Alberta’s healthcare workforce will vote whether to approve a newly negotiated tentative agreement between the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) and the province. The proposal was crafted with the assistance of a mediator.
The new deal now before HSAA members includes several elements previously settled during bargaining: a 12% wage increase over four years, enhanced benefits, market wage adjustments, and a new workload appeal process designed to help address pressure on frontline workers.
A number of fresh provisions have also been added. Among them are personal leave entitlements tied to an employee’s scheduled shift length and the expansion of professional fee reimbursement to temporary staff.
HSAA members rejected a prior tentative agreement in September, though the union stopped short of calling a strike vote. At the time, HSAA president Mike Parker said the earlier offer did not sufficiently respond to the mounting challenges within Alberta’s health system, including rising burnout and an increasingly complex workload.
Finance Minister Nate Horner said in a statement that moving the new deal to a ratification vote shows both sides’ commitment to resolving the dispute. He thanked the wide range of HSAA professionals — from paramedics to respiratory therapists — for their continued service to Albertans.
The renewed talks unfolded amid growing labour tensions across the province. Last month’s teachers’ strike ended only after the government invoked the notwithstanding clause, sparking significant backlash from labour groups.
The ratification vote runs from November. 20 at 9 a.m. to November. 25 at 4 p.m., with results to be released shortly afterward.
The union will host a series of town hall meetings ahead of the vote to walk members through the mediator’s recommendations.
Keith Hopper, Trending 55
