Bulletins

On Tuesday, February 19 the BC NDP government introduced Budget 2019. Following from the Throne Speech, the budget allows us to see the actual investments being made in critical program areas and the new initiatives government has prioritized for the coming year. Budget 2019 continued to build on the government’s focus on increasing affordability for families and strengthening health care...

Last fall, HSA announced a $3 million Professional Development Fund funded by the provincial government aimed at supporting health science professionals to undertake professional development to increase specialization, improve health care service to rural and remote areas of BC, and meet ongoing requirements for professional development. In response to high demand for specialized professional development opportunities outside of Canada, eligibility...

The David Bland Memorial Award is awarded annually to an HSA member who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the area of occupational health and safety and who has made a meaningful difference in the lives of their fellow HSA members. The award was established by HSA's board of directors to honour HSA member David Bland, a vocational counsellor from Richmond...

Health science professionals working in hospitals and communities throughout the province have voted to accept a new collective agreement that recognizes the value of health science professionals on multi-disciplinary health care teams. With a vote of 82 per cent in favour of the agreement, union members covered by the multi-union Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) collective agreement have accepted...

Yesterday was a big day in provincial politics, as MLAs from across the province were back in Victoria and the Spring sitting of the Legislative Assembly got underway. To open the session, the Lieutenant Governor, Honourable Janet Austin, delivered the Speech from the Throne. The Throne Speech is an opportunity for government to lay out its agenda for the coming...

Becky Packer will join the HSA Board of Directors as the representative from Region 1 (central and north Vancouver Island). Packer was acclaimed after the deadline passed with no further nominations. Packer, who grew up in the Treaty 8 lands of the Woodland Cree Nation and now lives in unceded territory of the K'òmoks First Nation, is a physiotherapist working...

Every year, the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) offers six national scholarships of $1,500 each. HSA is an affiliate of NUPGE, and HSA members and their families may be eligible to participate in NUPGE's scholarship contest. To be eligible for a scholarship, the applicant must be a member or the child/foster child or grandchild/foster grandchild of a...

The Community Social Services Employers’ Association (CSSEA) and the Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) have agreed upon the distribution of the first of three annual $20 million Low Wage Redress funds effective April 1, 2019. This will also cover the adjustment in pay in lieu of benefits for part-time and casual employees to account for the addition of Family...

HSA International Women's Day Workshop Each year the HSA Women’s Committee works to ensure members have an opportunity to celebrate International Women’s Day by offering a workshop to explore issues of interest to women in the union. This year, members are encouraged to apply for a one-day workshop March 8, 2019, which will focus on mentorship . Mentoring has been...

BC’s nurses have voted in favour of the tentative 2019-2022 provincial agreement reached between the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) and the Health Employers' Association of BC (HEABC).More than 21,000 ballots were cast with 54 per cent of nurses voting to ratify the three-year deal that was reached in November 2018. Registered psychiatric nurses who are members of HSA rejected the...