Nurses union plans information pickets at Alberta hospitals on Aug. 11
Nurses in Alberta will hold information pickets outside hospitals and health care centres next week to speak out against proposed wage rollbacks and other changes.
The province has proposed a three per cent wage reduction, however when combined with other rollbacks – the elimination of the semi-annual lump sum payments, reduced shift and weekend premiums – the nurses union contends it would equal about five per cent.
The pickets by United Nurses of Alberta are planned for Aug. 11.
"After 18 months on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta’s nurses are exhausted and overworked," read a release from UNA.
"Nurses go to work every day to make sure Albertans get the best and safest patient care possible. What we want most is fairness in the workplace.
Beds are closing because hospitals are short of nurses. This is because of the pandemic burnout and a long history of understaffing nurses."
Alberta needs nurses, they group says.
"The roll backs proposed by the government are an insult to nurses and won’t help Alberta recruit and keep health care workers, which is what we need to keep hospital beds open," read the release.
"Money is not the only issue in these talks. They want to roll back provisions that nurses have had for decades, including a very important rule that a registered nurse or registered psychiatric nurse is in-charge of nursing units."
The information pickets will be set up in:
Calgary
- Local 1, Peter Lougheed Centre, 3500 26 Ave N.E., 2-4 p.m.;
- Local 115, Foothills Medical Centre, 1403 29 St N.W., 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and;
- Local 121, Rockyview General Hospital, 7007 14 St. S.W., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.;
Edmonton
- Local 11, Misericordia Community Hospital, 16940 87 Ave N.W. 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.;
- Local 33, Royal Alexandra Hospital, 10240 Kingsway N.W. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.;
- Local 79, Grey Nuns Community Hospital, 1100 Youville Drive N.W. 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.;
- Local 183 Alberta Hospital Edmonton, 17480 Fort Rd N.W. noon to 4 p.m., and;
- Local 301 University Hospital, Stollery Children's Hospital, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, 8440 112 St N.W. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Lethbridge
- Local 120, Chinook Regional Hospital, 960 19 St S. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Medicine Hat
- Local 70, Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, 666 5 St. S.W. 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Red Deer
- Local 2, Red Deer Health Centre/Extendicare Michener and Local 218 , Central Zone Community, 3942 50a Avenue, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Stony Plain
- Local 92, WestView Health Centre, 4405 S Park Drive, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Ponoka
- Local 31, Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre and Local 222 Centennial Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury, 5216 50 Street, 4 p.m.
Westlock
- Local 73, Westlock Health Care Centre and Westlock Continuing Care Centre, 10220 93 Street, 10 a.m.
Whitecourt
- Local 149, Whitecourt Healthcare Centre/Whitecourt Community, corner of Highway 43 and Hospital Road in Whitecourt, 4-6 p.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
What a U.S. farmworker’s case of bird flu tells us about tracking the infection
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.