The Report

HSA Report Magazine, September 2017 Last fall, HSA's mobilizing team brought together a small group of HSA members who wanted to do something more. The Member Engagement Team, as it came to be known, drew individuals from a range of professions. They spent a lot of time in a room full of white boards, sketching out ideas and eating terrible...

REPORT MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2017 BY VAL AVERY, PRESIDENT, HSA Months of uncertainty ended July 9. That's when an historic agreement between the NDP and Green Party of BC created a governing coalition that could hold a majority of seats in the BC Legislature, and bring down the minority BC Liberal government that had been hanging on since the May election...

REPORT MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2017 BY CAROL RIVIERE, HSA COMMUNICATIONS Choosing the politicians who govern our communities at the municipal or regional district level, and the school trustees who make decisions that affect our children's education, is a critical issue for working families. Over the next few months, several communities around the province will hold by-elections to fill vacant positions, and...

BY DENNIS BLATCHFORD, HSA PENSIONS AND BENEFITS ADVOCATE Q: I have been following the Health Sciences Benefit Trust (JHSBT) for Health Science Professional Bargaining Association members, and am wondering if there is any news about benefits for community social services professionals. I understood there was a commitment to review benefit plans in my sector as well. Is that the case...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2017 BY GERI GRIGG, HSA OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY OFFICEER Each year more than 20 per cent of Canadians experience a mental health issue or illness. Mental health claims represent 30 per cent of all disability claims and account for 70 per cent of total costs. Suffering from mental health issues can lead to absenteeism, presentism...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2017 BY VAL AVERY, PRESIDENT It wasn't easy to figure out what was going on during election night, but it was apparent right away that BC had voted for change. The unprecedented results left the province in a sort of limbo for several weeks and even now, as this issue goes to print, a lot of...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2017 Nobody can remember a provincial election like this one. Most election results can be called about an hour after the polls close on election day. This one left people guessing for weeks. And while the exceptionally close results mean it’s hard to predict what will happen in the longer term, the governing agreement between the...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2017 BY LAURA BUSHEIKIN When respiratory therapist John Hindle first got involved in HSA as a shop steward, his goal was fairly modest. "I just wanted to help resolve some problems at my workplace," says Hindle. But once he started learning about union issues, Hindle wanted more. A year or so later, Hindle found himself fully...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2017 Recognition of diversity is now essential to the health of our society and the strength of organizations. Today, leading institutions seek to understand the unique experience of their members in order to better represent and serve them. HSA has long sought to understand and respect the diversity of our members, and in March, almost 800...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2017 HSA President Val Avery was invited to speak as a special guest at the Early Childhood Educators of BC conference in May. HSA served as a sponsor for the conference and Avery took part in a panel discussion on building professionalism. "As a union, we are commited to working to advocate for the many professions...