Nurses, province must come to an agreement, says Alberta finance minister

EDMONTON – Alberta’s finance minister says while he respects the right of nurses to express their discontent, a collective agreement is essential to the province.

Travis Toews is responding to the pickets happening across the province Wednesday.

The nurses union organized a “Day of Action” to call out the government for changing COVID-19 health rules and proposing wage cuts.

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READ MORE: Alberta nurses protest COVID-19 rules, proposed wage rollbacks

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In a statement, Toews says informal mediation was proposed to the United Nurses of Alberta last week.

“Unfortunately, union leadership declined the offer,” Toews said in a statement.

“Many previous settlements have been reached in mediation. In the past 21 years, seven of the eight collective agreements between AHS and UNA have been reached with the use of a third-party mediator. We are hopeful that informal mediation would allow the two parties to work collaboratively towards a deal this time as well.”

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Toews says with $93 billion in debt, the province needs to find efficiencies in the public sector.

“The reality is that Alberta spends more money per person on health care than other large provinces, and this can’t continue.”

“As bargaining continues, my hope is that unions and their employers can quickly come to a settlement that works for everyone, and is aligned with the fiscal realities we are facing.”

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Alberta has scaled back testing and racing for COVID-19 in recent weeks. And as of Aug. 16, isolation will no longer be mandatory for Albertans who test positive for the virus.

The changes have drawn criticism from several medical organizations and sparked days of protests.

Nurses and support staff are also being asked to take pay cuts in their next deal between unions and the government.