2006: News Archive

HSA members in Region 3 have elected Bruce MacDonald, a social worker at Royal Columbian Hospital, as their representative on the union's Board of Directors.The other candidates for election were Tanis Blomly, a recreation therapist at Eagle Ridge Hospital, and Susan Hearsey, a physiotherapist at Burnaby Hospital.

"Making Our Voices Heard" May 1 ... 3, 2006Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel & Marina, VictoriaThis is a womens conference wherelabour and community women from around the province will meet to focus onwomens economic equality, womens advocacy and childcare issues. The conference will open with a paneldiscussion with guest speakers who are knowledgeable about these issues. The training sessions will ensure...

A tentative agreement has been reached covering 15,000 community social services workers in B.C. The four-year deal includes wage increases totalling 8.3 percent, wage parity increases, and a pension plan at the end of the agreement. An additional 1.6 percent will go into workers pockets annually after the first year, when employers resume Medical Services Plan contributions. Full-time workers will...

The Nurses' Bargaining Association has reached a tentative agreement with the Health Employers' Association on a new contract that provides significant gains for nurses in key areas of workload and compensation. The NBA is recommending acceptance of the agreement and will be taking it out to the members for ratification. Workload The contract contains a major commitment by the provincial...

user The Report: April / May 2006 vol.27 num.2 by LAURA BUSHEIKIN oreen Schiele knows she has the right job. -This is actually what I wanted to do all along," she explained. -I feel like Im fulfilling my purpose in life." By -all along," Schiele means since the very beginning: early in her childhood it was clear that she was...

The Report: April / May 2006 vol.27 num.2 by LAURA BUSHEIKIN lthough Ernie Hilland says he has learned an immense amount during 25 years of involvement with HSA, back before he joined he already had one thing figured out: he knew how to speak up for his rights. In fact, it was this ability that opened the way for him...

The Report: April / May 2006 vol.27 num.2 by RITU MAHIL I am in a Grade I position under the Health Science Professionals Collective Agreement, and have been off work for the last nine months due to a disability. I am now ready to return to work, but will require some accommodation due to the ongoing nature of my disability...

The Report: April / May 2006 vol.27 num.2 by CINDY STEWART his year at our annual convention we will be marking HSAs 35th year as a union. In 1971, a handful of health professionals formed an association and gained bargaining rights for health science professionals in hospitals. Now, 35 years later, 14,000 HSA members are concluding a complex set of...

Tentative agreements were reached today at both the Nurses and Community Social Services tables. More details will be provided in the coming days.

The Union Bargaining Association (UBA) is calling on BC finance minister Carole Taylor to take immediate steps to address the "negotiating ineptitude" of the employers, and to assure community social services workers that any final agreement they are offered is comparable to what other public sector workers have received to date. Download full PDF version here