Thousands of government workers have voted to strike after refusing a salary offer from the Government of Alberta. A whopping 90 percent of votes were in favour of a strike.
The province has offered the union 11.5 percent over four years. The Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE), the union representing government workers, wants 24 percent.
“Our members are ready. They’re ready to take a stand,” union vice-president Sandra Azocar told CTV News. “We are basically asking for what’s fair. It’s not greedy to ask for what you’re worth.”
The union now has four months to call a strike. They could still come to an agreement with the government beforehand, avoiding the need for a strike.
AUPE employees’ last negotiation in 2021 saw them secure a 1.5 percent per year raise over three years. During that period, inflation averaged 4.2 percent per year.
“We are currently dealing with an employer that has proven to be particularly uncooperative throughout this process,” the AUPE said of the current negotiations.
“Recently, the Government of Alberta’s spokesperson dismissed our position as ‘rhetoric,’ despite the fact that we are advocating for wages that reflect the real inflation affecting our province.”
Inflation, Negotiations
Inflation, provincial budget cuts, and challenges at the negotiating table have driven several of Alberta’s largest unions toward strike votes in recent months.
Education Support Workers (ESWs) were on strike from mid-November until the end of March. School divisions won at least a twelve percent raise over four years. Some ESWs in some divisions received as high as a 29 percent raise.
In early May, over 60 percent of Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) members voted against the province’s offer of a 15 percent raise over four years. They are set to hold a strike vote within the week.
Both unions are also striking for improved working conditions. “Teachers are feeling burned out and frustrated, and they wanted to see more,” ATA president Jason Schilling told the CBC.
Similarly, ESWs striked for better conditions. While their final settlements only outline salary increases, better wages will have an impact on their working conditions.
“You can tie a direct link from classroom conditions to the underfunding of education and the underpayment of educational support workers,” Lou Arab, spokesperson for the union representing ESWs, told TheRockies.Life.
Why Unions Matter
Unions come with both advantages and disadvantages. Union dues can be high, and union leaders don’t always understand the realities of the workers they represent.
Still, unions have won Canadians nation-making work laws.
In 1872, working ten- to twelve- hours six days a week wasn’t unusual. Canada’s Nine-Hour Movement striked for a shorter workday and won, despite union activity being a criminal offense at the time.
Canadian unions fight to protect workers’ safety. In 1960, five Italian immigrant workers were killed when a fire broke out in a tunnel they were constructing in Toronto. Following the tragedy, unions pushed the Ontario government to pass an act that set safety standards for Canadian workplaces.
Many countries have either no guaranteed maternity leave or have leave that is only several weeks. A Canada Post strike in 1971 won postal workers the right to a 17-week maternity leave. It soon became mainstream, and was expanded.
Unions have consistently been at the forefront of the struggle to improve wages as well.
