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
UNA members can access the mediator’s recommendation documents in theReporting Meeting forum on UNA Forums on Zimbra.
Local 196 Office Reps have been emailed the link to distribute to members. Please contact your Office Rep if you haven’t received the email. If you don’t know who your office rep is or are new to Local 196, you can contact the Local executive directly at local196exec@una.ca.
You must complete and submit a TD1 form before any expense can be approved or paid through UNA.
Complete both the Provincial and Federal forms linked below and save them to your computer. Ensure your Social Insurance Number is completed and you have signed both pages. The total should be 0.
A reporting meeting is a meeting of delegates from each affected local. Each Local sends a certain number of delegates, determined by the size of its membership. Usually, about 600 – 700 voting delegates attend a Reporting Meeting.
The Negotiating Committee reports at the meeting about what happened in bargaining. The report could entail (1) We have a tentative agreement, (2) We have a mediator recommendation, or (3) we have reached an impasse and will not be able to achieve any further movement without job action. The delegates then discuss and provide direction to the Negotiating Committee on the next steps, which could be to hold a ratification vote or proceed with steps necessary to have a strike vote.
Local 196 has emailed the Local 196 members chosen to attend the reporting meeting. Please check your union email and respond as soon as possible if you were selected so an alternate can be sent in your place.
The Local newsletter was sent via MailChimp with updated member contact information from 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!
United Nurses of Alberta, Local 196 
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