How's the job prospective? I heard there is a hiring freeze - page 2

Alberta's minister of health, Ron Liepert, and Alberta Health Services' CEO Stephen Duckett have decided that there is no nursing shortage in Alberta anymore, only a shortage of nurses who work full time. They haven't exactly instituted a hiring freeze, they've just restricted almost all postings to nurses already employed by Alberta Health Services. So units that have vacancies can hire nurses from other units that probably have at least as many vacancies themselves, but not anyone who doesn't already have a job. And that means new graduates from Alberta's half-dozen nursing schools as well as nurses from other provinces or countries.

The province will be going into negotiations in January with the intent to roll back and claw back whatever they can and to ram through all sorts of unpleasantries. They will get a fight from the United Nurses of Alberta, for whom striking has been made illegal. The negotiations can be drawn out as long as AHS wants or makes them. It will be brutal and there will be a lot of militancy. Stay tuned.

I'm only a nursing student at this point (start program in 3 weeks, yay!) so I'm watching the politics of all this with interest.

Will Albertan LPN's expect to see their wages rolled back? When I was first investigating nursing as a career, AB had the lowest paid LPN's in Canada. During the process of upgrading/electives, etc I watched with excitement as the new contract brought starting wages up to relate more closely with what other provinces were offering. Is this going to be lost to the herd of clowns now at the helm of AHS?

I won't be done the program for 2 years, but I certainly hope that when I am finished I can expect to make at least $20 or more per hour to start. It's an insult to offer educated professionals, who deal with everything a nurse must, anything less. Especially in a province that claims to be one of the wealthiest in the country...

Conditions will most certainly change in the two years you're in school, Curious. Just look at how we went from an oft-published and quoted shortage of more than 1500 full time nurses in Alberta in March to no nursing shortage in June. And how the province went from a surplus of $8.5 BILLION last August to a $7 BILLION deficit now. Where did that $15.5 billion go? Or was it ever really there to begin with? It's called creative accounting. But I digress.

It's possible that AHS's opening position in negotiations with UNA will include rollbacks. In fact, I think we should expect that. But UNA is not likely to even bring rollbacks to the membership to vote on. They've never accepted rollbacks in the past and I really don't think they're going to start now, when AHS's story is all smoke and mirrors.

Whenever negotiations begin between an employer and a union, both parties come to the table with a position that includes a fair number of things that can be ceded during discussion. For example, the employer could say they want every employer to work every weekend. The union might want every member to only work one weekend a month. Both sides know they're never going to prevail and their real gaol all along was for all members/employees to work alternate weekends. It's the same with monetary items. "We'll ask for a 10% raise, but we'll let them talk us down to 3%." In this situation AHS might want a X% rollback in wages but woud settle for no increase instead.

LPNs are not members of UNA, whose contract expires in 7 months. AUPE represents LPNs and that contract continues until March 31, 2011. It's important that all health care related unions pay close attention to UNA's negotiations because they historically set the bar. UNA has nothing to lose by digging in and preparing for a seige.

Vancouver Island Health Authority has 164 registered nurse and psych nurse positions posted this week on it's public postings, that's not counting internal postings. VIHA covers vancouver island and some areas on the mainland.

Hi, Loriange:

Can you please tell me which area still has jobs for RNs? I just got my license, and am actively looking for jobs.

Thanks a lot.

Yup, here in Alberta, I can't wait for an election. Although I'm not sure that people will remember everything that happens with this government, the gag orders (non-transparency), closure of beds at ALberta Hospital, triage tent at the Stollery, even creating the AHS, nobody knew it was coming until it happened. But I won't forget, I ordered up my posters from the Friends of Medicare website. I've been telling everyone I know, if you don't like whats happening, write a letter to the newwpaper and make your voice heard! Im a student, so no gag order for me yet!

Some more good news from Stelmach:

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loc...ub=CalgaryHome

This looks like it could get interesting. I am continually astonished that this province could go from touting their billions of surplus dollars to hiring freezes and considered layoffs all in the space of a year. Please let Albertans use their bloody heads the next election cycle. There were shortages of teachers/nurses/you-name-it in this province when the gravy train was running, I shudder at the thought of what is coming down the pipe if things don't get back on track.

Well, instead of immediately moving to layoffs to achieve their desired 3% across-the-board budget cut, AHS has decided to offer early retirement packages to entice nurses to leave their jobs. 3% translates into 2700 positions.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/healt...297/story.html

My first thought is why doesn't AHS simply end of the contract of the IENs? They were brought in to fill a need and according to Duckbrain we don't need all these nurses....

I love that...Duckbrain, I am picturing that as a cartoon. The only problem is that what he is doing is not the least bit funny. Hopefully, the people of Alberta will speak out about Duckett.