Tuesday, May 12 is BCs provincial Election Day. Polls are open that day from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time). All HSA members are urged to vote in this critical election.
Right to time off
Section 74 of BCs Election Act states that any employee who is entitled to vote is entitled to have four consecutive hours free from employment during voting hours on General Voting Day for the purpose of voting.
In recent years, HSA activists at Mission Memorial Hospital have spearheaded efforts to call attention to a possible cancer cluster at their workplace. The employer, HSA, and The Occupational Heath and Safety Agency for Healthcare (OHSAH) participated in a lengthy process on this topic.
Following this investigation of the site, OHSAH is now conducting a survey of past and current employees of Mission Memorial Hospital to assess a broader range of possible exposures. HSA encourages you to participate.
HSA members are urged to vote in the provincial election. The outcome of this election will have a profound effect on the health care and community services our members provide, as well as other public services that our families, friends and communities rely on.
Eligible voters may vote on the general voting day, May 12, or may vote on any of the following advance voting days:
HSA encourages all members to take precautions and ensure safety. The National Unions website outlines the necessary steps and equipment required for health-care workers to appropriately plan and protect themselves.
Keep checking HSAs website at www.hsabc.org for updates as they become available; the union is continuing to coordinate with the health authorities, Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare (OHSAH), the Centre for Disease Control, and WorkSafeBC.
Health care workers providing direct care ... in the same room or in close contact ... to SRI patients are advised to wear properly fit-tested N-95 respirators
On Tuesday May 12, 2009 citizens of British Columbia will head to the polls and vote for their representative in the legislature.
The BC Health Coalition urges everyone to ask your candidate where they stand on the key public health care issues in your community - and to vote for the candidate who supports public health care and public innovation to address our health care challenges.
HSA is offering two one-day workshops this Summer:
Dates:
Friday, June 12 (Vancouver - HSA office)
Thursday, June 18 (Victoria ... Hotel Grand Pacific)
HSA members who work in a supervisory role will have the opportunity to attend a one-day workshop in either Vancouver at the HSA office or Victoria at the Hotel Grand Pacific.
April 28th, 2009 marks the 25th Anniversary of the Day of Mourning. Held in 100 countries around the world, it is a day to reflect on the terrible toll of workers killed and injured on the job.
Last year, 160 workers in BC were killed or died as the result of an occupational disease. Since 2002, workplace fatalities and serious injuries have continued to increase.
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is calling on the Canadian government to appoint special prosecutors to step up enforcement of laws to protect workers on the job.
In conjunction with observances marking the 25th National Day of Mourning for workers killed and injured on the job in Canada, NUPGE president James Clancy has written to Rob Nicholson, the country's justice minister and attorney general, calling for new measures to improve safety for workers.
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) are urging health care workers and members and the public to take note of an announcement by Ontario's chief medical officer concerning an outbreak of severe respiratory illness (SRI) that began in Mexico and is spreading globally.
