More than 100 passionate nurses and other union workers displayed their frustrations last Friday in front of the Olds Hospital and Care Centre over Bill 9, which they say violates their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Bill 9, also known as the Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act, postpones the start of wage arbitration hearings until Oct. 31.
“In UNA’s (United Nurses of Alberta) case, the agreement requires arbitration by June 30th if an agreement to negotiate a 'wage reopener' in 2019, the last year of the current contract was not reached,” said UNA Local 43 president Thomas Edwards.
“We gave up wage increases in the first two years of our contract, partly in return for the right to negotiate a wage increase in the third year. That was the deal.”
The Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE) filed an injunction against the provincial government to allow a wage arbitration hearing to go ahead. In a statement of claim, the union alleged the bill is a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
A hearing on the matter was held on Monday, July 29. On Tuesday, July 30, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Eric Macklin granted a temporary injunction.
Finance Minister Travis Toews announced the government will appeal that ruling and will be "seeking an expedited hearing."
Those picketing on Friday got the attention of drivers passing by on 57th Avenue. Lots of horns were honked in solidarity.
“We’ve got lots of honks, lots of waves. It seems people in town are very receptive to our concerns,” said Edwards.
Nurses rotated between working and coming out to be part of the demonstration during their breaks.
There were various signs that read, “Are you listening? Kill Bill 9”, “Kenny hear us now?” with a picture of industrial earplugs in reference to when Alberta Premier Jason Kenny handed out earplugs to his caucus during Bill 9 debates.
Along with the signs were passionate chants like, “Health-care workers under attack, what do you do? We fight back!” or “Breaking contracts is unfair, all we want is our fair share."
AUPE vice-president Karen Weirs said the government's move is something that will have an impact on those who aren’t union workers.
“This was a deal, a deal between the employers and the union and this deal has been broken. They use their power to create law to go in and unconstitutionally break a deal that is currently in place,” said Weirs. “So if it can happen to private-sector workers it can happen to any deal or any contract.”
In a speech to those picketing, Weirs said she was disappointed they have to go to these lengths to defend their rights.
“It saddens me that as health-care workers, again, we’re out on the streets defending our services that we provide to Albertans on a daily basis. This law is one that interferes with our bargaining rights. A deal is a deal,” Weirs said.
Edwards hopes that in the short term, this demonstration will raise awareness of the issue among the public.
“These protests are happening all across the province,” Edwards said. “We’re trying to reach the public as well as our members to educate them on the dangers of Bill 9 and what violating the constitution can mean for us and everybody across the country.”
In terms of long goals, Edwards said, “we want our contracts respected. We want to be paid fairly and we want the government to recognize that they cannot trample on our rights.”
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper commented on the allegations of contracts having been broken. He said negotiations were paused by the UCP government.
"I would say that the new government thought it was necessary just to push pause on those negotiations," Cooper said. "So, unfortunately, that required a piece of legislation but I think it's important that the government has an accurate picture of what the finances look like so they, in turn, can negotiate in good faith."
