HSAA welcomes Premier's statement on public health transition

We were excited by Premier Danielle Smith's comments on talk radio today indicating that the Government of Alberta intends to keep Public Health Inspectors in the public health-care system rather than transfer them to direct government employment.

This will address our concern that our members would lose negotiated wages, benefits, seniority, and other workplace protections through a change in employer and union representation. Remaining with HSAA would mean that our members will keep all gains negotiated with HSAA as part of the AHS Collective Agreement reached last November.

Our advocacy has clearly made an impact, with more than 3,000 messages sent to Alberta MLAs in just two weeks. We appreciate that the Premier is listening to our concerns.

“This would be a positive step for members and for public health,” said HSAA President Leanne Alfaro. “Our goal has always been to ensure that public health professionals are respected for the important work they do and that they can continue protecting Albertans with the rights that they have fairly negotiated.”

We are now seeking formal confirmation of the Premier’s public statement, including that it applies to Researchers and Health Promotion Facilitators, and will continue working with government and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) to ensure members are protected and provided with clear information about what comes next.

We also thank the AUPE for their hard work negotiating on these members' behalf, and to UNA and CUPE Alberta for standing with us to advocate.  

An update from AUPE is also available here.