Essential Service Agreements, Labor Action, and YOU

There have been some questions arising from members about what our rights are as paramedics when it comes to job action and what may happen if a collective agreement can't be negotiated at the bargaining table. Hopefully this post can answer some of those questions.

So first, what is a strike? Well a strike includes (1) a cessation of work, (2) a refusal to work, or (3) a refusal to continue to work, by two or more employees for the purpose of compelling their employer to agree to terms or conditions of employment. This can also be referred to as "job action" and it can take many different forms. A strike can involve walking off the job and forming a picket line. But it can also involve other actions such as work to rule, where workers slow down their work by following all policies to a strict interpretation or even collective actions to harm the employer such as collectively refusing to pick up voluntary OT.

When can a strike happen? Well a strike can be legal or illegal. In order to be in a legal strike position the following must happen:

1. Any collective agreement between the union and the employer must be expired.

2. The parties must enter into collective bargaining.

3. The parties must work with a government- appointed mediator.

4. A 14-day cooling-off period must elapse following mediation.

5. A Labour Board-supervised strike vote (unions) or lockout poll (employers) must be taken and a majority of those voting must agree to the strike or lockout.

6. One party must serve the other (as well as the mediator) with 72 hours of notice before the strike or lockout commences.

We are currently at step 2 of this process and hopefully a deal can be reached without having to go further. You will also note that step 5 says that a majority of workers voting must vote in favor of a strike. But as a union, we do not want to hold a strike vote unless we know that we are going to have 90%+ vote in favor. This is because any amount less than that looks weak and shows that we lack the solidarity to win through a prolonged strike. Think about the different messages a 51% in favor strike vote sends to the employer vs a 97% in favor strike vote.

If the above requirements are not met, then any job action is considered illegal. This means the Alberta Labour Relations Board can order the workers to cease the job action, those participating can be disciplined by the employer and the union can be fined. In October 2020, several AUPE local units walked off the job suddenly in a wildcat strike. This is a strike done without union leadership approval and done without being in a legal strike position. This wildcat strike lasted 1 day and they were ordered back to work by the Alberta Labour Relations Board. Hundreds of workers received workplace discipline and the union was later fine $1.6 million or the equivalent of 1 month worth of union dues at the locals involved as punishment. And that was a 1 day illegal strike. Keep in mind, that any collective action that we do as a local to protest against AHS could be considered illegal job action and our union could be fined and we could be disciplined.

So can healthcare workers legally strike if they meet the requirements? In 2015, the supreme court of Canada ruled that healthcare workers are allowed to strike provided that the life, personal safety or health of the public are protected. The way this requirement is met is through the negotiation of Essential Services Agreements (ESA). An ESA determines the minimum staffing levels for each profession that must be maintained to satisfy those requirements to protect the public. As paramedics, we are 100% essential and would not be able to have anyone walk off the job. However, a profession like physiotherapists would likely be able to have most of them walk off the job. Remember, our collective bargaining unit has over 150 professions and each one would have their own ESA.

If our collective bargaining unit went on strike, what would that look like for paramedics? Because we are 100% essential, we would all continue to show up to work as usual and we would continue to get paid. Our brothers and sisters who are deemed not essential would walk off the job and hit the picket line. They would not be getting paid by AHS. Our union has a strike fund to help pay for the cost of a strike, including providing strike pay for time spent on the picket line. But this strike pay is not much, especially compared to the wages we make in our collective agreement. To help with this, those of us who continue to go to work and get paid our normal wage would pay 30% of our gross wages to union dues instead of 1.4%. These extra union dues would help fund the strike. So as paramedics, our take home pay would be significantly less. But we are expected to stand in solidarity with those who have been allowed to walk off the job and it's our responsibility to help support them to keep our strike viable. Striking isn't meant to be pleasant or easy for anyone.

What is a scab? A scab is someone who crosses a picket line to work for an employer who's workers are on strike. It is the cardinal sin of the working class.

Would paramedics be considered scabs? No. Because we are legally required to show up to work as per the ESA. We are also paying increased union dues to support the strike.

What happens if I scab? Any member of HSAA who scabs will have to pay 100% of their wages as union dues. In other words you would be working for free. You would also likely be kicked out of the union. AHS might start offering big money to healthcare workers to come work during a strike. There could even be paramedic staffing agencies who offer big money contracts to work for AHS during that time. But any work outside an ESA would be considered a betrayal of the union and undermine a strike. It's the worst thing a union member can do.

Keep in mind as well, in order for a strike to be successful, especially as public sector healthcare workers, we need the public to support us. We need the public to view us as community allies to help put pressure on AHS to give in to our demands. This is tricky because we need to cause a headache for AHS by withholding our labour while also not pissing off the public by making it too difficult for them to access healthcare.

Please keep asking questions. It's important that we all understand the collective bargaining process and what our rights are. I hope we don't have to resort to job action but we also have to be aware that it's a possibility andunderstand what that means for us as paramedics. Hopefully this was informative.