EDMONTON—Public sector workers declared a “summer of action” Friday as they rallied outside hospitals to protest a provincial government bill that delayed their wage negotiations.

Bill 9, also known as the Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act, postpones previously scheduled negotiations with roughly 180,000 public sector workers across Alberta until the fall. The move affects nurses, social workers, hospital support staff, prison guards, sheriffs, and others.

Passing cars honked in support as dozens marched and shouted chants of solidarity in front of Royal Alexandra Hospital.

“Members are mad. They’re showing their distrust of this government, the failure of the leadership of this government, and that’s what you’re seeing here. And this is only the beginning,” said Mike Parker, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), whose union represents about 27,000 affected workers.

“We haven’t had to do this kind of action in a lot of years.”

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) organized the protests at four Edmonton-area hospitals Friday, following similar rallies in Calgary and other municipalities earlier this month.

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Parker said it’s not just Bill 9, but also Bill 2 — which lowered the minimum wage for youth — that signal workers could be in for a rough ride under Alberta’s new United Conservative government.

HSAA members had wages frozen for the last two years, with a wage opener in their contract that allowed them to negotiate a raise for year three this summer. Parker said there was no consultation from the government before it announced those negotiations would be delayed until the fall or later.

“We’ve been taking zeroes. We understand this province is in a tough time and we’re doing our part,” he said. “What we’re not seeing from this government is recognition, or any ability to even negotiate, consult — there was zero consultation on Bill 9.”

Jerrica Goodwin, a spokesperson for Finance Minister Travis Toews, said the minister was unavailable for comment Friday. She sent an email statement saying the government’s decision to delay wage arbitrations is a “responsible and measured approach,” and that the temporary delay will give the province time to make an informed decision based partially on advice from its blue-ribbon panel.

The panel has been tasked with reviewing Alberta’s finances and providing recommendations to balanced the budget. It’s led by former Saskatchewan finance minister Janice MacKinnon, who, in an article co-authored with University of Calgary economist Jack Mintz in October 2017, called for a wage reduction of 2 per cent for all provincial public employees, followed by two years of no increases.

Some public sector workers worry wage rollbacks are Bill 9’s end goal.

“I think they’ve already made clear that (wage rollbacks) is what they’re looking at, and that’s what we are expecting,” said Rochelle Walker, president of United Nurses of Alberta Local 33, which represents nurses at the Royal Alexandra.

“We believe that this is the first of possibly many assaults to come.”

Walker called Bill 9 disrespectful and a breach of contract.

AUPE is taking the government to court over the bill, arguing it violates workers’ charter rights. Its application for an injunction was accepted and a hearing is scheduled for July 29. If the injunction is granted, it would allow arbitration to go ahead.

According to the union’s statement of claim, about 60,000 AUPE-represented workers were due to start arbitration talks in June and continue through August. Those agreements contained a wage reopener, a clause allowing the union and the employer to renegotiate a wage increase during the contract’s final year. If neither side could come to an agreement, the matter would go before an independent arbitrator for a ruling.

Two days after AUPE’s three bargaining units began their arbitration talks, the Alberta government tabled Bill 9.

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The government faced criticism after a marathon debate at the Alberta legislature when the bill was passed, after Premier Jason Kenney marched through the aisles handing out earplugs to United Conservative MLAs.

AUPE vice-president Michael Dempsey questioned why the United Conservatives would enact a corporate tax cut without a panel review — which the Opposition NDP says will cost the province $4.5 billion in lost revenue over the next four years — but won’t honour contracts with public sector workers.

“How can you trust somebody who you know might change the rules on you halfway through?” Dempsey said Friday. “How could you ever negotiate fairly again?”

At least three NDP MLAs attended the rally, as well as members of the Alberta Federation of Labour, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and other supporters.

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