Ali Howat, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
On Aug. 11, the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) had about 30 information pickets across the province of Alberta, including one in Jasper.
At the local firehall, the UNA Local 75 nurses gathered with the support of their fellow union leaders from Health Sciences Association of Alberta and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees to inform the public of the staffing crisis and to send a message to the UCP government.
Alberta currently does not have enough nurses to provide the care that Albertans need, and beds are closing in many facilities across the province due to the lack of staff.
Many of the nurses are also burnt out due to the challenges of the pandemic.
Despite the long hours and the challenges that nurses face, the government is pushing to rollback wages, which protesters say will jeopardize patient care and further privatize the health-care system.
鈥淲e were praised as heroes during the pandemic, and now we seem dispensable,鈥� said Rachel Gaudry, president of United Nurses of Alberta Local 75.
鈥淲e want safe working conditions and to provide safe care for our patients.鈥�
Many of the UNA Local 75 members picketed together, including housekeepers, maintenance, kitchen staff and the nurses. They also had kids and various family members among the group.
鈥淲e wanted to grab people鈥檚 attention and I believe we did that successfully,鈥� Gaudry said.
Everywhere the protesters walked, they were greeted with claps from the people on the streets and honks from passing cars.
The pickets were to express to the public and the government how damaging the cuts and rollbacks would be and to make people aware of the tensions between the UCP government and health-care workers.
鈥淲e have a great team at Seton-Jasper Healthcare Centre and I鈥檓 really proud of all of us coming together,鈥� Gaudry said.
She added that the UNA Local 75 and all other pickets sent a strong message to the Government of Alberta that they are committed to the public systems.
