The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) says formal mediation has broken down with the Government of Alberta (GOA) and it will hold a strike vote. The union said it notified the government’s negotiator of its decision at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. There will be a 14-calendar-day cooling off period before the union can legally hold a strike vote. The union said the province tabled an offer of 11.5 per cent over four years (three per cent, three per cent, 2.75 per cent and 2.75 per cent, respectively), while the union is asking for 24 per cent over four years, (13 per cent, six per cent and five per cent). “We urged the employer to return to the table with a respectful, comprehensive package, similar to those offered to other unions, that includes funding to finance a fair collective agreement,” the union said in a news release. “The employer’s bargaining team is being controlled at the ministerial level of government. The people we face across the table have no power, no ability to make a reasonable monetary offer.” The union says members deserve the same increase as members of the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA), who received an average of 19.8 per cent over four years. The locals in this bargaining include: AUPE will hold telephone town halls for members at noon and 6 p.m. on Wednesday April 30 and Thursday May 1 to discuss a strike vote.
