Bargaining association demands action on levelling money
The Report: October / November 1999 vol.20 num.3
The Paramedical Professional Bargaining Association is demanding that the provincialgovernment intervene in the on-going dispute between the unions and the employer overlevelling money.
Although the paramedical collective agreement was ratified more than eight months ago,many union members are still waiting to receive the levelling money awarded in thecontract.
HSA chief negotiator Rick Lampshire said HSA members should never have had to wait thislong. The unions made this issue a top priority and devoted extra resources tofast-track the process, he said. Its time for the employers to get onwith it. Our members shouldnt have to wait any longer.
To reinforce this message, the bargaining association met with officials from thePublic Sector Employers Council (PSEC) on October 8. The PSEC representativeswere more than sympathetic, and promised immediate action, Lampshire said.They committed to ensuring that health authorities will have the levelling money byOctober 15, he said. PSEC also promised to meet with HEABC to ensure that themoney is distributed to our members as soon as possible.
We were subsequently informed by PSEC that this meeting has taken place, andHEABC has sent a letter to all employers emphasizing the importance of expeditiouspayments of these levelling monies. The expectation is that members should receive theirmoney in mid-November.
In this letter, HEABC has emphasized that employers should be implementing levellingincreases now, based on their earlier advice to these employers.
There also appear to be some provision for employers to ask for cash advances toimplement these wage increases, Lampshire said, and members should beaggressively pursuing the payment of these monies with their individual employers.