Delegates at the CUPE Alberta Convention today passed the following emergency resolution submitted by CUPE Alberta Division Executive:
CUPE Alberta Division will:
Publicly communicate to Alberta Health Minister Stephen Mandel that re-establishing regional health districts across Alberta proves our long-standing position that decentralizing services was inefficient and did not serve the public or the workers well.
- Because health care and emergency medical services delivery in rural areas has been poorly provided, and,
- Because health care workers can expect fairer and more equitable treatment under agreements made with local representation, and,
- Because local accountability for the delivery of local services is important to health care and emergency medical services workers and to the public they help, and,
- Because CUPE Alberta protested, legally fought, and vehemently opposed the centralization of Alberta’s health care system and we continue to believe that the residents and workers are better served by regional health districts, and,
- Because, even though the return to regional health districts will be costly, we believe it serves the people of Alberta better, and,
- Because the government and the public would have been better served and saved funds had they heeded the strong position of CUPE Alberta before the centralization of services, and,
- Because CUPE Alberta expects the government will use this transition as an opportunity to appoint qualified regional health district boards