News & Updates

HOW TO VOTE Community Health members planning to mail in their ballots are advised to get them in the mail ASAP to guarantee the ballots will arrive in time for the cutoff at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 31, 2014. In the Lower Mainland, it may take only a day or two to reach the office, but we do recommend...

The BC Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation is coordinating a consultation to determine how to remove barriers and increase accessibility for people with disabilities in British Columbia. The process includes a series of in-person community consultation sessions around the province scheduled from January 20 to the end of February. Dates, locations and times are listed here. Members can...

With more than 1,500 grievances filed by health science professionals over the implementation of the 37.5 hour work week last year, three initial days of expedited hearings have now been scheduled to hear the grievances through a process negotiated and agreed to by HSPBA and HEABC. The grievances will be considered March 10, 11, and 12 in Vancouver, with two...

Thursday March 6 and Friday March 7, 2014HSA Head officeHSA invites women in our union to join us for two days of sharing to celebrate International Women’s Day. HSA is providing the opportunity for members to participate in a workshop that combines attending IWD events and in-house HSA training. Learn about:• the significance of International Women’s Day• women’s struggles and...

83% of HSA RPNs reject raid campaign to date Registered Psychiatric Nurses at Surrey Memorial Hospital and Abbotsford Regional Hospital have voted to stick with HSA despite an aggressive and well-funded raid campaign by the BC Nurses' Union and the Union of Psychiatric Nurses. The results in Surrey and Abbotsford are consistent with dozens of other votes held at worksites...

Re: Pharmacare Tie-in – Grievance and Arbitration Award In the last round of bargaining, the Nurses' Bargaining Association (NBA) agreed to modify the existing drug plan in the collective agreement to include a Pharmacare Tie-in. You were advised of these changes in January 2013. The Pharmacare Tie-in was supposed to go into effect on February 1, 2013. However, as a...

This year, Regional Director elections will take place in Regions 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. All HSA members in these regions are encouraged to put their name forward for these important positions. The Board of Directors meets quarterly, and directors take an active leadership role in representing the union. They receive wage replacement at their regular rate of pay...

The next HSA Annual Convention will take place April 10 – 12, 2014 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. All HSA members are welcome to attend and speak at the convention. However, only delegates have the right to vote. At this year’s convention, delegates will elect a president to complete the 2013 – 2015 term. This is a mid-term byelection, and...

HOW TO VOTE ON COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES CONTRACT All HSA members covered by the Community Social Services Bargaining Association have been mailed an information package via personal email or Canada Post. Information and voting meetings will be held over the next few weeks, and members are now being contacted with information about where and when they are being held. You...

Health science professionals have voted 76 per cent in favour of accepting a new five-year contract. The agreement was reached in advance of the expiry of the current agreement, set to run out on March 31, 2014. "This agreement meets our shared objectives for stability in the health care system, and recognizes the importance of a commitment to recruitment and...