Alberta Health Services is freezing salaries as part of several cost cutting measures to help the province deal with its projected deficit.
As the organization receives approximately 30 per cent of the budget, President and CEO Vickie Kaminski says it’s only fair they make cuts.
“I would like to assure Albertans that every option will be explored to minimize the impact on the delivery of health care services in this province, and I want to assure Albertans that the quality of care that they receive will be our first priority.”
AHS will also be reducing sick days, limiting cell phone use that’s costing hundreds of thousands in roaming charges, and spending less on severance.
Kaminski says between 2011 and 2014, AHS paid 28-million dollars in severance in 606 employess, 4-point-4 mill of which went to 12 executives.
“We didn’t have a strong and reliable approach to managing performance, and at times we opted to terminate employees and offer severance. I have advised the executive team at AHS that that is no longer an acceptable way to manage performance.”
So far, the province has not given them a mandatory spending reduction minimum.