United Nurses of Alberta brings Unfair Labour Practice complaint against AHS

United Nurses of Alberta has brought an Unfair Labour Practice complaint against Alberta Health Services for breaching the Labour Relations Code by interfering with the union’s representation of its members through the bargaining process.

The complaint filed Monday with the Alberta Labour Relations Board says that despite clearly communicated objections from UNA, AHS directly communicated with all of its Employees, roughly 100,000 people, seeking feedback on a program subject to ongoing negotiations between AHS and UNA on behalf of its members who are employed by AHS.

Communicating directly with Employees about the North Zone Locum Program, which seeks to find ways to ease recruitment and retention problems in rural and remote areas of the province, and seeking input from them, “clearly interferes with the Union’s representation of its members through the bargaining process,” the complaint states.

“The Employer’s direct communication of its intention to expand the Locum Program to Employees rather than to the duly elected or appointed officials on the Union’s bargaining team constitutes bargaining in bad faith and is prohibited…,” the complaint states.

UNA has asked the Board to remedy the situation by declaring that the employer breached the Code, ordering it to cease and desist, ordering it to recognize the union as exclusive bargaining agent, and to engage in good faith in all matters related to the Locum Program, and to cease and desist from negotiating directly with Employees.