The Report

Photo by Leif Norman HSA REPORT, MARCH 2015 ChildCare 2020 was the first national child care policy conference in a decade and the fourth such conference in Canada's history. The first was held in 1971 in conjunction with the growing women's rights movement. The second, in 1982, founded what is now the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada. The third...

HSA REPORT, MARCH 2015 BY DENNIS BLATCHFORD, HSA PENSIONS AND BENEFITS ADVOCATE Can members expect to see changes in our health and welfare benefits through the new health and welfare trust? It would be good to have additional services like dietitians added to the extended health portion of the plan. We are far from a point where any changes to...

HSA REPORT, MARCH 2015 BY DAVID DURNING, HSA OHS OFFICER Diagnostic Medical Sonographers – workers who specialize in the use of imaging devices to produce diagnostic images, scans and videos – have always been at risk for developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Those injuries include tendonitis, bursitis and muscle and nerve damage to hands, arms, elbows, shoulders, necks and backs. HSA...

HSA REPORT, MARCH 2015 BY VAL AVERY, HSA PRESIDENT Workload and stress are among the most serious workplace challenges of our time. As a union, we're seeing an increasing number of members, from all professions, paying a terrible price for this. Compromised performance, increased illness and disability wreak havoc on professionals, their families, and the health care system itself. We...

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014 Name: Alka Kundi. Nickname in high school: Well, my name is Alka, so the nicknames should be obvious. Alkaseltzer, Alcoholic and Alkatraz. In retrospect, I'm not sure if these were nicknames or if people were just making fun of me, but oh well. Job title and department: Labour Relations Officer, Servicing. What you actually do, in...

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014 By David Durning, HSA Senior OHS Officer Over the years, Canadian workers have fought for and gained important workplace health and safety rights. The diligent exercise of these rights is proven to be the most effective way of ensuring workplace hazards are controlled. These rights, enshrined in legislation and regulation, are: the right to know about...

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014 Nu Lu was frustrated. As a physiotherapist at Vancouver General Hospital, she needed to get her patients up and moving. The rehabilitation she and her fellow physios provide is important – if it didn't get done, the patients didn't get to go home. But many of them were on short oxygen lines attached to the wall...

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014 Professional recognition days, weeks and months come and go. Posters go up on bulletin boards, posts go up on social media sites. Maybe there’s cupcakes. It’s a great chance to educate and celebrate the work that makes our health care and community social service systems work, but it’s getting harder to break through the noise and...

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014 By Val Avery, President HSA's first office was a little place on Kingsway. As the number of members grew steadily, so did the need to find new space. We soon moved to an office on Hastings at Boundary, staying there until 1994, when we moved to Metrotown. Only a few years later, in 1998, we moved...

HSA REPORT, DECEMBER 2014 By Laura Busheikin There's no doubt that having to take time off work due to an injury or illness brings a multitude of challenges. Aside from the medical demands, there are forms to fill out and anxiety around getting the proper benefits. There are often feelings of isolation. There is the uncertainty of not knowing when...