News & Updates

HSA Lead and Assistant Lead Steward Training This one-day training session is for Lead Stewards and Assistant Lead Stewards. Priority access will be given to Lead and Assistant Lead Stewards that have never attended a Lead and Assistant Lead Steward workshop. As leaders in your chapter, you have some additional opportunities, responsibilities, and challenges. The goal of this workshop is...

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...

Bargaining for the next Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) collective agreement began on Thursday, December 8 th in Vancouver when both the NBA Bargaining Committee and the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) presented their opening remarks. HSA members are represented on the Bargaining Committee by Nicole McIntosh, a registered psychiatric nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital and Alyson Warner, HSA Assistant...

Newest $3 million fund can be used to help you with training commenced between September 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023 Health Science Professional Bargaining Association members of Health Sciences Association are invited to apply for financial support from a new $3 million fund announced earlier this year. Eligibility Guidelines Professional Development Funding FAQs The funding, provided by the BC...

Date: January 23, 2023 Time: 9am – 4:30pm Location: Virtual via Webex HSA is pleased to have Kerry Palmer facilitate this one-day course to assist members in their day-to-day interactions with their HSA colleagues and their patients/clients. Communication is the cornerstone of a healthy, productive and engaging workforce, and as such, this course is an opportunity to build and enhance...

As reported last week, contract talks have broken off as of November 3. The current monetary offer by the Health Employers Association of BC is not sufficient to meet the core priorities established by the CBA bargaining committee. You can learn more here. It’s now important to hear from you so that your HSA representatives in discussions with the lead...

The nine-union Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) has not been back to the negotiations table since the last update that we shared with you in early November but we wanted to let you know what is happening with the negotiation of your new collective agreement in the Indigenous Services, General Services, and Community Living sub-sectors. As you know, we...

Andrew Duarte, a Homeless Outreach and Prevention Counsellor at John Howard Society, has been appointed Regional Director to represent HSA members on the HSA Board of Directors. His appointment comes following the resignation of Becky Packer, who was unable to continue in the role for personal reasons. Packer also served as the union’s secretary-treasurer. Duarte was appointed by the Board...

For almost 20 years, provincial governments in BC worked deliberately to drive down wages for specialized health professionals in BC. In many cases they succeeded, leaving health professionals earning some of the lowest wages relative to their colleagues across Canada. It was a misguided attempt to control health care costs; instead, it slowly undermined the health care system even before...

A delegation from the constituent unions of the CBA met with HEABC and a representative of the Public Sector Employers’ Council Secretariat (PSEC) on November 3, 2022. It was our goal to impress upon PSEC that the CBA was unable to meet the core priorities we had established based on the monetary offer we have received. In particular we outlined...