FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Failure to Adjust for Inflation means Cuts for Albertans

CALGARY – Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) President Gil McGowan made the following statement in response to the Government of Alberta’s Budget:

“Alberta’s workers have kept this province running through the economic downturn of the 2010’s and the pandemic of the 2020’s. Through it all, their wages have fallen well behind inflation.

“This year, tens of thousands of these workers are in collective bargaining with the UCP Government. In many cases, the opening offers that workers have received have been described as ‘insulting’ and ‘insufficient’. Today’s budget has done nothing to fix this.

“Investment in workers that lags behind the high 13% Consumer Price Index rates of the last three years is a cut. The Premier cannot spin her way out of this fact.

“Furthermore, the UCP Government’s unwillingness to embrace programs that can ease the cost of living, such as the Pharmacare program introduced by the federal government, shows that the UCP are disinterested in helping Alberta workers with their household budgets.

“Today’s budget showed that the UCP government isn’t on the side of Alberta workers. Instead, they’ve chosen to make reaching a fair deal for workers in bargaining nearly impossible.”

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MEDIA CONTACT:
John Ashton
Director of Communications, AFL
E-mail: jashton@afl.org