Issues, Campaigns and Government Relations
Significant job action will take place in Community Living next week across British Columbia. The Community Social Services Bargaining Association is strategically escalating job action to continuepressuring the BC government. After nearly a year of bargaining, the employer - the Community SocialServices Employers Association - has not even made a monetary offer at the bargaining table. This is because of...
Vancouver Sun The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which advises people to stay home if they think they have the flu, has been told to stop punishing its own workers for calling in sick. In response to a grievance launched last year by the Hospital Employees' Union and other health unions, arbitrator Vince Ready has ruled that the health authority must...
Mediator Vince Ready facilitated resumption of discussions between the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) and Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) this week. HSPBA Chief Negotiator Jeanne Meyers said the two days of discussion on Monday and Tuesday were productive. -In December, when we stepped away from the table, government had taken a very provocative position at the table...
Health care unions have won a significant victory protecting the rights of sick and injured workers who were being punished by Vancouver Coastal Health. In 2008 the health authority introduced an offensive and punitive attendance management program that the unions said unfairly punished employees who use sick leave. The unions, including HSA, BCGEU, CUPE, HEU and UFCW filed a multi-union...
PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL HSA MEMBERS AT CMLCML members at LifeLabs locations must use alternate entrances during BCGEU job action BCGEU members who work at private medical laboratories owned by LifeLabs will begin rotating strikes at various LifeLabs locations on Monday, January 21 and Tuesday, January 22.HSA members working at CML locations that share a common main entrance with LifeLabs...
This fall, HSA successfully led negotiations with the Ministry of Health to eliminate the punitive aspects of BCs new policy on mandatory flu vaccinations Click here to read bulletin on flu vaccination policy November 30 However, this week, the Chief Medical Health Officer has declared an influenza outbreak for residential care and assisted living facilities for the Fraser Health region...
For immediate release: January 15, 2013 British Columbians were dismayed to learn from a CBC Go Public report this week that families with autistic children are having to wait as long as two and a half years for crucial speech language therapy. Click here to read CBCs Go Public Report: -Child who doesn't speak waits 2½ years for therapy" Therapists...
In 2005, David Bland -- a vocationalrehabilitation counsellor and HSA member from Richmond Mental Health -- wasmurdered at his workplace by a former client. His tragic death served asa sombre reminder that more needs to be done to prevent incidents of violencein the workplace and to protect health care and social services workers on thejob. Tohonour David, the HSA board...
castanet.net Don. W. started drinking when he was 13 to numb the pain he felt from years of bullying and sexual, physical and mental abuse. The Keremeos man remained an alcoholic for much of his life, until at age 53, he realized he wanted to re-discover who he was. A big part of finding himself was getting counselling through the...
Okanagan Sunday After scratching together funding for its men's counselling program, the South Okanagan Victim Assistance Society (SOVAS) could be forced to cut its hours due to financial challenges. For the past four years, Anne Reinders has been a counsellor for the program, which provides free counselling to men who have suffered emotional, physical or sexual abuse, either as children...