Allied For Action | Association of Allied Health Professionals | AAHP

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Allied for Action. Change Cannot Wait!

The concerns of the Association of Allied Health Professionals (AAHP) have been ignored by government, and as a result, the union walked away from the bargaining table in early October 2023. It’s time to take action and demand change!

Allied Health Professionals are vital members of the province’s healthcare system. With their highly specialized skills and expertise the value they bring is immeasurable. They are much-needed members of every health care team, who provide unmatched care and treatment. Beyond the value AAHP members bring to the wellbeing of clients and their families, these healthcare professionals are key to efficient and stabilized healthcare in many ways. They keep people out of hospitals with preventative care; their insight and training get patients out of hospitals faster; and their commitment to care reduces readmissions. If they aren’t here… the system will continue to fall apart. It’s time to stabilize the healthcare system. It’s time for fairness. It’s time for real retention.

The AAHP is not asking for anything unrealistic, just for members to receive fair pay and feel respected. The impacts of unfair compensation for all AAHP members as a result of the Job Evaluation System (JES) Government introduced in 2015 has been devastating. This system needs to be reviewed and updated now. AAHP is seeking equal, not more. As some of the lowest paid in the country, this is a fair and justified demand. Currently, many of these allied health professionals are working alongside other healthcare professionals (peers) who are being compensated much more for equally valued work.

There are countless Allied Health Professionals leaving the province, and many others are having to find work in private healthcare. The people of NL can’t afford for Government to not retain AAHP members. Government can’t expect the people of NL to choose between paying for private healthcare or going without critical care.

Allied Health Professionals deserve to be valued and respected. They need to be heard.
They are asking for equality! Equal pay for work of equal value. Simple. Fair. Change cannot wait.

Who is AAHP

AAHP’s Membership represent over 24 different health care disciplines comprised mainly of regulated, community, clinical and therapeutic professions. Members of the allied health workforce deliver, support or inform direct patient care and have completed occupation-specific post-secondary education or training. They include anesthesia assistants, anesthesia respiratory therapists, audiologists, auditory verbal therapists, creative arts therapists, dietitians, genetic counsellors, hyperbaric technologists, kinesiologists, medical flight specialists, occupational therapists, orthoptists, orthotists, pastoral care clinicians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, prosthetists, psychologists, psychometrists, respiratory therapists, sexologists, social workers, speech language pathologists and technology resource consultants.

What can you do?

Please demand that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador stand up for Allied Health Professionals now. We can’t heal an already broken healthcare system without them.