Provincial Health Officer order restricting certain health care workers to working at a single site lifted in Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR HSA MEMBERS AFFECTED BY THE ORDER
HSA has learned that a Provincial Health Officer order from April 2020 restricting health care workers from working at multiple sites was lifted in Vancouver Coastal Health Authority by an exemption issued by the local Medical Health Officer on July 7, 2022.
The employer failed to inform the union of the change affecting health care workers at long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, and provincial mental health facilities.
Without notifying the union, the employer directed managers in the sector that they could repost temporary positions created under the order as permanent positions, and that they could encourage people working in the temporary jobs to apply for the permanent jobs.
The union has communicated to the employer that the process of posting the permanent positions is contrary to posting language in the collective agreement. HSA’s concern is that because the union was not notified of exclusion, the union was not able to communicate to and inform our members regarding the change to posting procedures in this sector. The change in process resulted in permanent position postings being highlighted to a limited group of employees, and some members who were unaware of the postings may have been excluded from opportunities to apply on and post into permanent positions.
Vancouver Coastal Health has agreed the posting process was done without consultation with the union, and that there may be some employees who were denied posting opportunities, and has committed to revisit all the postings made as a result of the exemption made to the Provincial Health Order effective July 7.
If you believe that you may have been excluded from an opportunity to apply for one of these permanent postings, please contact HSA Labour Relations Officer Sheila Vataiki at @email for labour relations support.