LETHBRIDGE, AB – Members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) working at Lethbridge’s Fairmont Extendicare facility on the south side took to the streets Wednesday to protest proposed cuts to their working conditions.
The Ontario-based for-profit continuing care company has attempted to cut AUPE wages by 4%, slash health and dental benefits and retirement plans, and reduce sick time by 15%.
Union Vice President, Karen Weiers, says workers will not accept these kinds of attacks after tirelessly keeping others’ parents and grandparents safe from COVID-19 for the past year and a half.
“It’s honestly insulting that Extendicare is trying to attack working conditions at their care homes,” says Weiers.
Weiers and other protesters are urging Extendicare to offer better working conditions, to retain staff and attract more workers, not slash their benefits, which will only “worsen the labour shortage that plagues Alberta’s healthcare system.”
The employer has not yet responded to AUPE’s concerns.