Nurses union membership to vote on mediator-recommended settlement with province

A doctor takes a patient's blood pressure. (CTV News Edmonton)

The United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) have voted to send a mediator-recommended settlement with the provincial government to its more than 30,000 members for a ratification vote.

The agreement includes a 12 to 22 per cent pay increase over a four-year term, as well as significant increases to several pay premiums.

More than 500 voting delegates in Calgary on Thursday made the decision.

"This assembly decided it was up to every member affected by this agreement to have a vote," said Heather Smith, UNA president, in a release Thursday night.

Thursday night's release further stated, "The employers also committed in a letter of understanding to raise the Rural Capacity Investment Fund from $7.5 million per year to $22.5 million per year. The union and employer will jointly decide how the money will be spent to assist with retention and recruitment of nurses in rural Alberta."

An online ratification vote is set for Oct. 30.

If ratified, the deal is good from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2028.

UNA delegates were meeting in Calgary this week to discuss stalled labour negotiations with the province.

They gathered Thursday morning to decide how to move forward after recent disagreements with their employer around pay and staffing.

Informal mediation meetings last month failed to bridge two sides that "remained far apart," according to Smith.

"How we got here is several years in the making," she told CTV News.

"We have very stressful workplaces and a very demoralized and tired workforce. We need to be able to retain and recruit — and for most, nurses in this province want respect."

The premier wouldn't get into specifics Thursday but says she's hoping agreements can be reached with not only UNA but also with the other health-care unions due for new contracts.

"I would just ask for everyone to be respectful of the process," Danielle Smith said.

"We've got six or seven union contracts that have come up at the same time, and we have to make sure that we're treating everybody fairly."

Before a strike vote, the union and the province would need to go through formal mediation.

If that's a bust, the union must wait for a 14-day cooling-off period before requesting permission to hold a strike vote.

If a strike does occur, Albertans would still have access to emergency medical care, because of an essential services agreement signed by the two parties.

The agreement ensures some nurses remain on the job regardless of a contract in order to ensure the safety of patients.

With files from The Canadian Press