The union representing Alberta nursing care staff employed by Covenant Health says its members will see better pay and working conditions after they ratified a new deal with their employer. 

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) announced Monday that 89.2 per cent of members, which include licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and certified and uncertified health-care aides, voted in favour of the agreement. 

It promises a 12 per cent wage increase over a four-year period, as well as what the AUPE called “significant market adjustments” for nursing care staff employed by Covenant Health.

AUPE president Sandra Azocar said while she’s happy to see these improvements, they should have been made years ago. 

“We already started from a point of being so far behind, but … we were able to move the needle significantly for these members, and I think that’s why we had such a strong rate of approval for this contract,” she said in an interview.

“For people that have to deal with the cost of just making ends meet, this 12 per cent — plus the market adjustment — just doesn’t bring them to where they feel they need to be.”

A spokesperson for Covenant Health told CBC News the agreement will benefit more than 2,900 nursing care staff employed by the province’s Catholic health-care provider.

The deal is retroactive to April 1, 2024 and will expire on March 31, 2028.