Health Science Professionals
HSA REPORT, MARCH 2014 BY JEANNE MEYERS, LABOUR RELATIONS AND LEGAL SERVICES As many members know, the process of transitioning to a 37.5 hour work week has been frustrating. From the beginning, employers have misunderstood and misinterpreted the terms of the negotiated agreement. They have attempted to reduce hours of work, eliminate earned days off and even layoff members. None...
HSA REPORT, MARCH 2014 BY VAL AVERY, PRESIDENT, HEALTH SCIENCES ASSOCIATION Negotiating contracts is a big part of what unions do for their members. But it's not the only thing. Yet for the last several years, HSA and other unions have expended the bulk of their resources and time negotiating contracts with governments intent on imposing austerity terms on public...
HSA REPORT, MARCH 2014 BY DENNIS BLATCHFORD Q: Now that the collective agreement has been ratified, how will HSA go about moving to a joint governance model for delivering health and welfare benefits? And what does it mean in the short-term? A: Allow me to answer the second question first. It means no change to your health and welfare benefit...
Under the 2014-2019 collective agreement recently ratified by health science professionals, improvements in drug coverage are now in effect. Every member covered by the Health Science Professionals contract should be receiving a letter outlining the changes from Pacific Blue Cross in the coming days. A sample letter is attached here. The plan now covers 100% of eligible expenses for drugs...
With more than 1,500 grievances filed by health science professionals over the implementation of the 37.5 hour work week last year, three initial days of expedited hearings have now been scheduled to hear the grievances through a process negotiated and agreed to by HSPBA and HEABC. The grievances will be considered March 10, 11, and 12 in Vancouver, with two...
Health science professionals have voted 76 per cent in favour of accepting a new five-year contract. The agreement was reached in advance of the expiry of the current agreement, set to run out on March 31, 2014. "This agreement meets our shared objectives for stability in the health care system, and recognizes the importance of a commitment to recruitment and...
The Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association tentative agreement has been amended to reflect two developments that have flowed out of review and discussion of the agreement. First, under wages, an Economic Stability Dividend payout was left out of the original document. This was an error of omission which came to our attention November 21, 2013. It was corrected that same...
A MESSAGE FROM JEANNE MEYERS, HSA LABOUR RELATIONS AND LEGAL SERVICES HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2013 As this issue of The Report goes to press, the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association has reached a tentative agreement for a renewed contract running from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2019. The proposed five-year agreement has a number of elements that I and...
A MESSAGE FROM HSA PRESIDENT VAL AVERY THE REPORT, DECEMBER 2013 HSA and other unions have been hunkered down in ceaseless and difficult negotiations for almost five years. The effort has expended enormous resources – resources that we need to focus on helping members deal with their daily workplace challenges. So when mediators approached HSA and other unions about early...
HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2013 BY LAURA BUSHEIKIN By any standards, Edith MacHattie's job is immensely challenging. The school-aged children she works with as an Occupational Therapist at Surrey's Centre for Child Development are the most medically complex kids. "We focus on the most compromised. These are not just kids having trouble with handwriting," she says. "Most are in wheelchairs, some...