By Tom Fuller, AUPE

On February 17, after intense all-night bargaining, negotiators for 17,000 provincial employees reached a tentative agreement with the Government of Alberta on a wage reopener. AUPE, which represents these workers, achieved the deal after negotiations that dragged on for months.

The agreement gives AUPE members in the government service 4% retroactive to Sept. 1, 1999 plus a 2% across-the-board bonus. It also extends the current agreement for one more year, with a further 4% raise in the second year.

AUPE President Dan MacLennan said the settlement signaled a victory on two critical issues: "First, we won a significant wage increase that improves on the pattern of our settlements in 1997 and 1998. Building on these previous gains was important because we are still fighting our way back from the 5% rollback of 1994 and the inflation losses our members have suffered over the last 7 years."

"Second, we were able to convince the government to withdraw their proposal for variable performance bonuses. This was an absolute deal-breaker for us. We believe that so-called ‘performance pay’ undermines wages and benefits and actually stands in the way of improving real job performance."

"Our members don’t need bogus incentives to do their jobs properly, and the work of government won’t be more efficient if people on the worksite start competing with each other for bonuses, instead of cooperating to get the work done. Furthermore, we don’t believe it’s the job of the union to negotiate a wage increase and then give part of it back to the employer to distribute as they see fit."

AUPE negotiator Bruce Stremel said the settlement, one of the largest signed in Canada in the last three years, was the result of a government-wide mobilization of AUPE members.

"We established a mobilization committee, and made contacts on every major worksite in the province. The day before this last round of negotiations, members all across the province staged lunch-hour information pickets to demonstrate their commitment to achieving a good settlement. I guess their message got through to the powers that be."

"This settlement is just the first challenge AUPE faces this year. We have approximately 11,000 members in health care in bargaining right now, and we know we face a tough fight to get them the kind of agreement they need."

In all, AUPE has about 34,000 of its 45,000 members bargaining new collective agreements this year. MacLennan said this makes 2000 the biggest year for bargaining in the history of the union.

"It’s stretching our staff to the limit, but this is what being a union is all about. The settlement we just got is a good way to kick off the year. It sends a message to employers that the days of concession bargaining are over."