Dr. Ameeta Singh is a Clinical Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alberta (Edmonton). She has worked as an adult infectious diseases physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and maintained an HIV/STI outpatient practice at the Edmonton STI Clinic since 1998. She has also served as the Territorial Consultant for STBBI in Nunavut since July 2017. She was the Alberta provincial consultant for STBBI from 1998 to 2008 and the Medical Director of the Edmonton STI Clinic from 1998 to 2014. Dr. Singh’s research areas of interest are bacterial STIs, HIV Biomedical Prevention and rapid tests for syphilis and HIV.
If you have registered and can no longer attend, please cancel your registration in DMS or email Local196Education@una.ca before the registration deadline.
If the deadline has passed and you wish to be placed on the waitlist, please emailLocal196Education@una.ca
If interested in any elected positions, please complete theNomination Form.
Make sure forms are filled out in their entirety, or they will not be accepted. Nomination forms must be received by December 3, 2024, at 1659h. Email forms to Local196exec@una.ca
Interview with Chris Gallaway from Friends of Medicare
By Rachel Steel
ClickHEREto listen to our newest podcast. Joining us in this episode is Chris Gallaway, a passionate advocate for public healthcare and a key voice at Friends of Medicare. Chris has dedicated his career to promoting equitable access to healthcare for all Albertans, and he brings a wealth of knowledge on the implications of privatization in our system.
Members of United Nurses of Alberta employed by Alberta Health Services, Recovery Alberta, Covenant Health, Lamont Health Care Centre, and The Bethany Group (Camrose) voted on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, on whether to accept the Mediator’s Recommendations for a new Provincial Collective Agreement.
To be ratified, both a majority of members and a majority of locals must approve.
The results of the vote are:
Total Voting Locals:Yes: 60.48% No: 39.52%
Total Voting Members: Yes: 38.88% No: 61.12%
The Mediator’s Recommendations are therefore rejected.
Turnout: 100% of Locals and 75.23% of members voted.
Thank you to all UNA members who participated in this vote. UNA will soon share more information about the next steps in the bargaining process atwww.una.ca.
If UNA has your email on file, you will receive an email from ElectionBuddy with a direct link to your ballot; you can click the link to vote. You will need your Member ID and PIN. This can all be found on your Membership Card; you can request your card here:
Presumptive Legislation – What does it mean, and why are nurses asking for it?
PressHEREto watch a short 3-minute video on presumptive legislation (trigger warning: includes mental health statistics and mentions suicide)
Presumptive coverage means that the Worker’s Compensation Board will presume that a confirmed psychological or psychiatric injury arose out of and occurred in the course of employment unless there is evidence to the contrary. Presumptive coverage would apply for any psychological diagnosis following exposure to a traumatic incident at work, not just for PTSD. It includes interpersonal relations between a worker and co-workers, management, or customers that may be traumatic when they result in behaviours that are aggressive, threatening, or abusive. There is an acknowledgement that by the nature of your work, you are routinely exposed to traumatic events at work as part of routine job expectations. The traumatic events may be life-threatening, very disturbing, or stressful and can result in symptoms that are debilitating and require treatment to resolve.
The former NDP government had expanded presumptive coverage to all workers. Presumptive coverage is now limited to firefighters, police officers, peace officers, paramedics, corrections officers, and emergency dispatchers. Presumptive legislation for nurses is a validation that we also experienced violence and trauma and, subsequently, psychological injury. Many provinces have expanded presumptive legislation to include nurses. We are demanding that Alberta follow suit. Without presumptive coverage, our nursing peers are re-traumatized to prove their claims of psychological injury to WCB and often are denied. Access to treatment is delayed or out of reach for those with denied claims. Injured nurses are forced back to work when sick time and benefits dry. If you are hurt at work, you should be entitled to compensation. Not all injuries are visible.
Click HERE for the link to the petition. Petitions must be physically printed and signed. Completed petitions will be collected by Local 196 Secretary Rachel Steel: rsteel@una.ca
The Local newsletter was sent via MailChimp with updated member contact information from the Provincial UNA Office. It was sent to personal email addresses only. If you did not receive our newsletter, please update your contact information in UNA’s DMS system and email local196exec@una.ca to be added to our subscribers list. You don’t want to miss out!
The Local MUST hold an information meeting at least 24 hours before the polls open. Local 196 is hosting our information meeting on October 28, 2024, at 1830h. Please be aware that no meal will be provided at this meeting. To attend, please register through DMS
The polls will be open from October 30th, 2024, at 0001 hours until October 30th, 2359 hours.
UNA members who have provided a personal or una.ca email address will receive an email with a link from Election Buddy. Emails will not be sent to employer email addresses. Whether or not you receive an email, you can go to vote.una.caand select your Local, then enter your Member ID and PIN from your membership card to vote.
If you are not a member, the Local Executive will still need to approve the application per the standard Membership Application Procedure. You can apply online at una.ca
United Nurses of Alberta, Local 196 
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