Issues, Campaigns and Government Relations
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...
HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 Val Avery, President, HSA We often find our greatest strength when confronted by adversity. As a physiotherapist, I have seen people discover incredible resources inside themselves, and use them to overcome great odds. And I think every one of us working with patients and clients have seen this time and again. People are tough and...
HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 A CANCER CLUSTER IS FOUND HSA members Katrina Hammer and Anne MacFarlane, and HEU member Patricia Schmidt, all worked in the laboratory at Mission Memorial Hospital. All three contracted breast cancer, and an investigation into the cancer identified there was a cancer cluster in the laboratory – where the incidence of breast cancer was eight...
Uncertainty for HSA members working in PHSA labs has come to an end after protracted and thorough negotiations on a workplace restructuring plan that protects staff and ensures continued quality of patient care. More than one year after PHSA served Section 54 notice related to an overhaul in the structure of Lower Mainland pathology and laboratory services, PHSA and HSPBA...
HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 Report on B.C. Federation of Labour Lobby in Victoria March 7 and 8, 2016 BY ANNE DAVIS, DIRECTOR, REGION 1 The BC Federation of Labour's annual government lobby day was scheduled for International Women's Day this year. So it was decided that it should be carried out by the Women's Rights Committee. Participants focused on...
HSA welcomes plans to invest in new and upgraded health care facilities and hopes to work with the provincial government on a plan to deal with the shortage of health science professionals needed to staff them.“New buildings are only as good as the people who work in them,” said Val Avery, president of Health Sciences Association of BC. “We’re very...
The 23 recommendations made by the BC Legislature’s Committee on Children and Youth are critical to addressing the current crisis in mental health services for children and youth.Health Sciences Association (HSA) represents health professionals working in mental health and addictions in acute and community health care settings throughout the province. Members include child and youth mental health support workers, psychologists...