Reboot Alberta

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Staff in Red Deer Group Home For Disabled Albertans Goes Union Seeking a Livable Wage - in Alberta of all Places

I see 400 residential staff working in 40 group homes in Red Der has decided to join AUPE to try an get a liveable wage and benefits for their labours. This is one of the natural consequences of putting people who care for our most vulnerable citizens in penury. I can understand the frustration that leads to this kind of action.

As a Progressive Conservative I can't understand why government has not addressed this issue more effectively. The absurdity of this situation is that GOA will be paying these "union wages" anyway if these not-for-profit community based agencies fold because the problems of the developmentally disabled in Alberta will not go away. They will just become a primary function of government and will be handled inside government. Not an optimal solution and ther are no cost savings that way either.

There are other alternatives are for the community based not-for profits who do this work on behalf of Albertans through our government. One is to close up shop and let the government take on the entire task of caring for developmentally disabled Albertans. The other is to pay staff what they deserve and cut back programs to meet the budget limits imposed by the poor funding models imposed by the government.

The better alternative is to increase the grants with some flexibility so the community based not-for-profit can pay their staff at the same level as government employees who are doing the same work. The current discrepancies are breathtaking.

A recent consultant report on compensation comparisons by the HayGroup indicates just to equalize current staff, not the recruit to vacancies or pay same benefits would require an injection of $182,000,000 of new funds.

Last year the GOA put in $36m of new money in three different tranches. The February Budget added $10.5M to base but some agencies have not yet sween those funds trickle through the system (such as it is) to the copmmunity agencies so they can pay it to staff. It has been a year for cripes sakes! Another $10.5 m was added mid year and more recently ther was $15m added. These are small band aids and put out as one time “bonuses” that only adds to the uncertainty and frustration of staff. There needs to be systemic change here not a bunch of patch jobs.

The agency staffs that are still on the job throughout Alberta are spread too thin due to staff shortages and vacancies where no recruits are coming to fill. There are annual staff turnover rates in the 45-65% range all over the province. That is a set of circumstances when mistakes happen. These employment conditions are a breeding ground for errors and omissions. Government policy makers and officials have to be actively concerned that there is a real and present danger of serious risk to both clients and staff. This simply cannot be allowed to continue in a civilized society and not one as “wealthy” as Alberta.

Full disclosure, I have been working with the Alberta Council of Disability Services for a while now on their relationship with the Alberta government and now on wages and contract issues. This is not just another project for me. This is now a personal calling for me because of how ridiculous the current state of affairs has become and how grossly unfair it is to staff and clients.

Read the ACDS policy briefing to government for some context. Then read the HayGroup backgrounder for a sense of the magnitude of the problem. Then contact all the candidates from every political party running in your constituency. Let them know, as a citizen who cares for the most vulnerable in our society, that you want this situation rectified immediately.

The problem is well known and the solution is obvious. It takes political will to fix it. It is election time. I can assure you they will listen. If enough people make the point and connect directly with the candidates, I can assure changes will happen.

10 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:07 am

    Excellent post, Ken!

    This is a problem that has been allowed to get so bad, that service providers have had to start a public awareness campaign (Who Cares? Alberta www.whocaresalberta.com) in order to get government to notice.

    It is unbelievable that a huge part of the problem is that government agencies are poaching staff from community non-profits performing the exact same services. Who can blame staff for leaving when the wages and benefits are almost double in the positions with government?

    Alberta needs a proactive strategy, that equalizes benefits and pay between the two groups of workers. Not only will this go a ways to addressing the imbalance, but it will also signal to students that the broad field of Human Services is a worthwhile career to enter into. In addition, the creation of more dedicated programs at educational institutions could also help increase the profile and attractiveness of this incredibly important and necessary field of work.

    The vlunerable people who rely on these services absolutely deserve better and currently we failing them. Moreover, investment in human services today is necessary for the prevention of growing social problems (i.e. poverty, homelessness, public health, crime and addictions) and diminished standards of living in the future. If we don't provide what's necessary now, it will only cost us ten times more further down the line.

    It's time the GOA adopted a long-term perspective and dealt with this problem effectively for once and for all.

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  2. Anonymous7:32 am

    I am sure Dave Hancock supports the move - he was after all supported by the unions in the last leadership campaign (you know, the ones tearing up Stelmach). [thankfully even with the union support, he still got his butt kicked!]

    Studies continually show that non-unionized employees earn a greater income when you take into account union dues and legal fees.

    Unions have done much damage to our province (see the trades union in Fort Mac for an example). Alberta should continue to lead the way in limiting the union's powers. One need only look to France (and Quebec) for examples of the truly detrimental effects of unions on the economy.

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  3. The contract staff have at least an avenue to pursue. Across Alberta, some 80-100 organizations provide special needs transportation (handi-van, DATS, etc) and haven't seen any Government of Alberta interest since funding was slashed in 1994.

    Just a few months ago Minister Danalyck (sp?) notified us that there will be no review of funding. Sadly it was transportation minister Stelmach who wrote to us some years ago to promising that funding would be reviewed in a tri-ministerial effort. (I believe I have that document scanned somewhere)

    I get the feeling that disabled people are not a major concern of the Progressive Conservative Cabinet.

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  4. Anonymous6:54 pm

    This area falls under the Ministry of Health. If so, why the hell wasn't Hancock doing anything about it? Shame on Hancock. Hopefully he gets his butt kicked out of the legislature.

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  5. It is election time. I can assure you they will listen.

    Perhaps what is most worrisome is the fact that it seems to require an election for an issue like this to even hit the public radar ... much less to get politicians to act on it.

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  6. Matt @ 6:54 pm - check you facts...disability services is under the Seniors and Community Services Department. Nothing to do with Health. Sorry to disappoint you.

    As for Hancock, he and Stelmach have been very helpful in getting the $36M of new funds paid out this year. BUT the issue needs a longer term view and more systemic overhaul.

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  7. Anonymous7:08 pm

    Wow, Hancock earmarked $36M of new funds JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION - that is typical liberal politics.

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  8. Anon @7:08 - you can't keep up this charade. Nobody with a 3 digit IQ believes this trite crap that you guys are pedalling.

    Read the posts and the Comments. The $36m was in three different payments over the last year and not just before the election.

    They money was from Seniors and Community Services - NOT Hancock's department.

    You can't make you delusions into truth FOR THE REST OF US BY USING CAPITAL LETTERS EITHER.

    Give it up, the facts are against you, the opinion polls are against you and the Blogosphere is tired of you.

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  9. Anonymous7:48 am

    Sorry Ken, your tremendous IQ is overwhelming. In fact, you are so intelligent that you should just disregard other opinions and the true hard facts.

    You keep trying to defend Hancock for dropping the ball. You did the same thing during the leadership race when you actually felt that he had a chance of winning! You were wrong then and you are wrong now.

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  10. Anon @ 7:48 what's next - are you going to accuse my mother of wearing army boots?

    I don't think it would be fair to enter into a battle of wits with you given the fact you are obviously unarmed.

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