How do we end this abuse?

When the Alberta College of Pharmacists proposed to make Pharmacy Technicians a regulated trade, the Alberta government (Conservative) went along with it. Other provinces did it, and so should we. There's always a but. No grandfathering was allowed. Which means that it doesn't matter how long you've been doing the job, you have to requalify if you want to keep it. You have to pass a theory and practical role-playing exam. Many struggled to pass, even if they went back to school to brush up. School costs were out of pocket. The brush up courses themselves were of limited value, with no consistency or standardization. The role playing exam was not kind to timid people or those where English is not their first language. Many people failed. They can no longer practise as a licensed technician, which results in a drastic pay cut. In addition to having to requalify, which many techs chose not to do, finding the expectation insulting, requalified techs now had to pay annual professional dues and get liability insurance, again, out of pocket. These newly requalified techs were also given more responsibilities that used to belong to pharmacists, who spend much more time in school to learn their skills and knowledge. For example, pre-regulation, a tech could not check their own work, only a pharmacist could. Post-regulation, any tech can check another tech's work, which is risky at best, dangerous at worst.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because while all of this requalification, new expenses and training costs were happening, the techs asked for more money to do their jobs. AHS promised that they would eventually be remunerated once all techs had gone through the requalification process. That never happened. In every contract negotiation since, they got, at best, 1%. Let that sink in.

These same techs, who work harder, have more responsibility, pay dues and insurance, and paid for schooling, when their last contract expired, AHS said they should wait until the pandemic was over before entering into negotiations, which start now. And what was AHS's opening offer to the techs? A 10.93% roll-back in wages. Now put yourself in their shoes. Would you not be beyond insulted by that proposal? After all the hard work health care providers did during the pandemic, this is how they are thanked? Imagine you just bought a house. Or had a child. An almost 11% roll-back in pay would be devastating. Now some will argue that I'm raising a premature alarm bell. As negotiations progress, the unions will counter-offer, etc. But I'm willing to bet right here, right now, that when it's all over, the techs will get nothing. Because their union always capitulates. The nurses and the doctors have a very strong union and as a result, they get much better results.

Just an added point, the news made mention that one way AHS would save money is by cancelling free parking at hospitals. For what it's worth, techs do not get free parking. Doctors get free parking. It's one of their perks. I will also bet that this measure will not pass, as doctors fought very hard to get that perk.

(pictured is a pharmacy tech working in a biohazard hood mixing chemotherapy medication)