AUPE members confirm the latest contract with the Alberta government

Key takeaways: 

• Bargaining is the most difficult in 25 to 30 years, the AUPE president states.
• AUPE president Guy Smith states bargaining for the latest collective contract for public service workers was the most difficult in approximately 25 to 30 years. 

AUPE signs a new contract with the Alberta government:

Alberta government employees designated by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees have approved a recent collective deal that extends job protection for permanent employees to the end of 2022 and shows small pay increases in the last 15 months of the contract. 

The contract, approved by 96 per cent of AUPE members who voted, will supply employees with a 1.25 per cent pay boost on Jan. 1, 2023, and a 1.5 per cent gain on Sept. 1, 2023. Workers could get an extra 0.5 per cent boost on the last date relying on economic aspects. 

Nearly 46 per cent of eligible workers voted on the new agreement. AUPE represents 22,000 Alberta government employees wrapped by the agreement. 

AUPE president Guy Smith told bargaining for this collective contract was the most difficult for the union in roughly 25 to 30 years. 

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“We’ve never seen so many concessions on the table at the beginning and throughout bargaining, as we saw this time around,” Smith stated in an interview. Source – cbc.ca

“And I think forcing the employer of those concessions was really a major goal and then obviously making some gains on top of that.” Source – cbc.ca

Earlier in the negotiation, government negotiators proposed to public service workers a four per cent wage rollback. They also liked concessions on payment for overtime, change differentials and weekend premiums. 

In October 2020, regional negotiators told the union that 930 job cuts were on the table. A negotiator became involved in March after discussions cracked down.