‘Paying to work’: health workers clap back against staff parking cost increases
A new petition is calling for all of Alberta’s health and hospital workers to be exempt from parking payment rules inside health facilities.
It comes after a recent staff parking cost increase has upset hundreds of Alberta Health Services (AHS) employees.
“Now we’re paying $15 a day just to work, which is kind of ridiculous to me,” petition creator Nicola Mulder said. “And a lot of us here are not happy with that.”
Mulder works as a nurse at Foothills Medical Centre.
She says many of her coworkers are upset about the bump, which resulted in an increase of about 3.3 per cent.
They believe they shouldn’t have to pay anything for parking as they work to save lives.
And for many just like Mulder, transportation alternatives like transit aren’t always an option with unusual shift hours.
“Most of us nurses or other workers, we have to pull 16 hour shifts or get mandated to stay, and then we completely forget about parking,” she told CTV News. “So we end up getting a ticket on top of paying $15, which isn’t great.”
Mulder believes patients shouldn’t be forced to pay, either. Her union VP agrees.
“Health care shouldn’t be about making money off your clients or your staff,” AUPE’s Bonnie Gostola said. “This is not how we should be doing business.”
BUSINESS DECISION: AHS
But the decision, according to the Health Minister, is entirely rooted in business.
“Inflation is hitting Alberta Health Services as well in maintaining those parkades and in making sure they’re able to build new ones as the need arises,” Adriana Lagrange said.
An internal staff memos adds that the “increases are necessary to ensure the safety and long-term sustainability of AHS parking,” which is required to be financially self-sustaining.
But Mulder argues at $15 a vehicle, the frequently-full lots are pulling in enough money as is.
She calls it a cash grab — as does her union, which says the issue could come up in the next round of contract bargaining.
But changes without threats don’t seem likely. In fact, AHS has pledged to review parking rates annually to ensure “they are aligned with local markets.”
It says adjustments will be made “as needed.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.