A few dozen union representatives demonstrated in front of the Legislative Assembly in Edmonton on Tuesday. They claim that at least a thousand vacancies remain unfilled every day and the workload of their 95,000 members has been steadily increasing for years.
As of April 18, 1,299 nursing and emergency department jobs were posted on the Alberta Health Services website.
Alberta Health Services will be quick to hire contract agency workers instead of working with its human resources department to find missing employees
denounces Sandra Azocar, vice president of the union.
In his opinion, difficult working conditions deter employees from entering the private sector or encourage them to change careers. The immediate solution lies in better working conditions, she believes.
We want that [le gouvernement] values the day-to-day work of our members by paying them a salary that doesn’t require two or three jobs to make ends meet. We want them to be able to work and come home to see their families to have a work-life balance
She keeps going.
” Our members are tired of going to work every day and expecting to work an unreasonable number of hours, which deprives them of the opportunity to live a normal life. »
Jesse PhilipHe, who works in an ambulance service in the center of the province, is crying out for the next government. Frontline workers care about people and do what they can with what they have at the expense of their mental and physical health
She says.
” we are exhausted We need change. We need help. »
Promises to hire more health workers
This year’s provincial budget plans to hire the equivalent of 3,570 full-time employees within Alberta’s health services. Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Government has promised in recent months to speed up recruitment of health workers in various ways.
Specifically, he promises to create 120 places in medical programs, an increase of 34%. He also hopes to recruit medical staff from outside the province and country. It has also launched various pilot projects, particularly for non-emergency medical transport, which is being carried out by private companies.
The United Conservative Party did not respond to our request for information on union demands related to wages and hours.
For its part, the New Democratic Party (NDP) has promised that if elected, it will launch the largest health worker recruitment campaign in the province’s history, but has not yet given details.
The past four years have seen devastating budget cuts and a lack of support for frontline medical workers from Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party.
says the health spokesman for the NDP, David Shepherd.
Ignoring the demands of paramedics, who wanted to finish their shifts on time and be offered a full-time job, they went to war on health care workers, tearing up the deal with the doctors and threatening layoffs and pay cuts
he continues.
THE NDP Alberta is committed to adequately funding the public health system and treating frontline health workers with respect
closes David Shepherd.
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