2017: News Archive

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...

On December 14, 2016 the Workers Compensation Board of Directors approved changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. These changes seek to improve Joint Health and Safety Committee (JOSH) involvement in workplace safety and empower worker representatives in investigations and recommendations for improvement in health and safety. Effective today, April 3, 2017, the following changes will be in full...

John Christopherson has been elected to serve a two-year term as a member of HSA’s Board of Directors, representing HSA members in Region 5 from several worksites, including Children’s and Women’s Hospital, Vancouver and Fraser Valley Cancer Centres, Sunny Hill Health Centre, Open Door Group, and the Centre for Ability. Christopherson is a counsellor at BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver...

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...

Immediate Release Health Sciences Association of BC says today’s provincial budget fails to help the thousands of British Columbians affected by long health care wait times. HSA represents 17,000 highly trained specialists working in diagnostic MRI, sonography and lab testing, physiotherapy, social work, radiation therapy, pharmacy and many other health science professions. “New buildings and machines don’t actually treat patients,”...

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...