Surrey Memorial Hospital RPNs Abi Ologani, Tanya Maksymiw and Amanda Farrand
A year ago, Tanya Maksymiw didn't know a lot about HSA.
In fact, the RPN didn't know a lot about any unions, despite belonging to one union or the other over the last 20 years.
And when HSA staff put on an information meeting on raiding at Surrey Memorial Hospital, she didn't go to get involved.
Codevelopment Canada, a BC-based non-governmental organization working for social change in the Americas, is inviting interested HSA members to travel to Nicaragua and Honduras to meet with and celebrate the accomplishment of women's groups supporting maquila workers.
The ten-day visit is scheduled for February 28 to March 9. Members are responsible for their own costs, estimated as $3500 to $4000.
The BC Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation is coordinating a consultation to determine how to remove barriers and increase accessibility for people with disabilities in British Columbia.
The process includes a series of in-person community consultation sessions around the province scheduled from January 20 to the end of February. Dates, locations and times are listed here.
Registered Psychiatric Nurses at Surrey Memorial Hospital and Abbotsford Regional Hospital have voted to stick with HSA despite an aggressive and well-funded raid campaign by the BC Nurses' Union and the Union of Psychiatric Nurses.
Over a recent 5 year period, an estimated 183,000 British Columbians were victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence impacts victims and their families and has a serious effect on those who witness it. Health care costs related to domestic violence in Canada are estimated to be in the billions of dollars. Social and emotional costs are significant.
Domestic violence occurs in all cultures and communities and is considered to be a major contributor to increased absenteeism, sick leave and lost productivity at work.
Plaque at l'Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal
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 the bargaining committee believe meet the needs of health science professionals.
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 negotiations for a five-year deal, we decided to listen.
Registered psychiatric nurses represented by HSA have a lot of questions about pressure tactics currently employed by the BC Nurses Union and the Union of Psychiatric Nurses. Both BCNU and UPN have recently pressured members already represented by HSA, and we've been getting questions about whether it's possible to cancel these memberships.
The deadline is now
In late November, the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association reached a tentative agreement for the 17,000 health science professionals delivering modern health care in BC's hospitals and communities.
