News & Updates

The next HSA Annual Convention will take place April 19-21, 2012 at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver. All HSA members are welcome to attend and speak at the convention. However, only delegates have the right to vote. For chapters with 49 or fewer members, the HSA chief steward is the sole delegate. If the chief steward is not attending...

HSA members will soon be preparing for the 2012 HSA Convention, to be held April 19, 20, and 21, 2012 at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver. Conventions are the unions annual meeting where chapters from around the province determine the future direction of the union. Policies, actions, constitutional amendments, structural changes are all discussed and debated at convention. Members...

HEABC has denied the policy grievance in which HSPBA charged that the employer is refusing to adhere to the terms and conditions negotiated in the in 2010-12 HSPBA collective agreement, and the grievance has been referred to arbitration. HSA, on behalf of the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association, says HEABC has contravened the collective agreement by failing or refusing to...

HSA is offering scholarships and bursaries to all members and their children. Ten scholarships will be awarded for full-time studies, twenty bursaries for full-time studies and four bursaries for part-time studies. Two aboriginal scholarships will be awarded to aboriginal students in BC. The criteria and details are set out on the application forms. To obtain a copy please see the...

The Municipal Pension Plan has scheduled seminars for HSA members as follows: • Tuesday, March 27, 2012: Dawson Creek • Wednesday, April 18, 2012: Terrace Two seminars will be offered at each location, with one geared to new and mid-career members, and the other geared to members nearing retirement. 4:30 ... 6 p.m. Your Pension, Your Future seminar provides information...

December 6 marks the anniversary of the Montréal massacre of 14 young women at the École Polytechnique. Violence against women continues to be a serious issue in Canada: • An estimated 60% of Canadian women have suffered from physical or psychological violence at some time in their lives. • In 2007, nearly 40,200 incidents of spousal violence were reported to...

The Report: December 2011 vol.32 num.4 -HOW WILL I TAKE CARE OF MY FAMILY if I get sick, or become unable to work?" Thats a question that hovers in the back of almost everyones mind. We assume that our health benefits will take care of us, and for the most part, they do. For many years, however, disability management programs...

The Report: December 2011 vol.32 num.4 SURVEY CONFIRMS MEMBERS WORRY INSUFFICIENT REST IS PUTTING THEIR SAFETY AT RISK HSA MEMBERS WORKING ON CALL or call back say theyre suffering from fatigue thats so serious it sometimes jeopardizes their personal safety. Following up on complaints that working on call and call backs can lead to getting insufficient time off between shifts...

The Report: December 2011 vol.32 num.4 BY LAURA BUSHEKIN THAT BIG SIGH OF RELIEF? HSA member Simone Gruenig just might have something to do with it. As a physiotherapist specializing in cardiorespiratory care, Gruenig says that one of the best parts of her job is the immediate relief she can bring to someone who is having trouble breathing. -You can...

The Report: December 2011 vol.32 num.4 THERE IS NO DOUBT HSA members are angry about the way they were treated by the government in the last round of contract negotiations. But I still find it striking to recognize the source of this anger is not concern for themselves ... its their deep concern for the future of health care and...