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.
Do I have to get the flu shot?
The policy upheld by the arbitrator states that if you do not get a flu shot, you can still work, but must wear a mask at all times during the declared flu season.
When does flu season start?
Flu season is declared by the Provincial Health Officer. It is typically declared between late-November and March.
An arbitrator has ruled on the controversial flu shot policy for health care workers, siding with the health authority policy that dictates all health care workers must get immunized against seasonal influenza, or wear a mask at all times during the declared flu season. Flu season is typically declared from late-November to March by the Provincial Health Officer.
The Canadian (CLC) has endorsed a national consumer boycott of the following Labatt imported products:
HSA members throughout the province who are running for office or working in upcoming municipal by-elections may apply to HSA for financial support from HSA's Political Action Fund.
Municipal, Board of Education and Regional District elections
1. Members who are candidates in a civic election may apply for up to 5 days of wage replacement and/or up to $200 to cover approved personal expenses incurred to run for office.
Families and advocates for children with serious mental health challenges are speaking out against a month-long closure of the child psychiatry inpatient unit at BC Children’s Hospital.
The month-long closure from July 19 to August 19 is to allow for a redesign of the treatment model used at the unit. The program is being redesigned from a 24/7 inpatient program to a Monday to Friday day program. The redesign includes reducing the number of Youth and Family Counsellors (YFCs) from the health care team working with the children aged 5 to 12 years old and their families.
Major corporations and their political allies in Canada are pushing for the type of "Right to Work" laws found in most of the poorest states in the US.
Such laws make it harder for workers to form a union. They also allow workers in a unionized workplace to opt out of paying dues, while still being entitled to representation by the union and the benefits of contracts negotiated by the union using dues paid by their co-workers.
Diligent work by an HSA steward has resulted in a cheque for several hundred dollars for at least one member. is someone you work with next?
Val Barker, chief steward for Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, discovered some of the RPNs working there were paying dues to BCNU – not HSA.
Barker first realized that administrative errors were mistakenly assigning RPNs to BCNU instead of HSA about a year ago.
"As the chief steward, nurses would come to me to ask about being in a union," says Barker.
