Illegal Request to Put Arbitration
of Wage Re-Openers on Hold
Members of United Nurses of Alberta's bargaining committee prepare to
meet with
employer negotiating committee for a Wage Re-Opener Arbitration on May
13, 2019, but the new government put arbitration on hold.
Even before being sworn into office, the Kenney United
Conservative Party government of Alberta acted in contempt of the
law and proved itself unfit to govern. The UCP dismissed its
obligations to Alberta's 30,000 nurses, members of United Nurses
of Alberta (UNA), and tens of thousands of members of the Alberta
Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) by instructing the Alberta
Health Services (AHS) to put the arbitration of a wage re-opener
on hold. The arbitrator complied with the illegal request,
despite the fact that the Alberta
Labour Relations Code
specifically prohibits an arbitrator from changing a collective
agreement when in force. The UNA immediately acted to block the
illegal actions of the UCP government and capitulation of the
arbitrator, which violate the nurses' collective agreement with
the AHS and three other employers in the province.
Timelines for negotiations and arbitration of a wage
re-opener
are contained in UNA's collective agreement. The agreement
required negotiations to begin by February 15, and if no
agreement could be reached by March 31, the issue would proceed
to arbitration with a hearing no later than June 30. The UNA had
not reached a negotiated settlement with the previous NDP
government, which proposed a zero wage increase; therefore, a
date for arbitration was established. The illegal interference of
the UCP government at this point blocks arbitration from
proceeding.
 The UNA asked the Alberta
Labour Relations Board (ALRB)
to
order that the collective bargaining process and arbitration
resume forthwith as required by law and the current collective
agreements. The ALRB responded by announcing an expedited hearing
to take place May 30.
The UNA has also filed charges of bargaining in bad
faith with
the ALRB. David Harrigan, UNA Director of Labour Relations
explains: "[Unilaterally putting the arbitration of a wage
re-opener on hold] clearly meets the legal definition of
bargaining in bad faith. The bargaining representatives of our
members' employers are obviously not making the decisions in
bargaining as required by law, the Government of Alberta is. They
are sending people to the bargaining table who have indicated to
us they have no idea what is happening and have in reality been
given no power to negotiate."
The UCP government also attempted to force a second
arbitrator
to put arbitration on hold for tens of thousands of members of AUPE,
who have a
wage-re-opener in their collective agreement. In this instance,
the arbitrator heard representations from both the government and
the union. The arbitrator ruled to uphold the terms of the
collective agreement and denied the government's request.
AUPE members working in Provincial Government Services,
AHS
General Support Services, and AHS Nursing Care ratified
collective agreements in 2018 that include wage-adjustment
arbitration to be held no later than June 30, 2019. A delay of
this arbitration process would have been a denial of the
legitimate and legal negotiated rights of these members, the AUPE
points out.
The Edmonton Journal reports UCP Finance
Minister
Travis Toews admits he instructed the AHS to put the arbitration
on hold while the government "consulted with stakeholders."
Organized workers have years of bitter experience in
dealing
with similar antics of governments depriving public sector and
other workers of their rights. Enough! The working class will not
accept any arbitrary anti-worker actions of the UCP government no
matter what its powerful and privileged "stakeholders" may
demand.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number
20 - June 1, 2019
Article Link:
Illegal
Request to Put Arbitration of Wage Re-Openers on Hold
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
|
