Demands of the Canadian Union of Public EmployeesPresident of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Alberta Division Rory Gill sent a letter to Alberta Minister of Health Tyler Shandro on April 3 outlining necessary measures the government must take immediately at long-term care facilities. The letter called on the government to immediately implement a single-site policy for Alberta's Long-Term Care. CUPE Local 8 represents workers at McKenzie Towne where 18 residents have now died. CUPE has called for the following principles to be followed: - Choice: To the extent possible, workers should be able to decide in which of their current worksites to stay. In BC, this was done by allowing workers to rank their preferences of worksite. - Job protection: when a worker is required to choose a single worksite or employer, the job at the secondary worksite should be protected. Once the emergency is over, workers should be able to return to their normal multiple shifts if they so wish, rather than finding themselves half unemployed. - Financial stability: Work income should be maintained by ensuring that workers do not lose total hours when they commit to a single worksite (or that they are compensated for such losses). Here it is important to also consider that employers pay at different rates, which may result in lower income for workers who end up working more for the employer who pays less. - Protection of entitlements: Workers at different facilities have different contracts, which translates into different conditions for benefits, pensions, and seniority. There should be a clear way to navigate these issues while workers who currently have two or more jobs with different employers are required to choose one. CUPE also called on the government to put in place longer-term measures lasting at least one year. "Policies that have a good chance to succeed in creating positive incentives for workers and high-quality care for seniors include: - Providing a wage supplement for health care workers in facilities that adopt a single-site staffing policy, similar to what is being done in BC, by standardizing wages in the sector. This will mitigate potential problems with staffing and contribute to the financial stability of workers during the emergency. - Developing a framework for deploying workers that includes the negotiation of benefits and pensions. Employers require clear guidelines about who is responsible for financing these entitlements. - Prohibiting employers from firing workers who choose another employer as a result of provincial restrictions on staff flows across facilities. Important steps were taken in this regard on April 2, but a more general rule is required - Directing employers to let workers deployed with other employers to continue to accumulate seniority. - Offering protection against loss of hours that result from provincial restrictions on movement across facilities.
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