Health sciences union ends strike

Alberni Valley Times

British Columbia's health science professionals have called off upcoming rotating strikes after getting a new contract proposal from the government over the weekend, but the union says it's still not taking the deal.

Workers including those who conduct X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, ultrasound, nuclear medicine and other imaging procedures had walked off the job last week, and planned to reduce further hospital lab services as of midnight Sunday.

However, the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association said Sunday it was changing tack after the province tabled a wage increase and concessions just before midnight Saturday.

President Reid Johnson described the new proposal as "so far off the mark." He believes the government is trying to provoke members into escalating job action, in order to gain an excuse to recall the legislature and impose a collective agreement.

"We are not going to go down that road," he said in a release.

"Our dispute is not with the people who need those services. It is with a government that refuses to negotiate a fair and reasonable agreement for essential members of the modern health-care team."

The union and employer held three round-the-clock days of talks, mediated by veteran Vince Ready, leading up to the proposal.

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