reposted from una.ab.ca

After 18 months on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta’s nurses are exhausted and overworked.

Nurses go to work every day to make sure Albertans get the best and safest patient care possible. What we want most is fairness in the workplace.

Beds are closing because hospitals are short of nurses. This is because of the pandemic burnout and a long history of understaffing nurses.

Alberta needs nurses.

The roll backs proposed by the government are an insult to nurses and won’t help Alberta recruit and keep health care workers, which is what we need to keep hospital beds open.

Money is not the only issue in these talks. They want to roll back provisions that nurses have had for decades, including a very important rule that a Registered Nurse or Registered Psychiatric Nurse is in-charge of Nursing Units.

It’s about safe patient care.

Nurses want to able to focus on safe patient care. But that’s hard to do when hospitals are under- staffed and the government is attacking nurses and health care workers.

Alberta’s nurses are holding information pickets across Alberta to raise concerns about how understaffing, closed beds and rollbacks will impact patient care in Alberta. This list will be updated as more information pickets are announced.

Here is the list of info-pickets: https://www.una.ca/1267/una-day-of-action-on-august-11

EDMONTON PICKETS

Local 11 (Misericordia Community Hospital)
When: August 11 from 1130 to 1300
Where: Outside the Misercordia Community Hospital (16940 87 Ave NW, Edmonton)
Contact: local11exec@una.ca

Local 33 (Royal Alexandra Hospital)
When: August 11 from 1000 to 1400, speakers at 1200
Where: Outside the Royal Alexandra Hospital (10240 Kingsway NW, Edmonton) along Kingsway Avenue.
Contact: Lonee Rousseau at lrousseau@una.ca

Local 79 (Grey Nuns Community Hospital)
When: August 11 from 1130 to 1330 
Where: Outside the Grey Nuns Community Hospital (1100 Youville Drive NW, Edmonton)
Contact: local79exec@una.ca

Local 183 (Alberta Hospital Edmonton)
When: August 11 from 1200 to 1600
Where: Outside of Alberta Hospital Edmonton (17480 Fort Rd NW, Edmonton)
Contact: local183exec@una.ca

Local 301 (University Hospital, Stollery Children’s Hospital, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute)
When: August 11 from 1100 to 1500
Where: Outside the University of Alberta Hospital (8440 112 St NW, Edmonton) along 112 Street.
Contact: local301exec@una.ca