HSPBA Bargaining Update: Survey results aid talks as negotiations resume

Thousands of members share stories from front lines to add urgency in talks 

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We're running a province-wide campaign to support our bargaining goals. More on this below.

As your bargaining committee enters the second of five weeks of scheduled negotiation dates, member concerns gathered in the recent survey are being brought directly to the negotiating table.

The elected committee members of the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) are ramping up discussions with the Health Employers’ Association of BC (HEABC). After weeks of inspiring members to show support for public service workers striking for a reasonable pay increase, on the picket lines with BCGEU and PEA, the committee is encouraged by news of a tentative agreement for BCGEU. The tentative agreement, which has not yet been ratified by BCGEU members, seems to indicate the government is prepared to be more flexible than we have seen to date.

The committee has tabled a wage proposal for HSPBA members that would reflect the significant level of inflation in BC. The employer has not yet responded to this proposal, and your committee is urging the employer to have more meaningful discussions in the coming weeks specific to the top priorities of the bargaining association.

Since mid-September, your bargaining committee, elected leaders, and union staff facilitated 80 in-person information sessions at worksites around the province, in addition to two online Learn and Grow sessions for stewards on October 9, and two online events for members held October 16. Members attending these have been learning about the status of negotiations to date, what job action might look like, and how it affects them. 

More meetings are being planned for large sites in the weeks to come. If you’d like to find out about meetings at your worksite, talk to your steward or send an email to @email.
 

Survey results

3,662 members responded to the recent survey on bargaining issues, and the results confirm the work done earlier this year in the annual member survey:

• 34% of members report there are long wait lists for their services
• 40% report their workload is not sustainable
• 77% report there are shortages in their profession
• 30% of members say they are thinking of quitting in the next two years

The fact that 1 out of 3 health science professionals are so burnt out they want to leave their jobs is extremely concerning, and is the focus of the new province-wide ad campaign in support of contract negotiations. The ad will be featured across leading platforms and targeted to the public around hospitals and health facilities, and decision-makers in Victoria. It’s vital that the government knows that we could lose so many of our health science professionals if no progress is made on:

• helping health science professionals manage affordability issues
• continuing to modernize the classification system
• putting barriers in place to lessen the impacts of workload and fatigue
• improving flexibility in scheduling, and access to meaningful time off
• protecting the Joint Health Sciences Benefits Trust that provides the benefits members need

Thank you to every member who took the time to fill out the survey and share their views. Thousands of members described the daily challenges at the worksite, and these stories are being taken directly to the negotiations table to help make the urgency of the situation more real.

Here are just a few examples:

• “The pay honestly makes it tough to cover rent and student loans, especially in the Lower Mainland, and with our department running short 2-3 occupational therapists most days, the caseload is just brutal. I'm seeing patients getting discharged before we can really work on the functional concerns that would actually help keep them safe at home, and it's frustrating because I know we could be doing so much more if we had proper staffing levels. My senior colleagues are either completely burnt out or they've already left for private practice, so those of us who are newer end up taking on way more complex cases than we probably should be handling alone.”
• “I'm exhausted. I've been a clinical dietitian for over 20 years and I no longer feel excited about coming to work. I dread starting my day knowing that no matter how hard I work or how efficient I am, I won't be able to do all the things that my patients need and should expect to receive from me. I will leave work feeling morally distressed knowing that while I did everything I could for my patients, I still left so much undone because the workload is impossible. There is too much work and not enough staff to feel that we are accomplishing anything. It takes a toll feeling this way day after day… [There is] zero financial reward for loyalty and long term service for those of us who have stayed on the front line and continued to provide care for the people of BC despite the challenges and distress we face as a result of inadequate pay, staffing shortages, and overwhelming workloads.”
• “The biggest things I have seen are the effects on the mental health of my colleagues in various disciplines, and the effects on the patients. None of us came into health care thinking we would be rich — we want to help people. It has become increasingly more difficult to provide the high level of care that most of us aim to provide due to staffing shortages. This is not sustainable for our staff OR for our patients, and in the end, will only perpetuate the current state that we are in.”
• “I work at a Child Development Centre and the workload is untenable. Each month, a full caseload worth of new clients are referred to our CDC. We try to see as many children as possible which means services are increasingly diluted. We are not able to see clients frequently enough which causes me moral distress because I feel that what I can provide is woefully inadequate compared to their needs.” 

Province-wide ad campaign in support of bargaining

Last week, as the current round of negotiations got underway, the union launched the latest province-wide advertising campaign to support our bargaining goals.  

These ads are appearing where they'll have the most impact: on TV, in podcasts, online, and digital billboard display ads in high traffic locations near hospitals and health facilities. Your union is strategically targeting decision-makers and reaching out to the general public to raise awareness of the challenges you're facing and the vital role you play in BC's health care system.   
 
New FAQs on the web site

• If you’ve got questions about job action, we have added new FAQs to the web site – and are constantly adding more.
• If you have any questions you don’t see there, let us know – email us at @email