Contract negotiations between the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) and the provincial government have reached a standstill, raising the prospect of a strike involving more than 16,000 licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and healthcare aides as early as Saturday.AUPE issued a formal strike notice Wednesday morning, confirming that mediation efforts failed to produce a tentative agreement.“Mediation was not successful. We did not reach a tentative agreement nor receive recommendations from our mediator,” the union said in a statement. “The employer’s offer is simply not good enough, especially when it comes to our wages.”.Wages and workload remain central sticking points. The union argues compensation has not kept pace with increasing responsibilities and an expanded scope of practice for LPNs, and is calling for the wage gap between licensed practical nurses and registered nurses to narrow.Significant gaps also remain on issues including professional development time, scheduling rules, banked overtime limits, on-call pay rates, mileage reimbursement, benefits and licensing-related fees.Negotiators for the union are urging the province to return to the bargaining table with a revised proposal..“There is still time to reach a fair deal at the bargaining table before we go on strike,” AUPE said. If job action proceeds, members would receive strike pay through direct deposit.Earlier this month, 98% of participating members voted in favour of authorizing a strike.On Wednesday afternoon, President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance Nate Horner issued a statement saying the government is “disappointed” by the strike notice, but still hopes for a negotiated settlement..“We value the important work AUPE’s licensed practical nurse (LPN) and health care aide (HCA) staff provide to Albertans and our health care system,” Horner said.Horner said the province believes its offer is “fair and reasonable” and competitive with compensation in other provinces.He said the government and Alberta Health Services (AHS) have contingency plans in place if a strike begins, noting essential services agreements mean most staff will continue working..“This means that 80% of the LPNs and HCAs will continue working for the duration of the strike to support essential services, while only 20% are legally permitted to withdraw services from non-essential services,” he said.AHS is expected to announce in the coming days which non-essential services may be affected.“We strongly encourage the parties to come back to the table,” Horner said. “We remain hopeful the parties can arrive at an agreement that is fair for workers, responsible for taxpayers, and supports stability in our health-care system.”
