News Photo Anna Smith AUPE and UNA members walk up and down the street outside Medicine Hat Regional Hospital as part of the UNA rally on Wednesday.
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Nurses and healthcare workers from the city and area met outside of the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital on Wednesday to rally and raise awareness for their ongoing work for better conditions.
Healthcare workers are increasingly burnt out, said Megan Eggins, vice president for United Nurses of Alberta Local 70.
Currently, many unions for healthcare workers are in ongoing negotiations with the province, and they are watching, “the collapse of public healthcare” while these processes are ongoing, said Eggins.
“We’re just rallying to try to make the public aware of what’s going on in our province, and also to just rally together as health care workers, to promote public health care,” said Eggins. “We’re from the United Nurses of Alberta, so we’re speaking on behalf of the registered nurses, but we have invited AUPE and HSAA and CUPE as well, because they’re all healthcare workers right alongside us.”
There is a misconception, said Local 70 President Donna Bitz, that the negotiations are largely in regards to wages, and while fair compensation is one of the issues on the table, their concerns pertain to more than money.
Safe staffing levels and patient ratios, the ongoing need to recruit and retain healthcare providers, and overall respect for those in the field are at the top of their list of priorities, said Bitz.
“We want it all to be equal, right? You know, no privatization, right? We want everyone to have equal health care, because that should be a human right,” said Bitz.
She stressed that working conditions are care conditions for those that rely on nurses and other healthcare providers, and the members of UNA want to be there for their communities, but just as many feel they need to leave to find safer, more sustainable lives for themselves and their families.
“It’s a very scary time, because you also see that there’s better negotiations going on across the country compared to what people in our province are dealing with right now,” said Eggins. “It’s not just our organization. It’s multiple unions that are having a really difficult time negotiating.”
“When we’re protecting ourselves in our collective agreement, we’re protecting the public as well,” said Bitz.
The rally enjoyed a large turnout, from UNA members, as well as members of other unions such as AUPE. Bitz commented that they also saw members of the public, including Gwendoline Dirk, who showed support by honking their horns, stopping to chat or ask questions, and to sign their petition urging the province to support quality public healthcare.
