AUPE and government of Alberta sign tentative agreement for 21,000 direct government employees
Posted April 01, 2011 in Government Services and tagged with general service, gsbc
EDMONTON – The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees and the government of Alberta have signed a tentative agreement on a new contract for approximately 21,000 direct government employees represented by the union.
The tentative agreement, which was signed by representatives of the two parties at AUPE headquarters in Edmonton yesterday morning, calls for a two and a half year collective agreement with significant improvements in many areas for affected AUPE members.
“The union and the employer had to work very hard to reach this agreement, and I am very proud of the long hours devoted to these negotiations by our bargaining team and the effort put into working with our bargaining team by the government’s negotiators,” said AUPE President Guy Smith.
“This is a historic agreement that our bargaining team should be proud of,” Smith said. “We have not only achieved meaningful pay increases, but have addressed many of the serious concerns our members have had with this agreement for more than three decades.”
Smith said that AUPE’s General Services Bargaining Committee (GSBC), which represents all direct government employees who are members of the union, is recommending ratification of the agreement by members.
Key improvements in the agreement include:
The historic inclusion of seniority provisions in contract language pertaining to position abolishment, for the first time in the history of collective bargaining between the Alberta government and AUPE.
Legal indemnification provisions for all government employees.
Creation of a high-level process to address ongoing workload and staffing level issues faced by the government workforce.
Creation of a process for the continued review regarding the utilization by the employer of wage and temporary staff.
Removal of a cap on long-term disability insurance payments.
In addition, the agreement includes the following monetary provisions:
A lump-sum payment of $1,750 to all current full-time government employees covered by the agreement 30 days after the agreement is ratified by members, with pro-rated payments for part-time and wage employees.
A lump-sum payment of $1,250 to all current full-time government employees covered by the agreement in January 2012, with pro-rated payments for part-time and wage employees.
A 4-per-cent across-the-board pay increase on April 1, 2012.
A $750 annual health spending account effective April 1, 2012.
An increase in both shift differential and weekend premium pay from $1.75 to $2.25 per hour upon ratification of the agreement.
Improvements and enhancements to extended health benefits.
AUPE will move ahead with a series of town hall meetings for members in all parts of the province at which members of the GSBC will be available to discuss the tentative agreement with affected government employees. Full details of the meeting schedule will be available on AUPE’s website, www.aupe.org.
All members of AUPE Locals 001 to 012 will then have an opportunity to take part in a mail-in ratification vote, said AUPE Staff Negotiator Jim Petrie, who noted that the process of receiving and counting the ballots is expected to take about a month.
If ratified by the union’s members, the agreement will run until March 31, 2013.
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For more information, contact:
Guy Smith, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-265-2294 (cellular phone)
Jim Petrie, Union Representative, AUPE, 780-930-3335 or 780-399-8755 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)
