St. Albert nurses and other union members took to the streets Thursday afternoon to drum up support in their battle against the provincial government’s proposed cuts to healthcare.
Orissa Shima, president of the United Nurses Association (UNA) local 85 Sturgeon Hospital branch, said they are looking to gather attention and support for the troubles the nurses face. Alberta is in the midst of wage negotiations with provincial unions and is proposing staff cuts and wage freezes.
“We know that cuts are coming and they're going to hurt Albertans,” Shima said. “We just want to put it out there in the public that we are not okay with the rollbacks they are proposing. The rollbacks are going to hurt our patients. Our working conditions are their care conditions.”
Shima was joined by more than 50 supporters, including nurses working at the Sturgeon Hospital, politicians like NDP MLA David Eggan and members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) who have many staff working in the local hospital.
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As the nurses walked in front of the hospital along Boudreau Road, they received tons of support from drivers passing the picket, with almost constant honking being heard in the background.
Nurses and AUPE members participated in 32 information walks across Alberta to raise awareness about the working conditions and cuts proposed by the government.
Shima said the Sturgeon Hospital has lost registered nurses, unit clerks and healthcare aides to attrition.
“We are already feeling the pinch in terms of our abilities to provide safe patient care and this is only the beginning,” Shima said.
The nurse said a clause in their UNA contract preventing layoffs ends on March 31 and the province has said it is going to lay off 750 nurses.
“We're really worried. I don't know how many are going to be impacted on our site, but it's hard on the front lines right now,” Shima said.
One of the concerns for the nurses is Ernst & Young's review of Alberta Health Services (AHS), released earlier this month. If the recommendations are implemented, the province could see some services privatized and healthcare workers could face significant pay cuts.
Right now, the UNA and other unions are heading to the table for arbitration with AHS, as many of their contracts end this year. The province is hoping to see wage freezes for four years and changes to their scheduling provisions while the nurses are asking for a two-per-cent wage increase each year.
Bobby-Joe Borodey, vice-president of AUPE, came out to support the UNA in St. Albert. AUPE represents 96,000 members across the province and many employees inside the Sturgeon Hospital, including licenced practical nurses (LPNs), administrative members, unit clerks and housekeeping staff.
Borodey said AHS delivered a letter Monday stating the government would send out a tender on May 1 to contract out hospital laundry and linen services.
The vice-president said it was important to come out and show solidarity of the health sector against the proposed cuts.“We feel that the UCP government under the leadership of Jason Kenney has essentially waged a war on all of Alberta and he is specifically targeting the public sector,” Borodey said.
Sharon Lloyd, a registered nurse at the Sturgeon Hospital who has been working in the industry for 34 years, came out Thursday before her shift to participate in the information picket.
The pickets on Thursday took place on the 32nd anniversary of the end of the 1988 nurses' strikes, which Lloyd took part in as well.
Lloyd said at the time she was a young nurse and didn’t truly realize the value of what her fellow nurses were striking for, including pensions and work hours.
Now, though, Lloyd is on the local executive and after a long career in the industry, she has a better idea of why it is important for her to support her fellow nurses and healthcare workers for things like good wages, fair work hours and good working conditions.
Lloyd said right now the hospital is cutting back on overtime, which means nurses are often working without claiming their overtime hours.
“People are missing their breaks, and yet not putting in for overtime because they know that they'll get refused. They're staying late to chart to the end of their shift because there is too much work to be done. So people aren't putting in the overtime,” Lloyd said.
“Morale is down. Everybody's worried. Young nurses are scared whether they're going to get laid off."
Right now, unions have their eye on the provincial budget, which will come out on Feb. 27, and are fearful for what the budget might mean for the public sector.
“It’s actually daunting to think about honestly,” Shima said.
“I can’t imagine doing any more with less at this point.”
