News & Updates

HSA announced today the establishment of a $120,000 Professional Development Fund accessible to all registered psychiatric nurses who are members of HSA. The funds, achieved through collective bargaining, may be used to cover professional development courses and events. HSA will cover the cost of tuition, registration fees, books and related expenses to a maximum of $500. Application deadline is December...

To follow HSA Convention news as it happens, visit our Facebook page Members of the Health Sciences Association, the union delivering modern health care that represents health sciences professionals who deliver diagnosis, treatment and recovery in BCs hospitals and communities, is meeting this weekend at its 42nd annual convention in Vancouver. Over the course of the next two days members...

The spirit of the negotiated agreement surrounding the change from a 36-hour to a 37.5-hour work week was confirmed this week as the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) and Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) reached agreement on a process to implement the 37.5 hour work week agreed to in the recently ratified collective agreement. "While at least one...

Have you ever considered getting more involved in the union but felt you couldn't, for a variety of reasons? The Women's Committee of the Health Sciences Association of BC is conducting a survey of women in the union to identify barriers that may keep them from participating in union leadership roles and/or union activities (eg meetings, education). The Women's Committee...

Following a consultation process that can only be described as a sham, BC Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid – on the day before the current government dissolves – announced today the enactment of legislation that dramatically changes the structure of collective bargaining in health care, HSA President Reid Johnson said today. “On her last day on the job, Health Minister Margaret...

THE REPORT: APRIL 2013 Medical Laboratory technologists at (PHSA) Whistler Health Care Centre joined HSA on February 27. The employees approached HSA about becoming members of the union and the decision to join was unanimous. This new chapter is a first – no other employees of Whistler Health Care Centre are unionized. "The Whistler Health Care Centre laboratory has evolved...

Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid on Monday announced that new nursing legislation had been signed into law, bringing licensed practical nurses under the same bargaining structure as the B.C. Nurses’ Union. The legislation – Bill 18, the Health Authorities Amendment Act – passed last month over the objections of the Hospital Employees’ Union, which called the legislation a last-minute change prepared...

A 3% wage increase is now in effect for registered psychiatric nurses covered by the Nurses’ Bargaining Association provincial contract. You can see your new wage rate here. Have you seen HSA’s special page for RPNs? You can see it here: hsabc.org/rpns

In a recent letter from human resources managers at Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, employees have been told they will be moving to a five-day 7.5 hour work week and that nine-day fortnights and EDOs will be eradicated. The letter completely misrepresents the negotiated agreement reached on the shift to a 37.5 hour work week from the current 36 hour work...

With the exception of some portions of the collective agreement ratified March 6, all provisions of the HSPBA collective agreement come into force and effect today, April 5, 2013. There are some exceptions, as specified in negotiations, as follows: Wages A wage increase of 2 per cent for all members, excluding pharmacists, will be implemented. This increase is effective the...