After “difficult” negotiations, members of the Alberta Provincial Employees Union voted Monday in favor of a proposed mediation solution on a new collective agreement with the provincial government. The collective agreement has expired and is being renegotiated by the Government of Alberta and the Alberta Provincial Employees Union. Therefore, printed copies of the agreement are not currently distributed. Approximately 46% of AUPE members entitled to vote voted. Of these, 91% voted in favour, the union announced on Monday. “This four-year agreement comes after months of laborious negotiations between the Alberta government and the union. Full details of the ratified agreement will be available in the coming days,” toews said. Finance Minister Travis Toews said in a statement Monday that the deal recognizes the province`s “long-term economic outlook.” The union`s collective bargaining committee recommends that members vote in favour of the agreement. The two sides have reached a mediation proposal after 20 months of negotiations, the government and the union said Wednesday in separate press releases. Smith said the union had also persuaded the government not to pursue plans to outsource maintenance work in provincial buildings until at least the end of 2022.
The union said the government was withdrawing the concessions it had requested, including: Often union representatives can easily solve problems in the workplace. However, if a problem proves to be more difficult, the steward has the opportunity to consult with an AUPE Member Services Officer to help manage the situation. AUPE`s collective agreements provide for specific steps to file a formal complaint. Depending on the nature of the complaint and your status as an employee, the final step is arbitration before a single arbitrator or panel. In this case, both parties to the dispute are heard by a third party and the decision taken is also binding on the union and management. AUPE is Alberta`s largest union with over 95,000 members. In 1919, the Civil Service Association of Alberta, the predecessor of aupe, was founded to represent provincial government employees. AUPE was founded in 1976 and since then the union has grown to become the largest and most diverse in the province, with members working in the government, health care, education, boards and agencies, municipalities and private companies sectors. “I respect the hard work and dedication of Alberta Public Service staff and look forward to the results of the ratification vote,” he said.
“They were strongly opposed to the concessions offered by employers and to a collective agreement that respects them and the services they provide.” “We believe the government wanted to set a tone that will likely be replicated at other bargaining tables. That`s historically what happened — that this collective agreement with the Alberta government itself, if you will, points the way forward for others,” he said. Approximately 46% of eligible workers voted for the new contract. AUPE represents 22,000 Alberta government employees who are covered by the contract. “The government respects the hard work and dedication of Alberta Public Service staff and their contribution to our province.” “I am confident that other public sector unions will turn to this successful process and that negotiations across the public sector will move forward constructively,” said Toews. Alberta government employees, represented by the Alberta Provincial Employees Union, have ratified a new collective agreement that extends job security for permanent employees until the end of 2022 and provides for small wage increases in the last 15 months of the agreement. During last year`s negotiations, the government proposed a four percent wage cut for workers. The government also wanted other concessions, including paying for overtime and benefits, but these are not part of the final deal, Smith said.
AUPE President Guy Smith said bargaining for the collective agreement was the biggest challenge for the union in about 25 to 30 years. In October 2020, provincial negotiators informed the union that 930 job cuts were on the table. A mediator was called in March after the talks broke down. Read more: AUPE, province reaches negotiated agreement for Alberta public sector employees The new agreement provides an eight per cent salary increase to members who are now part of the Rural Alberta Integrated Response Force (RAPID) retroactive to April 1, 2021. The AUPE is funded by all members who benefit from a collective agreement and union representation. Each member pays 1.25% of their base salary to the AUPE in the form of tax-deductible union dues (dues are not paid on overtime or bonuses). This sentence may be changed only by a two-thirds majority of the delegates to the annual meeting. The democratically elected delegates sent to the congress determine how AUPE money is spent. Between conventions, the provincial executive oversees expenditures, and the financial statements are available to all members for review upon request. Read more: Alberta government asks unionized public sector workers to agree to a 4% pay cut “And we`ve all seen the kind of difficulties the government is facing right now in terms of popularity, and I think they recognize that it was the right thing to do to move forward with more respect for their own employees. honestly.
You can view the agreement on the following pages. Alternatively, a PDF of the full agreement is available here. Aupe`s objective is to have union representatives on all construction sites. Stewards are union activists who are trained to help union members solve a variety of problems and problems with their employer. Your union representative is your first line of defense if you ever have a problem related to your job. Union representatives are ready to help you if you feel you have been harassed or disciplined unfairly, or if the employer has ignored the provisions of the collective agreement to deny you things to which you are entitled. Get to know your union representatives and don`t hesitate to let them know your concerns. This is your right under all AUPE contracts. If you have questions about your collective agreement, your administrator is your first source of information. When workers choose to join the Alberta Provincial Employees Union, they join Alberta`s largest and most effective union. AUPE has more than 250 bargaining units that negotiate collective agreements on behalf of its members. The AUPE also ensures that the fair and reasonable conditions obtained in previous negotiations remain in force.
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