News & Updates

The Report: November / December 1998 vol.19 num.4 by MAUREEN ROSS Where were you on Sunday, October 4? I was in Kelowna, at the BC BreastCancer Foundations Run for the Cure, and much to my surprise, I was running. For the last two years HSA has been a sponsor of the Run for the Cure.In 1997 our convention passed a...

The Report: November / December 1998 vol.19 num.4 Welcome to new members at Future Focus HSA welcomes 26 new employees at Future Focus in Campbell River. FutureFocus is a private facility that delivers services at a group home and two day programsfor adults with mental disabilities. Most of our new members are community / residentialsupport workers. Bargaining will begin soon...

The Report: November / December 1998 vol.19 num.4 by SARAH O'LEARY Are all of my discussions with my HSA steward confidential? While conversations between you and your steward may not normally be considered privileged, any information which is exchanged between you or collected by the steward for the purposes of settlement negotiations will be considered privileged and will not need...

The joint union bargaining association says after months of negotiations, HEABC is refusing to address any of the key issues still on the table.The joint union bargaining association representing over 10,000 paramedical professionals in the health and social services sectors today announced it will conduct a province-wide strike vote. The announcement came after negotiations with the Health Employers' Association of...

HSA, HEU say they've been lobbying for a rationalized lab system for several years as a way to save $25 million annually.The health care unions that represent BC's lab technologists and technicians say the recent accord on lab, breast screening and rehabilitation services could help eliminate the waste and duplication that currently exist in BC's health care system. And they...

The Report: October 1998 vol.19 num.3 by SARAH O'LEARY Does the employer have the right to use secret surveillance of employees in the interests of security? We recently had a case in one of our hospitals where the employer was concerned that someone was using a computer to download pornography. The employer installed video cameras that secretly taped the employees...

The Report: October 1998 vol.19 num.3 In 1996, HSA launched a major campaign calling on the provincialgovernment to enhance the role of public providers in the delivery of laboratory services. Finally, it seems the government is ready to act. On September 4, 1998, HSAs Director of Labour Relations RickLampshire signed a Public Sector Accord on Strengthening BCs Public Health CareServices...

The Report: October 1998 vol.19 num.3by MARYANN ABBS In the walls of the forgotten, sleep the souls of the free. - Graffiti on a building in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico There is a war in Chiapas, forgotten by most of the world, frequentlyignored by the press, and not found on the lists of the worlds conflict zones...

The Report: October 1998 vol.19 num.3 by ROD BROWNE After 29 years as a blood bank laboratory technologist at the CanadianRed Cross, June Humphreys is looking forward to her retirement. However, Humphreysdoesnt intend to just sit back and relax ... instead, retirement will mean moretime to devote to her other -full-time job." For the past eight years or so, Humphreys...

The Report: October 1998 vol.19 num.3 by SARAH O'LEARY There has been a great deal of discussion and some heated debate amongmany of our members lately regarding the requirement for professional liability insurance. Certain professional bodies such as the Canadian Society for MedicalLaboratory Science have made insurance mandatory and are refusing to process membershipfees if professional liability insurance is not...