HEABCs refusal to live up to bargained classifications commitment contravenes collective agreement, HSPBA charges
After months of working to ensure that HEABC was taking certain collective agreement obligations seriously, the HSPBA filed a policy grievance last week, charging that HEABC is refusing to adhere to the terms and conditions negotiated in the 2010-2012 HSPBA Collective Agreement.
-The parties jointly agreed to a committee to actively review and make recommendations to improve the classification system, and to be prepared for negotiating constructive changes in the upcoming round of bargaining. There has been nothing active about HEABCs participation on the joint committee," HSPBA's chief negotiator and HSA Executive Director of Legal and Labour Relations Jeanne Meyers said.
-In fact, HEABC has instead actively sanctioned the reclassification of some HSPBA members to its own advantage, rather than attempt to address those features of the system which no longer reflect current health care delivery," Meyers said.
-The result is HSPBA members are experiencing real losses, and that is unacceptable. HSA, on behalf of all the unions in HSPBA, will use any and all means to pursue remedies to the losses all members have been subjected, thanks to HEABCs refusal to uphold its obligations under the collective agreement," she said.
The union bargaining association charges HEABC has contravened the collective agreement by failing or refusing to work towards fulfillment of the objectives outlined for the Joint Classification Committee, while proceeding to implement the Interim Classification Modifications ... contrary to the memoranda and collective agreement.
Under the terms of the collective agreement, the parties have 14 days to resolve the grievance. If the grievance remains unresolved after that period, the grievance will be referred to arbitration.