CBA Update: Notice of Strike Vote
On October 3, your CBA Bargaining Committee declared that negotiations had reached impasse with the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) and the provincial government.
Over the last month, we have met with members locally through chapter visits and virtual information meetings, providing education on job action and outlining the issues that led to your bargaining committee’s decision to declare impasse at the bargaining table.
Now your HSA Board of Directors are recommending that HSA members, along with all of the other unions under the CBA collective agreement, participate in demonstrating your support for your bargaining team by taking a strike vote.
Strike Vote
The strike vote will be held online via Simply Voting between November 19-26, and results will be shared on November 27. Voting credentials will be emailed to your personal email account, along with instructions on how to participate in the vote. Please be sure the union has your current email address by updating your contact information here. If you have any questions, you can email us at info@hsabc.org.
A positive strike vote does not automatically mean a strike will happen. It is our strongest tool to help your bargaining committee negotiate the agreement that you deserve.
When an entire Bargaining Association gives a strong strike mandate with a YES vote, it sends a clear message to the employer that we are serious and ready to fight for the fairness, stability, and respect we need.
To learn more about what a strike (or any other form of job action) could look like, read our Job Action FAQ.
After almost 20 days at the bargaining table, we have been unable to address the most acute bargaining priorities identified by members. Specifically:
- Expand your extended health benefits by retroactively removing the Investment Return Guarantee Adjustment (IRGA) from the trust funding agreement — a measure that has transferred millions of dollars from your benefit trust back to HEABC employers. These resources should be used to solidify and expand your health benefits and not leave you falling further behind other health care workers who work for the same employer.
- Permanently fix wages, shift premiums, vacation accrual, and other monetary entitlements to the same rates of other HEABC health care workers doing the same work.
- The expansion of overtime by seniority to curtail the offering of overtime by convenience and relationships.
- Give Community Health Workers (CHWs) the security of fixed shifts and breaks that other health care workers have had for decades and ensuring employers can’t revert to the ‘gig work’ scheduling that CHWs endured for 30 years
As we are preparing for next steps, your Bargaining Committee invites you to attend a telephone townhall meeting to hear updates, learn more information about a strike vote and job action, and ask questions. A separate bulletin with call-in information will be sent.
- Thursday, November 6 at 12:00 pm and 6:00 pm
- Thursday, November 13 at 12:00 pm
Job Action Committee Training
Stewards will be invited to attend a virtual local job action committee training on Thursday, November 13 or Tuesday, November 18 to prepare for potential job action. More information will be sent to stewards in the coming days. If you have any questions or are not a steward but want to get involved, please email us at info@hsabc.org.
Stay in the loop: Update your contact information
As we move forward it is critical that your union has your up-to-date personal contact information to ensure you are kept informed and prepared. Please use the Member Contact Update Form to confirm your contact information. Encourage your co-workers to do the same if they haven't done so already.
In solidarity,
Your Community Bargaining Association (CBA) Negotiating Committee