Bulletins

The federal government is turning its back on health care at a time when we need our elected leaders to help build a caring future for Canada. The current federal-provincial-territorial agreement on health care will end in 2014 and the federal government has walked away from the negotiating table with the provinces before negotiations have even started. Some provinces have...

If you are an HSA member who was laid off after January 28, 2002 due to re-tendering, contracting out, or bumping from a heath care job in the community subsector, - or - If you are a current employee in a community subsector job and are interested in skills development, you may be eligible for reimbursement of training costs. The...

Q: Im scheduled to work July 1, and not on July 2. However, my employer says that I will not be getting paid at the -statutory holiday" rate for work on July 1. Is this right? A: This year, July 1 falls on a Sunday. According to the federal Holidays Act, this means the legal statutory holiday is July 2...

Late Monday evening, the BCGEU will commence a one-day job action at BC Liquor distribution centres in Vancouver, Victoria and Kamloops. HSA members are encouraged to join the BCGEU members at each of the three locations throughout the action, but primarily from 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012 until the action is over at the end of the day...

The provincial government has given community social services workers another strong motivation to attend strike vote meetings being held around BC. Inflation is driving up the cost of living. The price of a litre of gas has climbed by 43 per cent since the last pay raise for community social services workers. Bread is up more than 11 per cent...

Strike vote meetings for all unionized workers in the sector continue next week. In addition to local info meetings, two thousand union members from across the province participated in a telephone town hall on Tuesday. HSA President Reid Johnson told the town hall about his background working in community social services as a family counsellor, and in community living providing...

Three weeks of negotiations for the renewal of the Community Health collective agreement covering 14,000 health care and administrative workers in the Community Health sub-sector concluded on Saturday, June 16 in Vancouver. Talks are scheduled to resume on July 9, 2012 for one week. The Community Bargaining Association (CBA) tabled monetary proposals on Friday, June 15. The unions are asking...

Negotiations aimed at concluding a new contract covering 16,000 health care and administrative workers in the Community Health Services and Support sub-sector continued last week in Vancouver. Talks will continue.On Monday and again on Wednesday last week, the Health Employers Association of British Columbia (HEABC) presented a broad based benefits proposal. The Community Bargaining Association (CBA) is reviewing the proposals...

The union representing rehabilitation therapists at Chilliwack General Hospital is joining community leaders in calling for consultation before the hospitals rehab unit is unilaterally closed. The Health Sciences Association represents physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, and other rehab specialists across BC, including at Chilliwack General Hospital. HSA President Reid Johnson said a unilateral closure of the rehab unit is a...

Bargaining discussions between the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) and Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) for a new collective agreement for BCs health science professionals will resume at the end of August.HSPBA Chief Negotiator Jeanne Meyers said the delay in bargaining is disappointing. The collective agreement, like many public sector collective agreements, expired on March 31, 2011.-Health science...