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United Nurses of Alberta and Alberta Health Services have released a joint communication with information for Employees who take temporary positions with different Employers after the new provincial health agencies or provincial health corporations have been established, but before the introduction of the separate payroll systems.

• Currently applies to:

  • Recovery Alberta (RA)

  • Primary Care Alberta (PCA)

  • Assisted Living Alberta (ALA)

  • Acute Care Alberta (ACA)

• Will also apply to (when established):

  • Cancer Care Alberta (CCA)

  • Give Life Alberta (GLA)

  • Emergency Health Services (EHS)

Until the Payroll Transfer Date from AHS to the new provincial health agency or provincial health corporation, everything will continue to be administered as though they remain a single Employer and nothing will change for Employees’ terms and conditions of employment.

At this time, a specific date has not been identified for when the payroll system will transfer from AHS to any of the new provincial health agencies or provincial health corporations.

• Once new payroll systems are implemented:

  • Agencies become separate Employers.

  • Movement between Employers will be governed by the Collective Agreement (similar to the agreement between AHS and Covenant). 

Assisted Living Alberta is a new provincial health agency in Alberta, officially launched on April 1, 2025, and is becoming fully operational by Fall 2025

United Nurses of Alberta has been informed that, effective September 1, 2025, close to 5,000 positions held by Registered Nurses represented by the union have been identified for transfer from Alberta Health Services to Acute Care Alberta (ACA), the three provincial health care corporations overseen by ACA, and Assisted Living Alberta (ALA). The process is expected to be the same as previous transfers (i.e. from AHS to Recovery Alberta and from AHS to Primary Care Alberta)

The government says these position transfers affecting UNA members will be broken down as follows:

• 56 to the Emergency Health Services (EHS) provincial health care corporation, under ACA
• 936 to the Cancer Care Alberta (CCA) provincial health care corporation, under ACA
• 3,969 to the Assisted Living Alberta provincial health care agency

Letter of Understanding:
RE: Transition of Employees Pursuant to the Health Statutes Amendment Act

The Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, enables the government to establish provincial health agencies and transfer employees from Alberta Health Services (AHS) to these new agencies.  AHS and the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) have agreed on a plan to support a smooth transition while protecting patient services.

The agreement will remain in effect until March 31, 2027, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.

Employees whose positions are designated for transfer will receive official notification via their AHS email accounts. Formal transfer notices are expected to be sent to employees between July 21 and 24, 2025

Upon notification, employees have the following options:

• Accept the Transfer: Employees who accept will transition, retain their current terms and conditions of employment, including pay, benefits, pension, seniority, and vacation entitlements.

• Decline the Transfer: Employees who decline can exercise their rights under Article 15: Layoff and Recall to remain with AHS. Depending on available positions, this may involve displacement or reassignment within AHS.

Key points from the agreement:

• The Employer will notify all affected employees and provide them with the option to transfer or decline. Those who don’t respond by the 10-business-day deadline will be considered to have agreed to transfer.
• Employees on leave (e.g., medical, WCB) will be notified when they’re ready to return, and their transfers will be delayed until they return to work.
• Transferred employees won’t need to redo their probation periods.
• Employees already working in AHS and the new health agency can hold casual jobs with both.

More information can be found in the Collective Agreement Highlights in the: 

May 2025 newsletter (review of the Letter of Understanding)

December 2024 newsletter (Article 14.07 and Article 15) 

June 2024 newsletter (more on Article 15 – Layoff and Recall)

United Nurses of Alberta has reached a Tentative Agreement on a Collective Agreement for more than 33,000 Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses employed by Alberta Health Services, Recovery Alberta, Primary Care Alberta, Covenant Health, Lamont Health Care Centre, and The Bethany Group (Camrose).

UNA began formal mediation in January 2025 to advance the bargaining process after a majority of UNA members voted in October 2024 to reject previous recommendations that had been reached through informal mediation.

After six weeks of formal mediation with the Employers, UNA’s Negotiating Committee strongly believes this Tentative Agreement respects nurses and will significantly improve the lives of UNA members.

A Tentative Agreement was signed this morning.

“This round of negotiations has been about Respect, Retention and Recruitment. When UNA members voted against ratifying a settlement recommended by a Mediator last October, they spoke and we listened,” said UNA President Heather Smith.

“UNA’s bargaining team agreed to a Tentative Agreement,” said UNA chief negotiator David Harrigan, UNA’s Director of Labour Relations. “We believe it is an excellent agreement.” 

UNA’s Negotiating Committee recommends the ratification of the Tentative Agreement. 

UNA plans to hold an online meeting of UNA Local Executives on Tuesday, March 11, at 6:00 p.m. and online town halls for members on Saturday, March 15, at 1:00 p.m. and Tuesday, March 18, at 7:00 p.m. Members will be distributed information about how to join the meetings.

A virtual Reporting Meeting of Local Representatives will be held on March 25, and the UNA Negotiating Committee will recommend a ratification vote for all eligible members on April 2.

Tentative Agreement Summary

Monetary Increases

The four-year agreement will significantly improve wages for all affected UNA members. RNs and RPNs will receive an immediate increase of up to 15% and an overall increase of approximately 20%. The RRSP/TSFA and the education allowance remain current.

Visit UNA’s Wage Calculator Tool

The changes to the Salary Appendix include the following:

• The 3% retroactive payment to April 1, 2024, will be based on the revised grid (4% between steps).
• A restructured wage grid now provides the same increase of 4% between each step. 
• Immediately upon ratification of the Tentative Agreement, all RNs and RPNs will move to the next step on the pay grid, which equates to a 4% wage increase. Step 2 becomes Step 1. The current Step 1 is deleted, and a new Step 9 is created. Members on the current Step 9 move to the new Step 9.
• Members will maintain their anniversary date or hours towards the next increment. 
• Pay increases of 3% per year will be added to each step of the revised grid for the life of the agreement. 

There are also other significant monetary improvements in the Tentative Agreement, including:

• The on-call rate more than doubles from $3.30 per hour to $7.00 per hour.
• Charge pay will increase from $2.00 to $3.50.
• Preceptor pay will increase from $0.65 to $2.00 per hour.
• Employees required to have vehicles will receive $162.50 per month rather than the current $130.00 per month.

In addition, coverage for massage therapy is amended to $1,000 per member each benefit year with no per-visit limit.

Safe Staffing

In a new Letter of Understanding (LoU), the Employer has explicitly committed to “providing safe staffing for all patients, residents, and clients.” To achieve this, the Union and Employers have agreed to meet and identify a standardized list of clinical and operational data to form the basis of a new evidence-based safe staffing review.

This LoU includes a new provision that, in the event of disagreement, the union can submit concerns about safe staffing to an expedited review by a Safe Staffing Taskforce and, if necessary, to an outside Independent Assessment Committee.

The Employers are obligated to hire 1,000 new nursing graduates per year. These nursing graduates will be supernumerary and be assigned a Clinical Guide who will be paid an additional $2.00 per hour.

Respect

Members will now have five paid shifts for domestic violence leave.

Members will now be paid their applicable rate of pay for attendance at Occupational Health and Safety Committee meetings.

For Employees who have accumulated 684.6 hours worked, Employers will now reimburse the full cost of professional fees to CRNA and CRPNA, as well as the cost of professional liability insurance. Members can combine hours worked at more than one Employer covered by this Collective Agreement to achieve the 684.6 hours.

Employees impacted by critical incidents may now request downtime during the Shift without loss of pay.

Presumptive Coverage for PTSD and Psychological Injuries

UNA received a letter signed by Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade Matt Jones stating a proposal will be taken to cabinet no later than June 30, 2025, to extend the Workers’ Compensation Board’s presumptive coverage to RNs and RPNs for psychological injuries related to post-traumatic stress disorder and other traumatic mental health injuries. UNA has long advocated for this significant policy change by the government.

Job Security During Health Restructuring

UNA’s Negotiating Committee received a Letter of Commitment signed by Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange assuring that any job transfers of an RN or RPN due to the government’s restructuring of public health care will be to a provincial agency or provincial health corporation, preserving affected members’ seniority, rights to the terms and conditions of the Provincial Collective Agreement, and UNA representation.

Assistance for Rural Health Care

The nurse staffing shortage has impacted healthcare workplaces across Alberta, especially in rural settings. In a renewed Letter of Understanding, the government has agreed to provide $22.5 million per year for the retention and recruitment of nurses in rural Alberta. This is a significant increase from the previous agreement’s $7.5 million per year.

UNA has complete say in how this money will be spent, and the Union and Employers may mutually agree to use these funds to target initiatives in rural worksite sites that fall within the Edmonton and Calgary Zones.

In addition, the Locum program currently in the North Zone will be renegotiated to include the South and Central Zones. This program provides incentives for staffing rural facilities and programs experiencing recruitment and retention challenges.

For more information, visit the Frequently Asked Questions about the Tentative Agreement

Additional Resources

Tentative Agreement Salary Appendix

Summary of the Tentative Agreement

Amendments to the Collective Agreement

The Day of Action is an opportunity for members to connect with each other and show solidarity on the anniversary of an important milestone in UNA’s history – the 1988 nurses’ strike.

Local 196 will join the rally on January 25, 2025, from 1200-1400h in front of the Edmonton General Hospital.

Please participate as you are able. 

International Human Rights Day is celebrated on December 10th each year to mark the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adoption by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. The UDHR is a milestone document in the history of human rights, outlining the fundamental rights and freedoms that every individual is entitled to, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, or other status.

The UDHR was adopted as a direct response to the atrocities of World War II. It aims to prevent such human rights abuses in the future and promote dignity, equality, and justice for all people. It sets out a broad range of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, such as the right to life, liberty, security, education, healthcare, and freedom of expression and assembly.

For United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) Local 196, celebrating International Human Rights Day on December 10th emphasizes our continued advocacy for the rights of healthcare workers and patients, including safe working conditions, fair wages, and access to healthcare as a fundamental human right. It also provides a platform to highlight the connection between labour and human rights, underscoring that all individuals deserve respect, dignity, and the protection of their fundamental freedoms.

UNA responds to transfer of nurses from AHS to Primary Care Alberta

United Nurses of Alberta has been informed that nurses represented by the union working in Health Link 811, Primary Care Networks, Provincial Midwifery Services, select primary care clinics, Facilitated Access to Surgical Treatment (FAST) program, Virtual Care, Access and Navigation (V-CAN) and the Primary Health Care provincial program will be transferred from Alberta Health Services (AHS) to the new Primary Care Alberta (PCA) agency. The government has announced that the staff transfer from AHS to PCA is effective February 1, 2025.

While UNA remains deeply concerned about the chaos caused by this restructuring on nurses and their ability to deliver the best patient care possible within the public health care system, a Letter of Understanding signed by United Nurses of Alberta and AHS on May 31, 2024, retains and expands the rights of Employees affected by the creation of new Provincial Health Agencies.

Under the LOU, Employees can transfer to the new Employer or remain employed with AHS, with full rights to displace or fill a vacant position under Article 15 of the Provincial Collective Agreement. Indirectly affected Employees displaced by affected Employees will have, in addition to full Article 15 rights, the right to select a vacant position at PCA. All affected Employees transferred from AHS to PCA will initially be treated as a part of a single bargaining unit to administer the current Provincial Collective Agreement. This will last until the payroll transfer date. UNA does not yet know when this payroll transfer date will take place.

A tiered system for hiring and downsizing will also take effect, meaning that PCA Employees will no longer be treated as internal candidates when applying for vacant positions within AHS. Still, they will be considered ahead of other external applicants not employed by a Provincial Health Agency. In the event of downsizing, PCA employees can displace other positions within PCA or apply for vacant positions within AHS. A PCA Employee can be recalled to AHS if laid off. The LOU also applies to casual Employees who pick up additional shifts and includes provisions for Employees on Leaves of Absence, Workers’ Compensation, and Disability.

UNA is preparing a Frequently Asked Questions document for members impacted by this change, which will be posted soon. This page will be updated, and the union will share more information at www.una.ca as we receive it.

Documents for impacted members:
Explaining the transition from AHS to Primary Care Alberta (FAQ)
Letter of Understanding re: Transition of Employees pursuant to Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2024: For more information about this LOU, read UNA’s statement from May 31, 2024.
UNA Layoff & Recall FAQ
Employer/UNA Joint Layoff & Recall Statements