research | Feb 19, 2024
In 2024, about 200,000 public-sector Alberta workers will be negotiating new contracts. This report examines the ways governments, and specifically the Government of Alberta, interfere in public-sector collective bargaining. It also explores how this growing interference may impact the 2024 bargaining round. The report concludes by offering several options for how public-sector workers and their unions can respond to growing government interference, both at the bargaining table and through increased political pressure.
blog | Sep 04, 2023
What can Alberta workers expect from this United Conservative Party government? The UCP’s first term cheapened labour costs for employers, while its 2023 election platform contained few promises related to labour and employment matters. This post presents six labour-related issues that should be on every worker’s radar over the next four years.
blog | Nov 12, 2020
This is the second of two blog posts examining Bill 47. This post focuses on changes to the Workers’ Compensation Act. These changes save employers money by reducing the likelihood of injured workers receiving benefits and reducing the value of those benefits. Bill 47 also makes it harder for workers to appeal decisions and reduces the likelihood of returning to their job once recovered.
blog | Nov 12, 2020
Alberta’s United Conservative government recently introduced Bill 47 (Ensuring Safety and Cutting Red Tape Act, 2020). The bill makes substantial changes to the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act and the Workers’ Compensation Act and represents a rollback of workers’ safety protections. This is the first of two blog posts examining Bill 47. This post focuses on changes to the OHS Act that, if passed, will come into effect Sept. 1, 2021.
blog | Apr 24, 2020
Two meat-packing plants in southern Alberta have given rise to nearly one in six of Alberta’s 3400 cases of COVID-19. Athabasca University's Bob Barnetson and Jason Foster examine what went wrong at the two meatpacking plants, what it tells us about the inadequacy of OHS policy in Alberta and how the incidents could have been avoided.
blog | Jan 29, 2020
The UCP government has announced it will be implementing a performance-based funding model for the province's 26 post-secondary institutions. Bob Barnetson looks at what we know, and the potential impacts for post-secondary in Alberta.
blog | Nov 27, 2019
Athabasca University labour relations professor Bob Barnetson analyzes the UCP's Bill 26, which repeals many of the gains Alberta farm workers gained with 2015’s Bill 6, adds new exclusions, and strips agricultural workers of many basic employment rights.
blog | Aug 30, 2019
As we head into the 2019 Labour Day long weekend, Athabasca University labour relations professor Bob Barnetson looks at Alberta's essential services legislation and the likely impact of changes the UCP has promised.
blog | May 28, 2019
Despite the stated benefits of the UCP government's new labour legislation, Bill 2 will reduce workers' income, make payroll administration more complex for employers, and impede workers seeking to join a union.
blog | Apr 03, 2019
Athabasca University labour professor Bob Barnetson breaks down exactly what the UCP platform planks on employment, labour, and training would mean for workers in Alberta.
