2013 Convention: Delegates re-elect president, vow to protect and improve patient care
More than 300 HSA union activists welcomed delegates from new certification: Whistler Health Centre. "Welcome to the family!"
HSA announced today the establishment of a $120,000 Professional Development Fund accessible to all registered psychiatric nurses who are members of HSA.
The funds, achieved through collective bargaining, may be used to cover professional development courses and events. HSA will cover the cost of tuition, registration fees, books and related expenses to a maximum of $500. Application deadline is December 31, 2013.
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Following a consultation process that can only be described as a sham, BC Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid – on the day before the current government dissolves – announced today the enactment of legislation that dramatically changes the structure of collective bargaining in health care, HSA President Reid Johnson said today.
Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid on Monday announced that new nursing legislation had been signed into law, bringing licensed practical nurses under the same bargaining structure as the B.C. Nurses’ Union.
A 3% wage increase is now in effect for registered psychiatric nurses covered by the Nurses’ Bargaining Association provincial contract.
You can see your new wage rate here.
BY REID JOHNSON
PRESIDENT, HSA
As The Report magazine went to press, our community social service members were just voting on their tentative agreement. But for most members, another hard round of bargaining has come to an end.
BY LAURA BUSHEIKIN
Registered psychiatric nurse Danielle Garden is a woman with a mission: making life better for psychiatric patients.
This goal shapes everything she does — her interactions with patients, her relationships with co-workers and supervisors, her career choices, and her union involvement.
Are you a registered psychiatric nurse with a disability date of April 1, 2012 or later? If you have applied for Long Term Disability benefits and are in the LTD waiting period or you are appealing a decision of the LTD carrier, you may be eligible for premium maintenance for Health and Welfare benefits (Medical, Extended Health, Dental, Group Life and AD&D and LTD premiums). In order to be eligible you must meet the following criteria:
Further to the 2012-2014 collective agreement between the Nurses’ Bargaining Association and Health Employers’ Association of BC, the parties have agreed to move the effective date for full implementation of the Pharmacare tie-in to June 1, 2013.
The BlueNet direct-pay card will also be implemented June 1, 2013. The BlueNet Card allows direct-pay at the pharmacy for eligible prescriptions, instead of the current system of paying up front, and later submitting receipts for reimbursement.