UNA reaches partial agreements with AHS and Covenant Health to recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

United Nurses of Alberta reached  partial agreements with AHS and Covenant Health to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR) as a named holiday.

The federal statutory holiday, first marked last year, was created to give Canadians an opportunity to honour the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families and communities.

However, while it applied to all federal employees and workers in federally regulated workplaces, the Government of Alberta refused to recognize the holiday for employees of provincially regulated industries, leaving it to individual employers to decide.

Despite language in UNA’s Provincial Collective Agreement stating that any holiday recognized by the Government of Canada will apply, AHS and Covenant Health initially refused to recognize the statutory holiday for their employees, although some long-term care operators agreed to recognize it.

UNA filed grievances with the employers to resolve this issue.

Under the agreements, AHS and Covenant Health will recognize the NDTR as a named holiday retroactive to September 30, 2021, and thereafter starting on September 30, 2022.

Full time, part-time, and casual employees who worked on September 30, 2021, will receive the additional premium pay for all hours worked that day. The payment will be processed on their September 7, 2022, paycheque.

Full-time employees who were eligible to receive the alternate day in lieu of the NDTR will see a lieu day added to their named holiday banks on September 7, 2022. 

Information for terminated employees at AHS and Covenant Health

Under the agreement, former members who ended their employment before September 30, 2021, are not eligible for retroactive pay. 

For AHS employees, eligible employees who terminated their employment after September 30, 2021, will receive the applicable premium for hours they actually worked on September 30, 2021, and a payout of the lieu day subject to the following requirements:

• Employees who terminated their employment after September 30, 2021, but before February 18, 2022, and have already requested retroactive payment of increases under the 2020-2024 Provincial Collective Agreement do not need to submit a separate request for the NDTR named holiday. Payment for premium pay and a cash-out of the lieu day (if eligible) will be issued on or before September 21, 2022.
• Employees who terminated after February 19, 2022, or those terminated employees who have not yet submitted the request for retroactive increases under the 2020-2024 Provincial Collective Agreement must submit a request for retroactive payment by September 30, 2022. Payments are scheduled to be paid on or before November 2, 2022. Click here for a link to the required form.

For Covenant Health terminated employees, all employees have to submit a request for retroactive payment if they terminated after September 30, 2021.

How to Submit a Request for Retroactive Payment

For AHS employees:

Employees’ requests for retroactive payment should be emailed to: HRSSGeneral@albertahealthservices.ca

When submitting a request, former members should indicate their Employee Name, Employee ePeople ID number, termination date, and mailing address if their address has changed since their date of termination.

For Covenant Health employees:

Terminated Employees of Covenant Health must make a separate request for the NDTR payment in addition to their request for retro pay.

Former Covenant Health employees should direct their requests to HRBusinessSupport@covenanthealth.ca  by September 30, 2022, and include the following information:

Subject Line: NDTR retro
Name
Employee # (if possible)
Union/Local
Current address & phone number (to facilitate payment)

Outstanding item to be resolved

With the partial agreement, only one outstanding item remains to be resolved, determining the appropriate in-lieu percentage that should be paid to part-time and casual as a result of the recognition of the NDTR as a named holiday. Currently, part time and casual employees receive 5 per cent in lieu of named holidays on each paycheque.

UNA members and former members who did not receive payments or have any questions should contact UNA.