Re: AUPE members at Extendicare Michener Hill fear impact of staffing cuts.
The principle goal of the nearly 300 Alberta Union of Provincial Employees members who work at Extendicare’s Michener Hill facility in Red Deer is the health and wellbeing of the residents they care for.
Naturally, as we all do, these working people want fair compensation and decent working conditions from their relationship with their employer. As their union, the mission of AUPE is to help them achieve that reasonable and fair goal. But always, first in their minds is the wellbeing of the seniors in their care, people they often think of as their neighbours and friends.
But they just can’t do this critical job — at least as well as they wish and the seniors they care for deserve — if their employer denies them the resources they need.
Unfortunately, since the Michener Hill facility opened in 2010, things seem to have been getting worse rather than better, mainly the result of decisions made by the centre’s management that emphasize business considerations over the wellbeing of residents.
Early on, our members at this worksite began contacting us to complain they were stretched beyond their limits because of high turnover rates, growing workloads and the fact this employer appears to under-value the contribution of staff. The inevitable result was low morale, then even higher turnover.
A key indicator of the lack of value placed by Extendicare on its trained and certified employees, of course, is the low wages it pays them.
As the Alberta economy recovers, this naturally means that workers who do not feel their work is properly valued will look elsewhere for employment.
This has tended to make the situation more difficult for those who remain, who see their workloads increase even more as colleagues depart.
As a result, staff now must perform incompatible jobs during the same shift — feeding residents and cleaning bathrooms, for example. AUPE’s members are conscious of proper cleanliness procedures and observe them scrupulously, but the message from the employer is a troubling one.
Instead of looking for sensible solutions, which must include adequate staffing levels, Extendicare’s response has been to make even deeper cuts to staffing complements now that the facility is established and in operation. The company now proposes to cut out as many as 6,600 hours per month of staffing time for nursing, laundry and food services.
AUPE believes this approach makes no sense, compromises the safety of residents and will inevitably lead to even more staff burnout and lower morale.
As working people who believe their most important job is the safety and comfort of the vulnerable seniors they care for, AUPE?s members find this totally unacceptable.
Where quality of care issues also affect the morale and working conditions of the employees of Extendicare Michener Hill, AUPE intends to use the collective bargaining process to try to resolve the problem, both to protect our members and the residents.
But if Extendicare fails to respond appropriately, we recognize this could trigger a labour dispute. AUPE does not want this to happen. In the event that it does, AUPE has proposed to Extendicare an essential-services agreement that would ensure resident safety is never compromised during a strike or lockout.
But fixing the overall problem will take more than traditional union-management bargaining because it extends to public policy areas beyond those that can be dealt with in bargaining.
Pressure needs to be applied to Extendicare by Alberta Health Services and the government of Alberta to ensure that safe staffing levels are mandated and maintained, not only in this important central Alberta facility but throughout the province.
The public needs to let both the employer and the government know that the citizens of Central Alberta value their seniors, and expects them to be treated with dignity and respect.
Guy Smith
President, AUPE