Dear Editor;
As a nurse of over 30 years, many of my co-workers are members of AUPE, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees. Through the union, they are currently trying to negotiate contracts on behalf of 27,000 members in two groups called Auxiliary Nursing Care and General Support Services. These people are the people that you all too often do not notice when you attend a hospital. They are LPNs, Aides of all types, dietary, housekeeping, clerical and laundry, just to name a few. Without these people and their specialized services and duties, the multiple functions of health care would simply cease. They are currently at the table, trying to realize reasonable standards of compensation, which includes both pay and benefits. These are some of the lowest paid people around and as I meet with them lately, their moods range from frustration to anger due to what is typically being called a lack of respect.
As a nurse, I am fortunate to enjoy many benefits in addition to a strong pay package. These co-workers, sadly, enjoy neither. At present, there is difficulty recruiting and retaining people for many of these jobs. For quite some time, they, unlike nurses, have not even been able to attend a short medical appointment without being docked pay. The mood is currently one of extreme frustration, and I fear that unless there are changes made by the provincial government, which is the body actually calling the shots, in its attitude towards these vital groups, the situation may well deteriorate. For some the pay is so poor that I have been made aware that the jobs do not even pay as well as those at the famous doughnut chain started by the hockey player. The time has come for vital work to be compensated as such, so that employees can realize that their employer, which, after all is actually the Province of Alberta, recognizes the necessity and value of the individual and collective contributions.
Dean Cunningham
Ponoka