Good Samaritan Society (GSS) front-line care workers in Alberta, supported by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), are challenging "unfair and disrespectful behaviour" by their employer. .“Nearly 1,600 members of [AUPE] have been waiting almost five years to negotiate a collective agreement with the Good Samaritan Society, but the employer keeps stalling,” says Guy Smith, president of the union, which represents 95,000 workers..“It seems a mixture of incompetence and malice on behalf of the employer, but it’s the front-line workers and the residents who suffer.”.Workers have planned an information picket and rally at the GSS Linden View facility on Tuesday from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. MST. Smith and AUPE's vice-presidents Susan Slade and Darren Graham will attend. .“These members have seen no wage increases for five years, which is especially painful with today’s soaring inflation rates," said Smith. ."Their concerns over workplace conditions and the level of care provided to residents have been ignored." .“To continue to stall on bargaining now, after more than two years of these workers putting their health and lives on the line during the pandemic, is insulting. It’s a shameful way to behave for an organization that claims to be faith-based.”.Seniors and Housing Minister Josephine Pon and MLA for Taber-Warner Grant Hunter were in Taber Monday to launch Seniors Week. .“The people of Taber want to know why their seniors at Linden View, and the workers who care for them, are being treated with such disrespect and what the minister and MLA are doing to help,” said Smith. .Bargaining has affected 17 GSS sites across Alberta, including in Edmonton, Lethbridge, Spruce Grove, Cardston, Evansburg, Magrath, Raymond, Rocky Mountain House, Stony Plain, Taber, and Wetaskiwin. .Staff terminated by the GSS in May due to their COVID-19 vaccination status also indicated they had received poor treatment from their employer. .In late April, the Western Standard spoke with a GSS registered nurse who had worked with the society for 15 years. She requested anonymity for fear of reprisal from her employer. .The nurse said she and others workers who were considered "non-compliant" with the society's vaccination policy, which required all workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, were terminated as of May 13. .The nurse said she has heard from many co-workers that working conditions remain poor, and said co-workers have confirmed to her "they are constantly short-staffed with excessive overtime."
