A labour crisis looms at Innisfail's Sunset Manor & Innisfail Country Manor seniors' residence following the owner's rejection of an independent mediator's recommended settlement that would have given the facility's 115 nursing and support staff its first collective agreement.
The employees' executive board for the local chapter of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), who successfully organized with AUPE last May, will meet this afternoon to decide their next move, which includes planning a strike vote.
ìI am shocked, shocked, thoroughly shocked,î said Jacquie Major, an employee and bargaining committee member for the new AUPE local chapter, over the employer's rejection of the mediated recommended settlement package. She said employees at the seniors' residences agreed to take far less in wages and benefits than the industry average in order to achieve a first contract.
ìFor the employees it was like, ëIf this is all we can get then this is all we can get',î said Major, adding members' resolve to forge ahead remains strong. ìI think it's time to talk about something, something very serious that people probably don't want to do or talk about. It is the white elephant in the room now.î
Gord van der Eerden, executive director of the Chantelle Group ñ which owns the 136-bed Sunset Manor & Innisfail Country Manor facility, declined to say why the company rejected the mediated settlement but added the company is ìalways, alwaysî willing to get back to the negotiating table with the union.
ìI always hope there is a solution,î said van der Eerden, adding the company's refusal to explain its rejection of the mediated settlement is due to its desire ìto get a resolution behind the scenes.î
He said the company has made contingency plans ñ including bringing in replacement workers -- in the event staff ultimately vote to go on strike.
ìAbsolutely. That was done months ago. We always do that before we start because we never know how these develop,î said van der Eerden, adding the facility is prepared to bring in qualified replacement registered nurses from within the province to care for residents if there is a strike. ìFor me nothing is more important than the residents. I am never going to jeopardize that.î
However, Dale Perry, AUPE staff negotiator, said it's unlikely union members from Sunset Manor & Innisfail Country Manor will agree to go back to the bargaining table.
ìIf it means taking less than the mediated recommended settlement, then no,î said Perry. ìIf that is why they have rejected the settlement because they believe it's too rich then we are not interested in going back from what the mediator believes is a fair settlement in a first agreement.î
Perry said mediated settlement was achieved on Dec. 19 and ratified by local chapter members on Dec. 30. However, he said the mediator contacted the AUPE on Jan. 3 that Chantelle Group rejected the agreement. The union received a company letter on Jan. 6 confirming the rejection but no reason was forwarded, said Perry.
ìThe owner had representatives at the bargaining table who sat down with the mediator and crafted the recommendations for settlement,î said Perry, adding union officials would be in Innisfail on Jan. 20 to ìeducateî union members on the process to move forward.
ìThe bargaining committee was certainly disappointed as they had made so many concessions in a first agreement in an attempt to try to get an agreement in place so we can move forward.î
Perry emphasized members from the local branch at the Sunset Manor & Innisfail Country Manor earn 30-40 per cent less than the industry standard for private for-profit homes, even though the owner receives Alberta Health Services funding for 92 of its beds. He added employees currently have no health benefits or sick leave.
Perry said the mediated agreement contained a recommended wage settlement for a two and a half, two and a half and a three per cent pay increase over three years. He said the agreement also proposed a 40 per cent employer and 60 per cent employee paid benefit plan compared to the industry standard of a 75 per cent employer paid plan.
