January 27, 2022
EDMONTON — Alberta Health Services (AHS) and United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) have ratified a new collective agreement.
The four-year agreement expires on March 31, 2024, and sets out the terms and conditions for the more than 30,000 Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses who play a critical role in our healthcare system and our pandemic response.
AHS is pleased to reach a positive outcome based on the mediator’s recommendations, which reflects the current economic environment as well as the critical role nurses have played and the challenges they have faced throughout the pandemic.
The new collective agreement includes modest increases over four years and a conversion of the existing lump sum to the salary grid effective the date of ratification.
In addition, AHS and UNA have agreed to work together in an effort to address recruitment and retention of nurses to remote and rural communities in Alberta.
AHS continues to negotiate collective agreements with Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) General Support Services and AUPE Auxiliary Nursing. We will continue to provide updates as progress is made in bargaining with these unions.
“We offer our thanks to the negotiation teams who have worked tirelessly over the past several months to reach an agreement”, says Dr Verna Yiu, AHS President and CEO. “We are grateful to all of our nursing staff and healthcare teams for their exceptional work and dedication to serving Albertans throughout the pandemic and beyond.”
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.
