On Wednesday morning, the Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE) served a 72-hour strike notice on behalf of Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) and Health Care Aides. The union is set to walk off the job Saturday morning.
The AUPE says it remains at odds with the employer on several key issues, including hours of work, rules for on-call work, and overtime.
“Mediation was not successful. We did not reach a tentative agreement nor receive recommendations from our mediator,” the AUPE said in a press release.
“The employer’s offer is simply not good enough, especially when it comes to our wages,” they said. The union is asking for a raise of 40 to 55 per cent over four years.
LPNs passed a strike mandate earlier this month, with 98 per cent voting in favour of a labour action. Union members are essentially unanimous in their demand for change, with LPNs on the ground saying the situation has needed to change for years.
LPNs versus RNs
Historically, LPNs and RNs had distinctive roles within hospitals. However the lines have been blurred in the past ten years to the point where the two are almost identical, say LPNs.
“We used to have clear role definitions and our scopes were far apart. People who wanted to remain at the bedside and lower stress took their LPN. People who wanted to work in specific areas such as ICU and management took their RN,” Jodi Lindal-Jackson of the advocacy group LPNs for Change told TheRockies.Life.
But as senior RNs retired and new RNs were hired, many LPNs slowly found themselves in positions of leadership in their unit. Year after year, LPNs were also asked to perform increasingly complex tasks.
“The CLPNA decided to increase our scope without consulting us, the membership,” Lindal-Jackson said.
While LPNs today are performing around 85 per cent of an RN’s tasks, they are only paid 67 per cent of the salary.
Retraining on their own time
LPNs say they are regularly asked to train on new skills. For a full-time LPN, this can be exhausting, according to Lindal-Jackson.
“We have educated ourselves through the governing body, CLPNA, on our own time,” said Lindal-Jackson. “Then we did the mandatory education required by our employer when we could find time. Then we performed the task and signed off on the floor. We didn’t get paid extra money or an education day. We were asked to ‘fit it in our day.’”
Retraining as an RN is an eight-year process and spaces are limited. Many LPNs cannot afford to take the necessary years off work to attend school full time, and the additional training they’ve been asked to do in recent years has brought their role so close to that of an RN that for many retraining would be an exercise in frustration.
“A good nurse has very little to do with degree vs diploma– rather, a nurse has the true desire to make the sick well,” said Lindal-Jackson.
However she said that “it can be hard to stay focused and not feel resentful and exploited when this has become a new normal.”
An employer saving billions
For Kara Adamson Church of LPNs for Change, it’s time for LPNs to be recognized for the additional work that’s been added to their load.
““We pronounce deaths and save lives every day. But yet our employer and the government don’t feel that we are worthy of a fair wage. They have saved billions off our backs, and have been getting away with it for years. Enough is enough,” she told TheRockies.Life.
“If there is one bright spot in the event of a strike, it’s that it will help bring awareness to who we are and what we do, and just how badly we are exploited by our employer and government,” she said.
