News & Updates

May 2 - 8, 2010 is National Occupational Health and Safety Week. The attached information from Worksafe BC provides a listing of resource materials to assist in any promotions you may consider, in support of this week.More information can be found at the WorkSafe BC website. Printer-friendly version

Members of the Health Sciences Association, the health care union that represents health sciences professionals who deliver diagnosis, treatment and recovery in BCs hospitals and communities, is meeting this weekend at its 39th annual convention in Vancouver. BC Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair told delegates Friday that it is important to fight for public health care, because the private...

Reid Johnson, President of the Health Sciences Association, welcomes innovative changes in the delivery of health care and will be watching as the patient-focused funding initiative unveiled by Health Minister Kevin Falcon yesterday unfolds. HSA is the union that represents the health science professionals on the modern health care team, delivering critical diagnostic, clinical and rehabilitation services in BC hospitals...

Vancouver Sun By Pamela Fayerman, Rob Shaw and Richard Watts Sources: Canwest News Service and Times Colonist The provincial government is changing the way it funds B.C.'s largest hospitals, a move health officials hope will lead to faster, better treatment. The new system will provide financial incentives to those hospitals that demonstrate they can treat more patients quickly and cost-effectively...

Fight cuts to health and social services Join HSA President Reid Johnson at a rally on Saturday April 10 to fight recent government cuts ... including cuts to arts and culture funding, seniors services, early childhood education and infant development, mental health and addictions services, supports for the disabled, and an array of social services. The Coalition to Build a...

The expiry of the 2006 ... 2010 Health Science Professionals collective agreement on March 31, 2010 was marked with continued discussion between the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association and Health Employers Association of BC about the principles that will be used for a thoughtful discussion in negotiating a collective agreement that protects quality health care and values the work of...

(VANCOUVER) - Reid Johnson, President of the Health Sciences Association, and Debra McPherson, President of the BC Nurses Union, are calling on WorkSafe BC to immediately order VIHA to protect staff at Eric Martin Pavilion, the mental health facility at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. The demand for action follows a series of violent assaults on staff by a patient...

Vancouver Sun By Vaughan Palmer The B.C. Liberals are celebrating the success to date of their "net zero mandate" for contract negotiation as a growing number of public sector unions are settling for two-year deals at no additional cost to the taxpayer. The hold-the-line mandate looked suspect when it was announced last September. The Liberals were drawing the line when...

The Report: April 2010 vol.31 num.2 ITS BEEN ALMOST A YEAR SINCE THE BC GOVERNMENT WON AN ELECTION PROMISING TO PROTECT HEALTH CARE. INSTEAD, THEY MADE $360 MILLION IN CUTS. HERE ARE JUST SOME OF THE CUTS ANNOUNCED TO DATE, AND THERE IS STILL MORE TO COME. MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTIONS cut funding for Atlas Youth Supported Recovery in Terrace...

The Report: April 2010 vol.31 num.2 BY CAROLE RIVIERE MORE THAN A THIRD of Canadian seniors receiving public pensions live on less than $11,000 a year: well below the poverty line. HSA member Brigid Kemp has first-hand knowledge about the hardship represented by this number and the urgent need for pension reform. She has worked for several years with the...