Job negotiations between AUPE and province paused amid pandemic

Government workers, bracing for promised cuts to Alberta's public sector,will keep their jobs during the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, says the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.

The union and the government signed a memorandum of agreement Tuesdayto extend job-security provisions to the end of June. Bargaining for a new collective agreement was also put on hold until the end of June.

The agreementsigned by AUPE and the public service commissioner says both parties "recognize the severity of the public health emergency" and the "immediacy of the risks to all Albertans."

In a statement to CBC News,a spokesperson with the provincial finance departmentsaid the Public Service Commission and the union agreed to pause collective bargaining for the time being "to focus on the fight against COVID-19." Finance MinisterTravis Toewswas unavailable for an interview.

AUPE President Guy Smith said the delay in negotiations is a welcome reprieve.

'Absolutely reckless'

"Particularly during this time when all Albertans and all workers on the front lines are focused on supporting Albertans through the COVID-19 pandemic,it would be absolutely reckless to throw any more workers out of work," Smith said.

The new labour agreements are not related to the layoffs in education announced on Saturday.

A previous letter of understanding guaranteeing job security for union members had expired on March 30, prompting concern from the union that represents about 23,000 government employees across various departments.

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"We've been in negotiations with the government of Alberta and the clear indication from them was that as of April 1, when the job security language that currently exists expires, that they were intending to abolish a number of positions in frontline government services," Smith said.

"We did have indication from previous disclosure that it could be up to 3,000 over a period of time, so obviously we're very concerned about that."

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A letter sent from the province to the union in November outlines the potential impact of contract negotiations, outlining potential cuts in various departments including housing, finance, transportation,social services, housing and health.

The letter, addressed to Smith, said once the job security protection agreement expired,the government would use "all options available" under the collective agreement to support the government's plan to balance the budget by 2022-23.

The letter from the Public Service Commissioner's Office, said negotiations could"impact" about 2,500 positions, including some that are vacant, through to the end of that fiscal year.

The union was expecting the "first wave" ofcuts to hit forestry and agriculture workers, followed by community and social services.

"Everyone is concerned about job losses all over the place," Smith said. "Jason Kenney, as premier, has said that he's concerned about these job losses.

"We're pleased that at least for the time being he sees the sense in keeping his own staff working to continue to contribute to the economy and not put extra strain on the economy by being thrown out of work. We hope that that common sense prevails for longer than the new deadline."

• Budget 2020: Alberta continues plan to cut spending amid volatile economy

Under Budget 2020, the province said it planned to save $610 million in public sector compensation in 2020-21 through staff reductions and by "simplifying delivery methods."

The plan wouldcut the size of the public sector by about two per cent over four years. But the budget announced in February before oil prices plummeted to record lows and the health crisis hit banked on a significant recovery in the oilpatch to pull the province out of its economic doldrums.

At the time, the finance minister warned that "additional spending restraint will be required" if the province faced additional economic challenges.

Given the ongoing economic turmoil, the AUPE was concerned the province would revert to its previous budget plans and deepen its cuts to the public sector. Budget 2019, which expected tough cuts in the face of oil-price woes, planned to cut the public sector by 7.7 per cent over four years.

"Now we've been given some some time to reset the situation a bit," Smith said.