Issues, Campaigns and Government Relations

HSA's member professions play an incredibly important role in modern health care and community social services. But it's not an easy story to tell. On TV, doctors and nurses are everywhere, often depicted doing the specialized work of pharmacists, lab technologists, radiation technologists, social workers, counsellors and other key professionals in health care and community social services. The public needs...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2016 Member surveys reveal that workload and shortages continue to be the greatest workplace concern -- and HSA is taking action. After consulting extensively with members through a series of surveys over the summer, HSA is rolling out a multi-level effort to raise public awareness and get the provincial government to take action on the dire...

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...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2016 HSA members are looking ahead to the May 9, 2017 provincial election, and getting the training they need to make a real difference. Stasia Hasumi is already jumping in with both feet. "I've been a community activist for a while, but after serving on HSA's Political Action Committee last year, I saw how important it...

Members have told HSA that workload issues caused by shortages of key health science professionals have reached critical levels. In a series of surveys conducted over the summer, members from across BC and a range of professions expressed concern that workload was making it difficult to deliver quality care, and leaving patients waiting too long for important procedures. To address...

HSA has sent a letter of support to the US Association of Vascular and Interventional Radiographers, whose members are now threatened by policy changes that would allow nurses to perform their laboratory and imaging work. "As the union representing 75 unique health science professions here in BC, we know that these professions require extensive training and unique skills," writes Val...

Printer-friendly version. The Supreme Court of Canada has found that two Health Sciences Association of BC (HSA) members and a Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU) member who contracted breast cancer while working in the laboratory at Mission Memorial Hospital are entitled to workers’ compensation coverage. Their employer, Fraser Health Authority, fought their claims for more than a decade. HSA President Val...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE JULY 2016 The outcome of the May 2017 provincial election will have a huge impact on HSA members, and the patients and clients we serve. "HSA is a non-partisan union, and proudly so," says HSA President Val Avery. "But that doesn't mean we won't warn our members –or the public – about dangerous, short-sighted policies proposed by...

Over the past 5 years, the BCNU leadership has taken an aggressive and adversarial approach that undermines the autonomy and professional integrity of HSA members in their workplaces and in their union. These actions have resulted in the expulsion of BCNU from the BC Federation of Labour, Canadian Labour Congress and other progressive bodies across Canada. The ongoing raids have...

Printer-friendly version for posting.Members may apply for Political Action Fund support to attend political action training which is: non-partisan; or offered by labour organizations with which HSA is affiliated; or offered by political parties that meet all of HSA’s 5 criteria, by demonstrating support for the following: i) a positive role for the public sector; ii) the principles of the...