UNA president, concerned about the expansion of bill 1 to cover hospitals, could affect future labor actions

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The director of the Alberta Nurses Union is concerned that hospitals have been added to a bill that prevents protesters from blocking infrastructure as a way to prevent possible labor action by healthcare workers.

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The move, announced by Prime Minister Jason Kenney on Tuesday, comes as the province is weeks away from the government saying the health care system could reach its limit fighting the COVID-19 pandemic while they are still in contract negotiations with 30,000 nurses.

Kenney said adding hospitals to Bill 1, the Critical Infrastructure Defense Act, is meant to protect staff, patients and families in healthcare facilities. Earlier this month, Alberta hospitals faced protests against vaccines and COVID-19 restrictions.

United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) President Heather Smith said she is “concerned” about the timing of Alberta’s change, suggesting that the government may be trying to prevent future labor action, given that the hospital protests have already passed. .

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“Certainly, I am concerned that that is the intention because, as I said, the moment seems very suspicious and disconnected from the real activities of interest,” he said.

In response, Alex Puddifant, press secretary for Justice Minister Kaycee Madu, reiterated that the new regulation aims to ensure safe access to hospitals and other health facilities.

“The Law for the Defense of Critical Infrastructure does not prohibit protests and demonstrations, nor does it restrict legal protests or prevent anyone from exercising their constitutionally protected rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,” it said in a statement.

UNA and Alberta Health Services have been negotiating a new contract since January 2020 and are now in mediation.

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They agreed not to discuss specific details in public, but Smith said he is “optimistic” about how things are going.

If the mediation fails, the nurses would have to wait a two-week “reflection period” before voting on the strike or not. An essential services agreement has been signed, which means that, in the event of a strike, essential medical personnel would remain on the job.

Smith said he’s hopeful it doesn’t come to that.

“I want to remain optimistic that there is a commitment from all parties involved in the mediation to achieve a successful outcome. So hopefully we won’t have to consider alternative scenarios, ”he said.

Kenney said Tuesday that the province’s COVID-19 model predicts hitting the upper limit of what the healthcare system can handle in the third or fourth week of October.

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The federation of workers and emergency physicians join the call for a ‘firewall’

UNA is among the more than 20 unions that are part of the Alberta Federation of Labor (AFL).

On Wednesday, the AFL issued a statement calling for a temporary “firewall” closure of all non-essential businesses and activities to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The AFL joins a growing number of organizations calling for such action, including physicians and the Alberta Medical Association (AMA). On Wednesday, the AMA’s emergency medicine section published its own letter to Albertans asking for a firewall.

In short, our system is on the brink of collapse. Throughout the entire intensive care system, our team members and our colleagues have continued to provide more and more, ”he says.

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“They have made heroic efforts to expand capacity, but their efforts are not infinite and the expansion of critical care beds cannot continue without end.”

Kenney has so far no additional restrictions in place, saying Tuesday that it is too early to know what impact the current measures are having.

For her part, NDP leader Rachel Notley said Wednesday that she would need to see the government’s blueprint before requesting specific measures, such as a firewall.

“If (Jason Kenney) wants to maintain a position where we don’t need it and that everything is fine right now, then he needs to show Albertans the model that shows that our new cases are going to decrease and that the pressure on our hospitals will actually start to fail within four weeks as well, ”he said.

Notley noted that the government failed to act with the Bill 1 regulations when protests took place outside of hospitals, and said the new regulation should specifically exclude healthcare professionals who participate in picket activities in support of your trading rights.

“The proof will come down to how they write it,” Notley said.

An order in council Posted Wednesday afternoon Updating the regulation did not appear to include any explicit exemptions for labor action.

– With files from Lisa Johnson

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