Union representing thousands of provincial employees to hold strike vote

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) says a strike vote will be held after its bargaining unit came to an impasse with the provincial government.

The union informed members on April 16 that talks had broken down.

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In an update to members on Thursday it said, while the government had proposed market adjustments, they would only apply to 30 per cent of members.

The union is calling for all members to see a 10-per-cent, six-per-cent, four-per-cent and four-per-cent increase over four years, resulting in all members receiving a 24-per-cent increase by 2027, exclusive of compounding.

“The employer’s proposal results in different impacts for different classifications. For two-thirds of the bargaining unit, the employer would not include any market adjustments, resulting in wage increases of only 11.5 per cent (exclusive of compounding) over the next four years,” the union said in an update to members.

“For the other one-third of the bargaining unit, the employer has market adjustments ranging from 1.8 per cent to 14 per cent over four years, depending on classification.”

AUPE says a strike vote will be held from May 8 to 12.

The impacted AUPE locals include:

• Local 001, which has almost 6,000 members provincewide in most Government of Alberta (GOA) worksites;
• Local 002, which represents administrative and program service workers;
• Local 003, which represents GOA employees in law enforcement roles;
• Local 004, which represents GOA employees in trades;
• Local 005, which represents 1,200 employees who work in natural resources and conservation;
• Local 006, which represents employees in social services fields;
• Local 009, which represents members in health, therapy, institutional and patient support services; and
• Local 012, which represents members in technical services.

The press secretary for Nate Horner, the minister of finance and president of the treasury board, says essential services won’t be disrupted if there is a strike.

“We have heard and are disappointed in this latest development from AUPE,” Justin Brattinga said in an email to CTV News Edmonton on Thursday afternoon.

“We have a contingency plan and there is no reason for the public to be worried about a public sector strike disrupting core essential services.”

Brattinga did not provide additional details on the contingency plan.