Health-care workers locked out of N.E. nursing home

More than 90 Calgary health-care workers and support staff have been locked out of Monterey Place, a nursing home in the northeast.

The employees, who were locked out as of 7 a.m. MT Tuesday, have been without a contract for more than a year. Talks broke off Sunday.

The AUPE's Karen Weiers says it's the residents who are being punished.

"It's the nursing care and the housekeeping and dietary. So, what the employer has in place, I really have no idea, but it’s their main caregivers being locked out on the street.

Weiers says there are two issues at the centre of the dispute.

"They continue to pay sub-standard pay and benefits and this leads to staffing shortages, unreasonable workloads and lack of continuity and that will have a bad effect on the quality of care these residents receive," says Weiers.

Replacement workers are taking care of seniors now at Monterey Place. Executive director Carole Kelly says the residents are being well taken care of despite the job action.

"We're just reassuring families that we do have the trained staff that we had coming in as replacement staff to look after the residents that are here."

Monteray Place wants the Alberta Labour Board to get locked out workers to vote on what it calls its 'final offer.'