Front-line health-care professionals have ratified a new collective agreement with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and other provincial health agencies and corporations following a provincewide vote after mediator recommendations last week. The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) said in a media release Tuesday afternoon 66.8 per cent of the 15,724 members who cast ballots from Thursday to Tuesday voted in favour of the agreement. The HSAA said 76 per cent of the membership cast a ballot. Two months ago, members roundly rejected a deal put forth by the province. The two sides returned to the bargaining table two weeks ago. The new agreement comes after 20 months of bargaining and covers more than 22,000 workers, including diagnostic imaging technologists, mental health and addictions counsellors, social workers, paramedics, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, speech language pathologists, psychologists, dietitians and physiotherapists, among others. It features improvements to wages, benefits, working conditions and recruitment, including a 12 per cent general wage increase over four years for all members, full portability of seniority, benefits and other rights, enhanced medical benefits, improved personal leave and improved leaves of absence, and a new workload appeal process. “This new collective agreement provides fair compensation increases and improved benefits that will help retain and recruit these vital professionals and bring long-term stability to our health care system,” said a statement from the Alberta’s Ministry of Finance. The HSAA has also signed two new letters of understanding (LOUs) with the Alberta government, allowing it to work with AHS to identify further market adjustments needed for retention and recruitment in other professions and to review classifications for several professions. “Alberta is in a global competition for health professionals, which means our members need a fair, competitive compensation structure that keeps them here,” HSAA President Mike Parker said. “These LOUs are an important opportunity for us to take a close look at how to accomplish this in Alberta. In the coming months, one of our top priorities will be consulting with our members to bring classification and market adjustments forward to the employer.”
