Canadian Labour Reporter

June 8, 2020

Canadian Labour Reporter is the trusted source of information for labour relations professionals. Published weekly, it features news, details on collective agreements and arbitration summaries to help you stay on top of the changing landscape.

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Fix long-term care issues: Union TORONTO — Urgent action is needed from the provincial government to address condi- tions in all the province's long- term care homes, not only in the five homes identified in a scathing report from the Ca- nadian military on May 26, ac- cording to the Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA). "We have been elevating our concerns about a grow- ing number of long-term care homes for some time now," says Vicki McKenna, ONA presi- dent. "Unfortunately, we have been forced to use the legal system to compel groups of long-term care homes to fol- low the directives issued by government. ONA received an arbitration award on May 4 that addresses many of these same issues for more than 200 Ontario long-term care homes, and we continue to push em- ployers to ensure the award is adhered to." ONA has also "called in the Ministry of Labour, which has written few orders yet rarely been on site to conduct physi- cal inspections. This sector needs immediate attention," says McKenna. A number of long-term care reports have been issued over the past two decades in On- tario which continue to make recommendations to improve the sector, says the union. Reopen rural ERs: SEIU-West SASKATOON — The Minis- try of Health and the Saskatch- ewan Health Authority (SHA) responded on May 27 to con- cerns raised by the Service Em- ployees International Union West (SEIU) about the closure of emergency rooms (ERs) in a number of rural communities. "The impact of scaling down these facilities to alternate levels of care is huge for rural communities," says Barbara Cape, SEIU-West president. "It's not only the loss of services and the requirement to travel further in the event of an emer- gency, but we have also seen the immediate impact on our members who do diagnostics in those communities." Alternative level of care (ALC) is a designation being used by the SHA to create ca- pacity in larger health facili- ties for COVID-19 patients by transferring non-COVID-19 patients to regional hospitals. In some cases, less than 48 hours' notice was provided to facilities and staff of the change to the status of the ER, says the union. Technologists are expected, on a scheduled basis, to be on standby assignment and in the case of an emergency they must come back into the work- place. This initiative creates a just-in-time workforce with- out any corresponding com- mitment from SHA to honour those hours, says the union. UNA, AHS defer talks until September EDMONTON — The United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) and Alberta Health Services (AHS) on May 25 agreed to continue the pause on bargaining for a new direct nursing collec- tive agreement, including the extension of no-layoff provi- sions, until Sept. 1 while the province's response to CO- VID-19 continues. UNA proposed the exten- sion until Sept. 1 on May 12, and Alberta Health Services agreed on May 21, says the UNA. In response to the circum- stances related to COVID-19, UNA and AHS came to the agreement that bargaining be- tween the union and the em- ployer group made up of AHS, Covenant Health, Lamont Health Care Centre, and The Bethany Group (Camrose) for a new agreement would be suspended, says the union. While the province was slowing beginning what the government has called a "re- launch" of the economy after lockdown in mid-May, the coronavirus pandemic clearly continues to present a major threat to public health, says the UNA. GET LISTED IN THE HR VENDORS GUIDE Visit hrreporter.com/hr-vendors-guide HR Professional Development Description: Faccaerio. Name volore pre et atur. Cerumqui consedi seraectis eos magnisi nvenihi lliquist qui accum de pres experis testior eperest que ventust qui re volorum quatat. Ed et aut aut harunt aut fugitata iur. 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