Officer