Alberta's nurses union says the province's health delivery agency has rejected a call for a settlement similar to one reached with nurses in Saskatchewan that would have provided stability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNA "strongly opposes" the draft standards and is worried about their impacts on nurses' freedom of speech and ability to advocate for good health policy.

Finance Minister Travis Toews issued a blistering news release on Thursday afternoon, accusing an Alberta nurses union of orchestrating an "overreaching and disingenuous demand for indefinite job security."

"For AUPE alone, we're looking at a full-time equivalence of 5,900 jobs across the province. That's a huge concern, not only for our members, but for the services provided by our members."

The union that represents registered nurses in the province says Alberta Health Services is demanding a four-year wage freeze and rollbacks to other payments.

Finance Minister Travis Toews says rulings made in a pair of arbitration cases involving the Alberta Teachers Association and the United Nurses of Alberta "reflect the current economic realities in the province."

The United Nurses of Alberta estimates this move will mean at least 750 front-line registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses will lose their jobs.

Nurses at Edmonton hospitals who were first to use the new electronic system, Connect Care, are "very stressed" with the changeover, the union says, but are flagging issues to tech support.

After delaying wage negotiations for public service workers in Alberta, the UCP government is now asking those employees to take a pay cut.

Demonstrators held signs that read: "Bill 9 disrespects hard-working Albertans," "Proud of my job. Fighting for quality health care," "Let us go to arbitration" and "It's our legal right to negotiate."