A second week of bargaining has wrapped up between the Community Bargaining Association (CBA) and the Health Employers Association of British Columbia (HEABC) in Vancouver. Talks are aimed at achieving a new collective agreement for members in community health.
In celebration of Mental Health Week taking place May 7-13, HSA has launched a new video that explores why team-based interdisciplinary care is essential to providing quality patient care within the field of mental health and addictions.
Are you an HSA member with a passion for disability management and rehabilitation? Do you have strong organizational, multi-tasking, and problem-solving skills? Are you employed with the Vancouver Island Health Authority? If so, consider applying to be an Enhanced Disability Management Program (EDMP) regional representative.
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.
BY DENNIS BLATCHFORD
HSA PENSIONS AND BENEFITS ADVOCATE
I received HSA's recent clarification on payroll changes and the reference to members' long-term disability contributions now being directed to the new Joint Health Sciences Benefit Trust (JHSBT). Since the JHSBT is now receiving benefit contributions, I'm wondering what members might expect now.
Starting with the first pay period after February 1, 2017, most HSA members can expect a pay increase of 0.35% over and above the 5.5% increase rolling out over the life of the current contract.
BY VAL AVERY, PRESIDENT, HSA
We're hearing a lot of interesting things from members like you.
Over the summer, HSA circulated several surveys and invited members to participate in focus groups. Each explored different challenges and opportunities facing our union, and we'll be following up this fall with additional surveys, worksite visits and the annual regional meetings. It's all part of our commitment to giving members a greater say and a bigger role in charting our course.
Your elected HSA representatives and staff have been hard at work since the union's 45th convention in May. The upcoming regional meetings will be a good opportunity to provide updates on that work, and a chance for stewards and other activists to connect and discuss the issues in your region.
In preparation for those meetings, please take a few minutes to review some of the important work HSA has been involved in.
During bargaining for the current community health collective agreement, the parties agreed in Memorandum of Agreement #34 to investigate the need to establish a new benchmark for the job Medical Office Assistant.
To assist with the required investigation, a union survey has been developed for distribution to Community Health Subsector members whose job description features the job title Medical Office Assistant and/or includes completion of a Medical Office Assistant program as one of the job's qualifications.
