The February 26 agreement outlines the proposed budget for medical services for the next three years: Physicians and Albertans can visit our How to Help page to find information and resources to help reach a bargaining agreement with the Government of Alberta. Alberta doctors have rejected a proposed new framework agreement to resolve the one-year bitterness over wages and working conditions with the provincial government. But it appears that the deal collapsed both because of conditions that voting doctors did not like and because of the deep bitterness that stems from last year`s disputes. WADA`s Board of Directors met last night and will meet again on Sunday. We look to all zonal sections and associations of medical personnel to discuss: the government`s approach of terminating an existing agreement and replacing it with a unilateral framework is unacceptable. The breach of our contract has undermined doctors` confidence in this government. The government`s refusal to provide its information to an arbitrator shows a lack of respect for doctors and a lack of trust in their own information. We need a reasonable and fair approach to resolving disputes in order to maintain relationships and work together in the interests of Albertans. These are difficult times.
This government has introduced an unprecedented level of uncertainty for doctors. We must remain steadfast in the path we have taken, which is focused on providing quality care to our patients and fairness to physicians. To be effective, we must unite and keep our voice strong and united. Governments come and go, but the AMA has been representing physicians and patients in this province for 114 years. Make no mistake, we`re not going anywhere. I will contact you with further updates. Stay tuned. In the meantime, I`d like to ask all members who are on social media to help us amplify our voice. Let`s stand up and make our voices heard on social platforms like Twitter and Facebook, where we know this government is interacting. The tentative agreement follows a bitter public battle between the two sides that began in February 2020, when Shandro unilaterally ended the WADA framework and imposed a new physician compensation framework. “The turnout was 59%, which is significantly higher than recent agreements,” said WADA President Dr.
Paul Boucher in a press release Tuesday night. If the mediation report is not accepted by both parties, Alberta Health “agrees to review the mediation report before making the final decision on the issue being mediated,” the agreement states. The agreement states that Alberta Health will monitor spending under the medical services budget on a monthly basis, and if actual costs are expected to exceed budgeted costs, “it will determine whether strategies and measures to reduce spending should be implemented.” A preliminary agreement between Alberta Doctors and the provincial government would set the current budget for medical services at 2018-19 levels and allow the government to withhold payments from physicians when additional spending is planned. In addition to direct payment, physicians who provide clinical services are entitled to benefits and programs. The vast majority of benefits and programs now have an evolving status: they continue unless the parties agree otherwise. The four non-evolving programs will be supported by 12 months, which will reduce the duration of the agreement so that the parties can negotiate. “So my gut tells me it wasn`t about the details of this deal. It was real: we will support the current agreement, but not with the current minister.
Doctors are not the only ones in the medical community negotiating with the government. The agreement also appears to indicate that the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) has waived its attempt to obtain binding arbitration that has been used in other provinces to resolve disputes. The two sides have been at odds since early 2020 after Shandro unilaterally terminated the framework agreement with the association and introduced new fees that doctors described as cumbersome, unfair and likely to close some family practices. The two sides have been fighting heads since the beginning of 2020 after Shandro unilaterally terminated the framework agreement with the association. They also recouped funding for WADA-managed benefits that appeared to be at risk – maternity leave, liability insurance, medical training, and a physician and family support program. Details of the deal were not disclosed. Each side said it did not want to influence doctors during the vote. The arbitration was overturned by the province when it rejected the framework agreement last year. The WADA has previously called arbitration critical because physicians cannot leave work for ethical reasons to gain influence at the bargaining table. “I know it was a difficult decision for many. Members discussed in detail and with passion the benefits and possibilities of the agreement.
The proposal does not refer to the fact that physicians have access to third-party arbitration. This would give the Medical Association the right to resort to non-binding mediation on key issues. But if that didn`t work, the document suggests the government would have the final say. She said WADA negotiators have probably decided to offer the deal to their members now because they feel they can`t get anything more from the government. “Our first priority will be to get in touch with the members. We have heard a lot of questions over the past three weeks, but we need to learn more about the challenges members faced with the agreement and the obstacles to voting positive. “I think if this continues, if there is no deal, it will have worse effects on the government than on doctors, especially if we are still in a state of heightened public health concern with the pandemic,” she said. Last year, some doctors left the province or threatened to leave it, and the association sued the government for breaking the contract. .
