Health care workers at a nursing home in east Edmonton have hit the picket line after negotiations with their employer, Park Place Seniors Living, came to a stand still.
More than 100 workers at the Hardisty Health Centre set up a picket outside Hardisty Care Centre around 7 this morning.
Employees say they are paid 20% below the industry standard, despite the fact the company receives public funding to pay them at the same level.
The two sides have been through two province-sanctioned mediations. AUPE, the union representing the workers, accepted the wage recommendation from those mediations, but the company did not, and is now asking the union to go to voluntary arbitration.
"It's going to be difficult for those waking up this morning and don't have their regular care works to get up and get them started. So ya, we're all a little sad that we're not there to do our jobs."
The company has put in place a contingency plan that uses other workers to replace the striking union employees, but admits service won’t be the same.
“I'm not fooling anyone to think that it will be normal service, because the staff that normally care for these residents won't be there,” Ian West of Park Place Seniors Living told Global News Monday, “Residents rely on people they know, people that understand their needs, and that they trust. And unfortunately, until we get this matter settled, that will be suspended.”
West says in order to meet the union’s demands it would have to lay off staff or decrease staff hours.
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