Meaningful consultation needed on union wage bill

By Letter to the Editor on June 27, 2019.

Re: “UCP bill to alter union wage deals,” June 13

The headline really hit home. It’s difficult to read about the legislation the UCP government intends to pass regarding worker rights and collective bargaining rights. I’d argue that the majority of Albertans elected the UCP to get people back to work in the oilsands, not to take away their rights and potential income.

When Financially Fit hit Medicine Hat, we were consulted. Hatters were asked to consider our city’s annual budget and how it was allocated, hopefully determining potential efficiencies and areas to trim. As a result, the grass in our parks will grow a bit longer, and let’s not forget that disastrous attempt to save money by changing how city transit functioned. Additionally, many of our local unions agreed to go at least one year without a wage increase (with others accepting even more zeroes), but at least they were consulted first.

Yes, we recognize the importance and correlation between business and employment. We’ve offered companies prime deals on land taxes and utility rates. Companies don’t come here because they want to hire local workers – they come to make a profit and to maintain a low overhead.

In case the comparison here is too vague, let me be direct. It appears as though little meaningful consultation has been done with working Albertans. Unions advocate for worker rights and those rights are being negatively changed through UCP legislation (such as in the case of Bill 9). The UCP government doesn’t represent Alberta’s workers, they represent all business owners and, as such, all workers in the province will be directly affected by the UCP government’s work-related legislation driven primarily by these business lobbyists.

To Alberta’s workers: Is this really what we wanted back in April?

Michael Plait

Medicine Hat

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