EDMONTON — Bargaining is ongoing at a number of AgeCare continuing care facilities in Alberta, where staff have not had a contract since 2022. The union representing these workers, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, has issued a formal complaint over bargaining delays, and has reported the employer has offered meager wage increases of just 1% over four years. They also report that there exist “significant disparities” in benefit levels between AgeCare, a for-profit continuing care operator, and Alberta’s publicly-operated Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Carewest.
“Working conditions are care conditions. Seniors in our province deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and that starts with supporting continuing care workers in providing the best possible care to their residents,“ said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “The simple fact is, every public dollar that goes towards profits for these operators and their corporate shareholders is a dollar that’s not going to residents’ care.”
Two 2023 Auditor General reports validated longstanding concerns about for-profit seniors’ care in Alberta, highlighting how profoundly our residential continuing care system has failed seniors and workers through decades of underfunding and chronic understaffing. The same is true for those working in home care. But instead of action to improve care and working conditions, we have repeatedly seen the Alberta government make moves to jeopardize care, further gut regulations, and bolster private profits.
“Private continuing care operators like AgeCare are receiving millions upon millions of public dollars, and yet failing to treat their staff with basic respect, or even to bargain fairly,” said Gallaway. “But time and again we have seen this government bend over backwards to find ways to increase the profit margins of these companies and their investors, often with little regard for the safety and wellbeing of the seniors that they are entrusted to care for.”
In 2024, Alberta’s new Continuing Care Regulations eliminated minimum requirements for operators to ensure that residents received at least 1.9 hours of direct care per day. As of this April, Alberta’s new Continuing Care Capital Program is funnelling even more public health dollars to expand private, for-profit continuing care instead of building new public beds, despite a wealth of research suggesting publicly owned facilities have better outcomes than for-profit care homes. Of these grants, AgeCare received $77.7 million, 20% of the total first round of funding.
“Our government’s number one priority should always be the best possible care for residents. But that’s only possible if we stop treating seniors like real estate investments, and start to appropriately staff and support the workers who provide their care,” concluded Gallaway.
Friends of Medicare encourages members and supporters in Edmonton to join AgeCare workers rallying tomorrow afternoon for better working conditions and better care conditions.
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