News & Updates

HSA members throughout the province who are running for office or working in upcoming municipal by-elections may apply to HSA for financial support from HSA's Political Action Fund. Municipal, Board of Education and Regional District elections 1. Members who are candidates in a civic election may apply for up to 5 days of wage replacement and/or up to $200 to...

Families and advocates for children with serious mental health challenges are speaking out against a month-long closure of the child psychiatry inpatient unit at BC Children’s Hospital. The month-long closure from July 19 to August 19 is to allow for a redesign of the treatment model used at the unit. The program is being redesigned from a 24/7 inpatient program...

Services for vulnerable families may be cut across B.C. following the government's failure to provide bridge funding for a 1.5 per cent wage increase that was negotiated for frontline workers earlier this year, the Community Social Services Bargaining Association says. Family service workers provide vital community-based social programs for vulnerable children, struggling youth and families across British Columbia. Community living...

The Community Social Services Bargaining Association, the multi-union bargaining association that represents community social services workers, is working to ensure that all community social service workers receive the wage increase they are entitled to as of April 1, 2013 without any cuts to agency programs or services. The bargaining association learned that a small number of employers are not paying...

A policy grievance arbitration over the unprecedented Influenza Control Program Policy introduced by the Health Employers' Association of BC (HEABC) last August will open tomorrow in Vancouver. In October 2012 the Health Sciences Association of BC, on behalf of the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA), filed a policy grievance calling for the withdrawal of the province-wide flu shot policy...

Melissa Eden used her HSA bursary to complete a Bachelor and Science in Psychology THE REPORT: JULY 2013 " I completed my Bachelor of Science in Psychology last week and am now entering the work force. Thank you for your support it was appreciated and will be put to good use, :)" Melissa Eden is one of HSA's 2013 bursary...

THE REPORT: JULY 2013 Major corporations and their political allies in Canada are pushing for the type of "Right to Work" laws found in most of the poorest states in the US. Such laws make it harder for workers to form a union. They also allow workers in a unionized workplace to opt out of paying dues, while still being...

THE REPORT: JULY 2013 Jade Shultis didn't have to work too hard to find her career path. As a kid, she was fascinated by medical dramas on TV. "My parents thought I was a bit crazy – an 11-year-old watching Trauma: Life in the E.R.," she says with a laugh. By the time she graduated from high school, Shultis knew...

THE REPORT: JULY 2013 November 1 is the day new workplace rules regarding harassment and bullying come into effect in British Columbia. This is the second part of a change in workers' compensation legislation brought about with the introduction of Bill 14 in 2011. The first change dealt with the issue of compensation for mental disorders. Since July 1, 2012...

Fall 2013 Basic Steward Training Stewards play a vital role in the union. Particularly important is the steward's role in contract interpretation, organizing and the grievance procedure. In recognition of the need for educating new stewards in these areas, HSA is offering a 3-day Basic Steward Training workshop at the HSA office this fall: Dates: November 25 – 27, 2013...