HSPBA Ratification: What You Should Know Before Voting
Over the past three weeks, at both in-person info sessions and on telephone town halls, there have been a few questions that seem to resonate with many HSA members. Here are some quick points for your reference as you make your voting plan and decide how you will vote on this important agreement.
Wage Increase and Monetary Benefits
All members will receive a general wage increase of about 12-14% over the term of the collective agreement. The general wage increase alone translates to about $10,000/year for the average member by April 1, 2024.
There are also new and increased premiums for weekends, short notice shifts, and being on-call. The annual education expense increases from $600 to $1,000, and there is a new fund members may access to help with affiliation to professional bodies.
Classifications Update
HSA has been working for more than a decade to introduce a new classifications system that accurately reflects the complexity of modern health care and the essential roles of health science professionals. In this agreement, your Bargaining Committee negotiated a historic amount of funding from the government to make a modernized classifications system a reality.
The most obvious impact of the classifications changes is the creation of the new “P1 Working Professional” classification that will be paid at the current Grade 2/Sole Charge level. Over the first two years of the agreement, current Grade 1/Staff level members will see their wages increase to the P1 Working Professional level.
But it doesn’t stop there. Professionals already working at the Sole Charge/Grade 2 or higher level will see improvements as well, because this move will put the union in a much stronger position to win recognition for members who work in specialized practices.
More changes will follow as the new Classification Redesign Completion and Implementation Committee works out the details for supervisor and advanced practice members in 2023. These changes will mean that all professions will be recognized equally for their level of responsibility and any advanced practice roles they may undertake in research, clinical specialization, quality assurance, education, performance of special procedures, and health information systems/applications specialization.
If you work in a Sole Charge/Grade 2 or higher position, this means that the wage calculator will only tell you what your minimum pay level will be through 2025. In many, if not most, cases your final pay rate will be higher once the Classification Redesign Completion and Implementation Committee completes its work next year.
A More Inclusive Agreement
While the wage increases and classifications changes are positive, there are other parts of the proposed collective agreement that we are also proud to share, like language around reconciliation, holidays for all, and gender diversity.
We’ve created a document that highlights these changes. You can view it here.
More Information
- Learn how the bargaining process works — ideas submitted by members, prioritized by a Bargaining Committee elected by members, negotiated by a team of elected members working with and specialized professionals
- Read a comprehensive report on the proposed contract
- Check out the Wage Calculator to see what the general wage increase means for you — but remember that classifications changes will deliver even higher pay increases for most members
- Read our very long list of Frequently Asked Questions
- Put a question directly to HSA’s specialized labour relations staff
The Voting Process
The ratification vote will take place online, using a secure e-voting service called Simply Voting.
HSA members will have one week to vote, from 8:00 am PST on Wednesday, December 14 until 11:59 pm PST on Wednesday, December 21.
Members who have provided HSA with their personal email address will receive their credentials via email on December 14th. If you can’t find your credential, please check your “spam”, “junk”, “promotions” or “other” email folders.
Members who did not provide the union with their personal email will receive their voting credentials by regular mail. These credentials will arrive around December 14.
If you do not receive your credentials, please email info@hsabc.org before 12:00 noon on December 20th and we will assist you in getting new credentials.
If you have any other questions before or during the vote, please call the HSA office at 1-800-663-2017 or email info@hsabc.org.
Article 10.08
We are concerned that members at BC Cancer may have been receiving inaccurate information about the changes to Article 10.08. HSA would like to quickly clarify that the changes to this article do not grant your employer the right to unilaterally move employees anywhere in the province for any length of time.
Rather, they are housekeeping changes that modernize the collective agreement language. This article comes from the 1990s, when the structure of health care delivery was completely different. Terms left over from that time – clusters, healthcare regions and Community Health Councils – no longer apply, so they have been removed from this proposed agreement.