Follow-up response to the Minister sample letter format
Monday, April 11, 2022
Honorable Jason Luan, Minister of Community and Social Services
#29, 735 Ranchlands Blvd NW
Calgary, AB
T3G 3A9
Calgary.Foothills@assembly.ab.ca
Dear Minister Luan:
I am writing to follow up on a previous letter sent to my MLA to which your Ministry responded regarding my urge for your government to support an increase in the wages of Community Disability Service Workers, both immediately for cost-of-living relief and permanently by at least 25% in the 2022/23 budget. There are a few points to which I would like a follow-up response from your Ministry.
1. (If you asked a specific question to which you feel the Minister did not respond, find a way to repeat the question; such as) “I asked if your government is going to provide immediate cost-of-living relief and your response did not address this question. Will you commit to providing an immediate increase of at least 10% (? Whatever amount you think is necessary to keep you in the sector?) so workers can stay and afford to stay in the sector until some more permanent solutions to the crisis can be found?”
2. (If your letter made a reference to the $16 Million for the sector) In your letter you referred to the Ministry distributing over $16 million to over 13,000 community disability workers through the Critical Worker Benefit. We are glad that after extensive efforts on our part you finally recognized most of our workers as essential (not all positions were included in the CWB). While we appreciated that money from the federal (2/3) and provincial governments (1/3) coming last winter/spring, it is not helping to meet the increasing cost of living expenses now. What is your government doing to help us now?
3. (If reference to the partnership group is included) You referred to your government working with the Service Provider Partnership Committee (ACDS) and others to improve the attraction and retention of workers in the sector. Efforts to create a sustainable workforce in the longer term are critical. Can you tell me what specific actions your government is taking immediately with that or other partnership groups in the sector to improve the wages in the short term to prevent the loss of the current workforce, many of whom cannot wait until long-term solutions are found?
4. (If your MLA suggested you talk to your employer about your wages) My MLA suggested I talk to my employer about increasing my wages. I would assume that you are aware that the bulk of wages is set by the Government of Alberta (GOA). This is done through individual contract templates that specify an overall amount per hour, which includes the worker’s wage, employer wages costs, benefits, vacation pay, etc. Employers have some flexibility to vary the amounts that go to each category, but the overall amount is determined by the GOA. This overall amount has been stagnant from 2013-14 (with exception of the raise to the minimum wage for overnight asleep positions). Has your Ministry made you MLAs aware that this is how wages are determined in the sector?
Community Disability Support Workers are critical in the lives of the people we support. My colleagues and I are educated, trained and skilled, qualities which mean we can take our talents elsewhere. While most of us love our work, we have to be able to afford to live if we want to stay in the sector. Again I would ask you, will your government commit to supporting both immediate and long-term increases to the wages of essential disability services workers across the province? I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Jane Doe
Jane Doe
123 First Street SE
Town, Alberta
T2E 6J3
C.C. (Your MLA using Who's My MLA - Search | Elections Alberta)
Cynthia Farmer, Deputy Minister, Community and Social Services, email: Cynthia.farmer@gov.ab.ca
Ms. Marie Renaud, Opposition Critic for Community and Social Services, email: St.Albert@assembly.ab.ca