Health Science Professionals

Earlier this month Provincial Health Services Authority served section 54 notice that it intends to introduce a change to Lower Mainland pathology and laboratory services focusing on employees who have been in supervisory roles such as section heads, technical coordinators and chiefs. HSA, on behalf of the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association, has delivered a three-level response: The Health Science...

The 37.5 hour work week first took effect on September 1, 2013, and over the course of that fall HSA filed a significant number of grievances on behalf of members impacted by the implementation. In the 16 months since then, a lot has happened. The first six months were mostly unsuccessful discussions about grievances, but the parties were able to...

Provincial Health Services Authority has served section 54 notice informing the Health Sciences Professional Bargaining Association that it intends to introduce a change to Lower Mainland pathology and laboratory services. This change will affect the terms, conditions or security of employment of a significant number of health science professional bargaining unit employees. PHSA's notice stated that their redesign is focused...

The following letter from HSA President Val Avery was sent to members December 11, 2014 Dear member, Assaults on health care workers in Penticton and Kamloops have dominated the news this week. Incidents like these have become all too common in health care settings. It is time for action. I am calling on British Columbia's Minister of Health, Hon. Terry...

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014 Name: Alka Kundi. Nickname in high school: Well, my name is Alka, so the nicknames should be obvious. Alkaseltzer, Alcoholic and Alkatraz. In retrospect, I'm not sure if these were nicknames or if people were just making fun of me, but oh well. Job title and department: Labour Relations Officer, Servicing. What you actually do, in...

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014 By David Durning, HSA Senior OHS Officer Over the years, Canadian workers have fought for and gained important workplace health and safety rights. The diligent exercise of these rights is proven to be the most effective way of ensuring workplace hazards are controlled. These rights, enshrined in legislation and regulation, are: the right to know about...

Effective December 1, British Columbia will be in flu season, and HSA members who work in patient care areas in hospitals (ie, where patients are or are likely to be present) are reminded to be vaccinated against influenza or, alternatively, wear a protective mask during flu season. As in previous years, health care workers who work in patient care areas...

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014 Nu Lu was frustrated. As a physiotherapist at Vancouver General Hospital, she needed to get her patients up and moving. The rehabilitation she and her fellow physios provide is important – if it didn't get done, the patients didn't get to go home. But many of them were on short oxygen lines attached to the wall...

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014 Professional recognition days, weeks and months come and go. Posters go up on bulletin boards, posts go up on social media sites. Maybe there’s cupcakes. It’s a great chance to educate and celebrate the work that makes our health care and community social service systems work, but it’s getting harder to break through the noise and...

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014 By Laura Busheikin There's no doubt that having to take time off work due to an injury or illness brings a multitude of challenges. Aside from the medical demands, there are forms to fill out and anxiety around getting the proper benefits. There are often feelings of isolation. There is the uncertainty of not knowing when...