Bulletins

April 1, 2017 marked the day that the new Joint Health Science Benefits Trust took over stewardship of members’ health and welfare benefits, including Long Term Disability. The move from an employer-controlled fund to a jointly trusteed fund with equal representation from unions and employers was negotiated in 2014 Health Science Professionals contract bargaining. While the change was seamless, members...

Physiotherapist Val Avery was re-elected to serve as HSA president for another two years at the union’s annual convention in Vancouver over the weekend. More than 300 delegates attended the convention.“I’ve been active in the labour movement for over 30 years and let me tell you I have never once stopped being amazed at the skill, dedication and passion of...

Jas Giddha has been elected to serve a two-year term as a member of HSA’s Board of Directors, representing HSA members in Region 7 from several worksites, including Surrey Memorial, Peace Arch, Abbotsford, and Chilliwack Hospitals, and the Fraser Valley Centre for Child Development. Giddha is a medical radiation technologist at Surrey Memorial and Peace Arch Hospital, and has been...

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of BC dismissed an application from the BC Nurses’ Union (BCNU) for judicial review related to their failed raid application on Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPNs) at Royal Inland Hospital in 2014. In a judicial review, a Supreme Court judge reviews the decision that has been made by an administrative tribunal, in this case the Labour Relations...

The Health Sciences Association has partnered with Organize BC to host their interactive two-day core organizer training on March 18 & 19. We have a limited number of no-cost spaces for HSA members to attend. This training is designed for members interested in grassroots engagement in their union activism and social change work. More information on the training curriculum is...

"Buildings and equipment don't treat patients. Health professional treat patients." HSA President Val Avery went live on CFAX last week to talk about how the provincial budget failed to do anything for people waiting on long wait lists for health care. Listen to the interview here Vancouver Island Health Authority recently disclosed that 18,000 patients were waiting for ultrasound testing...

The BC Liberal government has rejected a call for immediate action to address the critical shortage of sonographers in BC by providing them with a competitive wage. Instead of a wage adjustment and other financial incentives recommended in a report by the joint Recruitment and Retention Committee, which includes representatives from the employer, HEABC, and the union bargaining association, HSPBA...

The HSPBA/HEABC Recruitment and Retention Committee last reported that it had submitted its Report and Recommendations concerning the sonographer shortage to the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Public Sector Employers’ Council Secretariat (PSEC), in accordance with the parties’ mandate under the Memorandum of Understanding that created the Committee during the last round of bargaining. The Committee’s detailed report outlined...

Truth and Reconciliation from a woman’s perspective Truth and Reconciliation will be the focus of an International Women’s Day workshop presented by HSA’s Women’s Committee in March. HSA is committed to work towards fostering a new relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians in accordance with the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report. This workshop will examine the legacy...

Educational Objective: To explore the issue of social justice and some of the efforts HSA and its partners are undertaking to bring about just conditions both locally and globally. This year’s one-day workshop is February 17th from 9 am - 4 pm and will focus on the connection between local social justice movements and local politics. Target Audience: All members...