AUPE president says sides are ‘still far apart’ as strike notice date looms

Sandra Azocar on Alberta Primetime Nov 12, 2025

Alberta Union of Provincial Employees president Sandra Azocar joins Michael Higgins for an update on mediation and bargaining for health-care workers, including licensed practical nurses and health-care aides.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Michael Higgins: What came of four days of mediation – how much progress was made?

Sandra Azocar: Unfortunately, not very much progress was made. We’re still far apart from where we need to be. It was our hope that that we would be closer to reaching some kind of an agreement. Here we are, waiting for [Alberta Health Services] to hopefully come back with a better deal before November the 17th, which is the first day that we can serve strike notice. Our hope is that we are able to get a deal at the table, but our members are ready if they need to take strike action.

MH: What do you feel is keeping the sides so far apart?

SA: I think it’s an unwillingness to actually recognize the essentialness of the members that we represent. This sector has not only been understaffed for so long, we have a vacancy rate of 10 to 12 per cent on a given day. We’ve been faced with stagnant wages and a huge increase in the scope of practice, and yet there is no movement in addressing those things.

There’s also no movement in addressing life-work balance. Some of our members have to work seven days straight. Some of them work three weekends in a row. There is no balance there. There’s all kinds of issues, safety issues that are happening within our health-care system that we have been focusing on for a long time. Yet we’ve seen little recognition and little improvement in some of these areas.

MH: According to the office of the finance minister, additional bargaining dates are scheduled for this weekend.

How do you approach that, with the window to serve strike notice beginning Monday?

SA: We are hopeful, and we are focused on getting a deal on the table.

We’re hoping that if these days are in fact, confirmed, that we will be able to come up with something that’s a little bit better for our members. Right now, we are definitely in a situation where we’re just waiting for them to bring something to the table that is something our members will be willing to take.

MH: Point blank, if a deal isn’t reached by the 17^th – a strike is a sure thing?

SA: Point blank, our members are ready.

Our union is ready to take job action if we’re pushed in that direction. Our members have spoken very loudly and clearly that they are willing to stand up for what they believe is fair.

MH: What does the AUPE take away from how the strike by teachers played out and was brought to an abrupt end?

SA: That was an unfortunate situation. Any time workers are robbed of their most basic rights, then it becomes an issue and we take notice. Because an attack on one is an attack on all.

Our most basic right is our right to withhold labor when we’re not seeing any movement or recognition of the worth and value of what we do. When the government [passed legislation forcing teachers to end the strike], they not only failed teachers, but they also failed children and Albertans in our public education system.

We are ready for the eventuality that they try this. You get put into a situation where you can’t trust a government that’s so willing to violate the rights of over 51,000 workers in this province.

MH: If the health-care aides and LPNs end up going on strike, what would the impact be to the delivery of health-care in Alberta?

SA: Like I said, we have currently a 10 to 12 per cent vacancy rate in this sector. Add that to the other sectors that make up our public health care system. Shortage of staff has been an issue for a very long time. We go on strike, that’s going to be an even further impact on the delivery of health care.

We do have essential services agreements that actually ensure the life and limb of Albertans, the safety of Albertans. But at the end of the day, we will see an impact in terms of a health-care system that’s already under huge stress, where we’re seeing long wait times for absolutely everything, and it’s going to impact Albertans. So we are hopeful that we will be able to reach a deal before that situation comes to a head.

MH: As talk of a general strike lingers in the background, where does that element land on the AUPE radar?

SA: We can’t speak for other unions, but I think the response to what the government did to the teachers was one that was met with so much repudiation, because it’s not something that we want to ever see again. It’s a violation of our human rights and so that’s always on the table. It’s not something that we control, but it is ultimately a decision that’s made by those individuals that want to see that come to fruition.

MH: You represent a change in leadership at the AUPE.

What drove you to run for president, especially at a time when public sector labour relations are as strained as they are?

SA: I’ve always been quite involved in the labor movement in this province, and I think I was able to bring, you new ideas, new vision, into the fight that we have ahead of us. It is a difficult time, because transition is always difficult, but sometimes change is inevitable. We make the best of it when it comes to moving forward with a new vision and new ideas.