AHS nursing care workers elect for strike, with 98% in favour

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on November 6, 2025.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees’ AHS nursing care members have voted to strike, should mediations not reach an agreement in the coming days.

Members have made their opinion loud and clear, says AUPE president Sandra Azocar.

“They are very clear about what they want to see in terms of fighting for better wages and safer working conditions,” Azocar said. “Ninety-eight per cent of members in Alberta Health Services nursing care that were eligible for members to vote, voted yes to a strike.”

An update on the AUPE website says roughly 70.5 per cent of eligible voting members participated in the vote. Azocar believes this is a strong opportunity to send a message to the employer of the 16,000 AUPE nursing care members, who work under AHS and the province’s new pillars of health care.

A majority of these workers are licensed practical nurses and health care aides, and AUPE says they have been bargaining for a new collective agreement since March 2024.

“They’ve had enough in terms of waiting for the employer to be able to finally recognize the value of the work that they do on behalf of Albertans, day in and day out,” said Azocar.

She says now that the results are certified by the Alberta Relations Board, AUPE will go back to the bargaining table for Nov. 6-9.

The earliest members can serve strike notice is Nov. 17, meaning they could potentially be on strike by Nov. 20.

“Our members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike action because they’re fed up with the stagnant wages and unsafe working conditions,” said Azocar. “Those conditions not only hurt workers, but they also hurt patients and our public health-care system. It was a tough decision to make, but our members made it, and they made it in huge numbers.”

Azocar told the News there is concern for the “pattern” set when “you have a government that’s willing to legislate instead of negotiate,” referring to recent legislation from the province that brought an end to the teacher’s strike by use of the notwithstanding clause.

She expressed that AUPE is “prepared, as a union and as the labour movement; we’re prepared to take that fight on if that’s what they decide to do.”

The provincial union says AHS nursing care members provide essential services for public health care, and Azocar believes that by standing up for the wages and working conditions of members, they are standing up for a quality of services that all Albertans rely on.

“We are not just fighting for us, but we’re fighting for all Albertans. We’re fighting for our public health-care system,” said Azocar.