Dear colleagues,
On Thursday May 7, 2025, AASUA filed an Unfair Labour Practice Complaint at the Alberta Labour Relations Board against the Employer, alleging that during informal mediation the Employer failed to bargain in good faith, as required by Alberta’s Labour Relations Code. The complaint also alleges that the Government of Alberta has, through its Provincial Bargaining and Compensation Office, significantly interfered with the AASUA’s members’ Charter rights to access a free and fair collective bargaining process.
AASUA is taking this action in response to what we see as the flagrant lack of respect the Employer conveyed toward our negotiating team, and by extension AASUA’s membership, during informal mediation. Over the course of those three days in March, the Employer did not appear to be prepared to bargain, and it was only after mediated talks broke down that they finally tabled a flimsy counter-offer to AASUA, one that can only be inferred to be made for rejection.
On Friday, you will have received a message from the Employer passing on a “Notice to Employer and Employees” providing notice of the complaint as was required by the Labour Relations Board. Our complaint alleges the following:
- At informal mediation, the Employer did not make every reasonable effort (or, frankly, any effort) as required by section 60 the Labour Relations Code to enter into a renewal Collective Agreement with AASUA;
- The Employer has exhibited intent to undermine the principles of good faith bargaining by behaving in a manner that not only is destructive to this round of collective bargaining but the antithesis of the respect and cooperation required for ongoing harmonious labour relations between the AASUA and the Board of Governors; and
- The Government of Alberta’s mandate to the Employer, provided through the Provincial Bargaining and Compensation Office of the Treasury Board, is so restrictive that it interferes significantly with bargaining, in breach of AASUA members’ Constitutional (section 2(d) Charter) right to access a fair and meaningful process of collective bargaining with the Employer.
AASUA does not take this complaint lightly. We have extended our best effort at the bargaining table to reach a deal; however we cannot bargain with ourselves. Through this complaint, we are standing up for our members’ collective bargaining rights and, even when faced with a huge power differential, we are drawing a line in the sand. We need to see real change in the actions from the Board, and by extension, the government, if we are to come to a fair deal.
We will continue to update members on the progress of this complaint.
Sincerely,
Gordon Swaters
AASUA President