‘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
BREAKING B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton dead following prison attack
Convicted B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, who preyed on women he lured from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to his rural pig farm, has died.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Baby dead after being delivered via emergency C-section to woman who was in police custody
A newborn is dead after being delivered via emergency C-section to a woman in police custody.
Biden speaks after Donald Trump's conviction in hush money case
A day after a New York jury delivered a historic guilty verdict in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee held a press conference Friday where he spoke publicly about the conviction and his White House bid.
How did Ontario's bankrupt 'Crypto King' travel the world on Scene+ points?
Newly released documents suggest Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ paid for months of world travels with $13,000 worth of Scene+ points while bankrupt – but how?
More counterfeit drugs seized, hot water boiler causes fire: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada recalled various items this week, including more unauthorized products, counterfeit drugs and bassinets.
Mediterranean diet helps women live much longer, a large new study finds
Women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet lived much longer than those who did not, according to a new study that followed more than 25,000 women for 25 years.
DND moving 1,000 employees out of Ottawa office building due to safety concerns
The Department of National Defence is moving approximately 1,000 employees out of an office building in Ottawa's Lowertown neighbourhood, citing safety concerns for its employees.
Solutions coming for piled-up bodies outside Newfoundland hospital
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador say they are only weeks away from a solution to move unclaimed human remains out of roadside freezers and into a nearby hospital.