Union says Alberta government broke deal by firing guards in illegal strike

EDMONTON – Two jail guards involved in an illegal strike have been fired in a move their union says breaks a deal the Alberta government made to end the dispute.

Guy Smith, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, says the two guards were fired because they were the supervisors on shift when the strike spread to their institution in Fort Saskatchewan.

Guards at Edmonton’s new Remand Centre walked off the job in late April citing health and safety concerns; guards from nine other correctional facilities followed.

The five-day strike ended in a deal that included a promise that no retaliation would be taken against individual union members.

Smith says the firings break that deal and the union would take legal action to reinstate the two guards.

Government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.