News & Updates

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 BY LAURA BUSHEIKIN It's not my business. That's what Marjan Szlivka thought when she first heard that registered psychiatric nurses within HSA were being raided by BCNU. In her work as a physiotherapist at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody, Szlivka didn't work with RPNs, and their situation wasn't on her radar. But once she...

A summary of the tentative agreement 2014 – 2019 for the Nurses Bargaining Association, and instructions on how to vote on the agreement, will be mailed to all NBA members shortly. Mail ballots must be returned to HSA by the end of the day on Friday, May 6. Read the full ratification vote information package being mailed to members Read...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 In April 2015, at a workshop prior to HSA's last convention, Trina Nguyen heard something that startled her. "It was a workshop on HSA's work to raise awareness around domestic violence," says Nguyen," and someone told a story about a young woman who was afraid she might have been sexually assaulted after having too much...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 It's often said that stewards are the backbone of our union, and like any backbone, it works best with adequate support. As part of the 2020 Strategic Plan, and following dicussions at recent conventions, HSA stewards have been meeting to talk about the work they do, the challenges they face, and the resources they need...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 CHANGES TO BC LAW WILL REQUIRE MORE EMPLOYEES TO SUBMIT MANDATORY FINGERPRINTS The Criminal Records Review Act provides for mandatory fingerprinting for those employed by health authorities and who work with children or vulnerable adults. The program requires the employee to submit fingerprints to confirm identity if there is an applicant who has a match...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 A CANCER CLUSTER IS FOUND HSA members Katrina Hammer and Anne MacFarlane, and HEU member Patricia Schmidt, all worked in the laboratory at Mission Memorial Hospital. All three contracted breast cancer, and an investigation into the cancer identified there was a cancer cluster in the laboratory – where the incidence of breast cancer was eight...

Following last week’s signing of a tentative agreement for a renewed collective agreement for all nurses in BC’s public health care system, HSA will hold two telephone town hall meetings to provide members with information about the terms of the tentative agreement. All HSA RPNs are invited to join telephone town hall meetings set for tomorrow, Thursday, April 14, from...

The Health Sciences Association (HSA) and Professional Employees Association (PEA), the two unions that represent psychologists and psychometrists in BC's public health care system, welcome yesterday's Labour Relations Board (LRB) decision to deny a BC Nurses' Union (BCNU) application to further destabilize labour relations in BC's hospitals. The LRB dismissed BCNU's recent application to move some psychologists and psychometrists (testing...

The current Health Services and Support Community Subsector collective agreement gives approximately 80 per cent of the FTEs (full time equivalents) in the Community Subsector comparability increases of 1 per cent in April 2016, 0.5 per cent in April 2017 and 0.5 per cent in April 2018. These increases will narrow the gap between Community jobs and higher paid Facilities...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 BY DAVID DURNING, OHS OFFICER The Canadian Mental Health Association's annual Bottom Line Conference brings together workers, employers and researchers to find ways of improving mental health in Canadian workplaces. This year, HSA sponsored two members to attend the conference held recently in Vancouver. Charlotte Nanalal, a radiation therapist at the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre...