After working through the pandemic with short staff and little support, Carewest nursing-care workers are bargaining for increased wages while pushing back on rollbacks.
From the get-go, negotiating the new collective agreement for nursing-care workers at Carewest was difficult to say the least—their initial monetary offer would ask Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE)’s members to forego a wage increase for 2020 and 2024, while raises for 2021 and 2023 would be limited to 1.0 per cent and 1.25 per cent. Recognition of seniority was also top of mind for AUPE members. Carewest then proposed concessions that would also put nursing-care workers in unfair working conditions.
Under Carewest’s concessions, the employer would be able to enforce mandatory overtime, sometimes without overtime pay. They would also be granted the ability to impose mandatory changes to scheduled vacation time, limit time off for medical appointments and restrict workers’ ability to file grievances.
Naturally, these rollbacks were unacceptable and on November 9, 2022, AUPE nursing-care workers held a rally in opposition. To demonstrate the solidarity among Carewest AUPE members, general support staff were also encouraged to join.
Carewest then fired back against union nursing-care workers and AUPE by filing a complaint with the Alberta Labour Relations Board, stating that AUPE “failed to bargain in good faith and made ‘false statements’ about their push for rollbacks.” In response, AUPE stood their ground and pushed back against Carewest’s claims.
Bargaining stalls
Bargaining came to a stalemate—after the November rally, Carewest did not budge on their rollbacks. But AUPE did not give in either and a second rally took place at Carewest’s Colonel Belcher location late January .
“These front-line workers are as determined as ever to get a fair contract from Carewest, but the employer continues to treat them with contempt by demanding concessions in bargaining,” said Bobby-Joe Borodey, vice president of AUPE in a press release which also announced the second rally.
Carewest is one of Alberta Health Service’s largest long-term care subsidiaries serving the Calgary, Alta. area. With a staff of about 3,000 employees across 14 different locations, AUPE represents 1,500 Carewest nursing-care workers.
“For nearly three years, these nursing-care workers have endured everything the global COVID-19 pandemic has thrown at them. They have stood firm as a killer virus swept through their workplaces, attacking the residents they love,” said Borodey. “They put their own health on the line, and the health of their families, to do what was needed. They have shown more strength than most of us can imagine. If Carewest thinks they aren’t strong enough to resist attacks on their working conditions, then we’ll have to teach them a lesson.”
Creating the “perfect storm for burnout,” then patient care suffers
Carewest, like many long-term care centres, is plagued with staffing shortages. Paired with inadequate wages and subpar working conditions, and it creates an unsustainable environment for nursing-care workers and their patients.
“That’s a perfect storm for burnout for healthcare workers,” said Rebecca Graff-McRae, research manager at Parkland Institute, in an interview with rabble. “[Long-term care centres] are going to end up with a worker population that is stressed, overworked, overtired and that feels like they have no space to breathe or to take a break.”
Graff-McRae is the author of the research study, Time to Care: Staffing and Workload in Alberta’s Long-term Care Facilities. The study found that insufficient staffing lead and poor working conditions in long-term care centres led to burnout. But these issues existed long before the pandemic—for years nursing-care workers have been operating with the bare minimum in terms of staffing and resources.
“When you start to erode [working conditions] for workers, their mental and physical and emotional well-being, that becomes a detriment to their ability to provide care,’ said Graff-McRae.
Staffing shortages contribute to long-term care residents’ quality of care—with less staff means less time to care. According to Graff-McRae’s research, nearly half or 44 per cent of the respondents reported that their facility was short staffed either daily or weekly. Twenty-five per cent said staffing shortages happened occasionally and 20 per cent experienced it daily. Only 10 per cent of respondents said their facility was never understaffed.
The staff on duty is stretched to their limits with no time to complete their tasks—44 per cent of respondents said they did not have enough time throughout their shift to complete their essential daily tasks.
Oftentimes, the long-term care workers on duty compensate by leaving some care tasks undone, working throughout their scheduled breaks, or working overtime. Twenty-four per cent of respondents expressed that they stayed past their shifts either daily or once per week while 70 per cent of respondents.
As a result, the quality of care for residents suffers—basic care needs, including assistance for mealtimes, daily walking, bathing or going to the bathroom, were either delayed or missed altogether.
“It’s so fundamental that the conditions that you create for workers are the conditions of care for residents. That’s their conditions of their life,” said Graff-McRae
Bargaining continues, some progress towards resolution
As of February 16, bargaining has proceeded towards mediation and monetary proposals from AUPE and Carewest are under review—these proposals include wage increases from 2020 to 2024, long service pay adjustment and lump sum payments for COVID-19 recognition.
“Bargaining with AUPE is underway and has moved to voluntary mediation. We have several dates in the coming weeks with the appointed mediator’s assistance. We are confident both sides will reach an agreement,” said a statement from Carewest.
At this time, AUPE has declined to comment until bargaining negotiations with Carewest are complete.
AUPE Local 048’s negotiating team will be reviewing their next proposal on February 25 and the next mediation date is set for March 6.
Constant fight for AB nursing-care workers
Like Carewest, other long-term care facilities are failing their nursing-care workers.
Across the province, these facilities are severely understaffed while working with less resources. The Good Samaritan Society, which has a total of 21 locations in Alberta, have also been facing challenges as bargaining has been ongoing for over five years. As of February 17, the Good Samaritan Society have cancelled all future bargaining dates.
Now as United Conservative Party (UCP) pull funding for long-term care beds at Good Samaritan Society’s Southgate Centre, layoffs are inevitable and 44 health care workers will lose their jobs—36 of those workers are AUPE members.
Looking at the bigger picture, the quality of Alberta’s health care system is at risk when health care workers in this sector have insufficient support—and as long as Alberta’s employers continue to shortchange their nursing care-workers, the public health care system and patient care will continue to suffer.
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