UNA and AHS agree to extend North Zone Locum Program to December 31, 2025 (Copy) (Copy)

United Nurses of Alberta and Alberta Health Services have agreed to extend the North Zone Locum Program Letter of Understanding until December 31, 2025. The Letter of Understanding had been scheduled to expire on September 25, 2025. 
 
The locum program enables nurses to work for short-term periods of less than 12 months to address high staffing needs in Northern Alberta.
 
A Letter of Understanding signed in 2022 saw a locum premium of $25 per hour paid to nurses working temporarily in the AHS North Zone. Nurses who accept assignments in rural parts of the region outside the cities of Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray receive an additional $50 per day throughout their locum, whether or not they have a scheduled shift that day. These terms have been extended and will remain in place.
 
The northern locum program first signed in 2012 focuses on providing RNs and RPNs short-term assignments of less than 12 months to help meet staffing needs in the north. UNA and AHS have recently agreed to expand the program to include the Central and South Zones, with negotiations for the expansion of the program to begin soon.