Thousands of Alberta nurses will be earning a higher wage and other benefits over the next four years after “overwhelmingly” ratifying their collective agreement on Wednesday.
United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) represents more than 35,000 registered nurses, psychiatric nurses and allied health workers across the province.
Online voting took place on Wednesday, with 100 per cent of UNA’s 124 locals voting in favour of accepting the new agreement. UNA members had a 77.38 per cent voter turnout.
“This round of negotiations was about Respect, Retention and Recruitment,” said UNA President Heather Smith in a news release Thursday.
“When UNA members voted against ratifying a settlement that had been recommended by a Mediator last October, they spoke clearly, and we listened. The result was the agreement ratified yesterday.”
Workers will be receiving an immediate pay increase up 15 per cent, with an overall increase of around 20 per cent over the next four years. UNA says this makes Alberta nurses the highest paid in any province.
The collective agreements also include an annual three per cent wage increase, job security during health-care restructuring, “significant” monetary increases for on-call, charge pay and other premiums.
Nurses will also have assistance for rural health-care staffing and a revised annual pay grid with pay increases of four per cent between each step.
The agreement is with Alberta Health Services, Recovery Alberta, Primary Care Alberta, Covenant Health, Lamont Health Care Centre and The Bethany Group.
In a statement Thursday morning, Finance Minister Nate Horner says the province has “tremendous respect for nurses” and knows that the health-care system couldn’t thrive without them.
“This new agreement places Alberta’s registered nurses in a strong and competitive position in the marketplace, which will support recruitment and retention,” Horner said.
The province added the Graduate Nursing Transition Pilot Program is committing to hiring 1,000 new nursing graduates every year throughout the term of this contract.
“This means that almost every nurse who graduates from a post-secondary institution in the province could have a full-time position following graduation,” Horner said.
“All of these initiatives will hopefully reduce the need for overtime, agency staffing and the need to recruit internationally educated nurses.”
The agreement will expire on April 1, 2028.
