CALGARY – The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) will hold a picket protest Tuesday at Calgary’s South Health Campus in response to the proposed cuts to their wages by the UCP government. 

Public sector workers will form a picket line from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. outside the hospital.

Last week, Finance Minister Travis Toews confirmed the government is asking public sector employees to roll back their wages between two to five per cent when wage arbitration talks resume. 

AUPE vice-president Bobby-Joe Borodey calls the move a direct attack against the union, which represents 96,000 front-line workers. 

"The Alberta government has declared war on its own citizens, in the workers who provide vital services including health care, education and support for the disabled and on the Albertans who need those services to survive," said Borodey. "AUPE members are angrier than I have ever seen. For years, we have been working short, to the point of exhaustion and burnout, and for modest rates of pay." 

Toews disagreed and responded in a statement saying public sector wages make up over half of the province’s annual expenses. 

"We have the highest respect and admiration for Alberta’s public-sector workers, whose dedication helps deliver so many of the vital services Albertans rely on," Toews’ statement reads. "But we are elected to be responsible stewards of the public’s tax dollars and get our provinces finances under control."

The potential fallout from the provincial budget has sparked the launch of a campaign from some of Alberta’s largest unions.

The Alberta Federation of Labour is asking Albertans to join the resistance by launching Kenney's Cuts. The website includes videos ads against the spending cuts made in the recent provincial budget.  

"Cuts of the magnitude being planned by the Kenney government will turn a weak economy into a full-blown recession," said Gil McGowan, AFL president. "Jason Kenney promised jobs and economic growth. But he’s delivering the exact opposite. This is an economy-destroying agenda and we’re encouraging Albertans to stand up and push back."

There are 29 unions affiliated with the AFL including the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA), the Health Sciences Association (HSAA), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and the United Steelworkers (USW). 

Together, these unions represent 180,000 workers in Alberta.