HSA will hold a telephone town hall meeting on Thursday, December 5, to update members on the tentative agreement reached earlier this month.
The phone call is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PST and will last an hour. You will have an opportunity to hear from your negotiators and ask and hear questions and answers about the contract.
It's easy. You just have to be at home at 7 p.m., and you will be connected to the call.
In late November, the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association reached a tentative agreement for the 17,000 health science professionals delivering modern health care in BC's hospitals and communities.
All HSA members covered by the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association will shortly receive an information package, ballot, and instructions for how to vote by mail.
In the meantime, HSA is organizing a series of information meetings.
More meetings are being planned; check this site for updates.
HSA Chief Stewards met in Vancouver today to discuss the tentative agreement reached for health science professionals. Stewards also gathered to discuss the negotiations on September 19.
The complete tentative agreement is now available here:
The Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association has reached a tentative agreement for the 17,000 health science professionals delivering modern health care in BC's hospitals and communities.
The week of November 19, HSA will hold bargaining proposal conferences related to the four public sector contracts under which members work.
Local union meetings are being held for members to discuss proposals for consideration at the conferences, which will set the direction for bargaining new collective agreements. The contracts all expire March 31, 2014.
HSA members at Paragon Orthotic Lab in Victoria, a manufacturer of custom footwear orthotics, have voted unanimously in favour of accepting a four-year collective agreement.
Highlights of the agreement include wage increases equal to the cost of living, or a minimum of 2 per cent, in the third and fourth years of the agreement, in addition to increased benefit coverage in the third and fourth years of the agreement. The benefit coverage improvements include increases in dental coverage, as well as the introduction of eyeglass coverage for employees’ spouses.
Health Science Professional members of HSA are reminded that changes to extended health benefits coverage took effect on June 1st with the implementation of PharmaCare Tie-In. As part of these changes, all HSP members should by now have received a BlueNet card. The BlueNet card direct-pay of eligible prescriptions when picking them up at the pharmacy instead of paying up front then submitting receipts for reimbursement.
Under the terms of the new collective agreement, a further wage increase of 1 per cent for all members, excluding pharmacists, is effective the first pay period after April 1, 2013, which is the pay period of April 12 to April 25, 2013.
Members are encouraged to check their pay stubs to ensure the increases are applied effective April 12, 2013.
To realize wage gains won through bargaining, health professionals are moving to a 37.5 hour workweek.
In bargaining, the employers agreed to a cooperative, consultative process when implementing the 37.5 hour workweek. In this process, staff, supervisors and managers will consult in each department, section or work unit that has a current schedule with extended workdays (i.e. workdays of more than 7.5 hours per day) and revise the schedules.
