News & Updates

The Report: August 2003 vol.24 num.4 by BONNIE PHILLIPS recently visited the Canadian Blood Services with the goal of investigating the current state of affairs with the pending closure of the testing laboratory, originally slated for April 2004 but recently moved forward to September 2003. As region 5s elected representative on HSAs board of directors, I felt I needed to...

The Report: August 2003 vol.24 num.4 by BRUCE WILKINS I have heard that our rights around the 7.5 hour day have changed. Have they changed, and what does it mean for me? An arbitration decision in June 2003 has indeed changed the union’s collective agreement rights under Appendix 7 of the 2001-2004 Paramedical Professional Bargaining Association contract (related to Article...

The Report: August 2003 vol.24 num.4 by DAN KEETON n Joan Magee’s case, working part time doesn’t mean spending more time on the couch. “It frees me up to do other things during the week,” said the lab technologist and HSA’s chief steward at Cariboo Regional Hospital. Joan Magee Chief steward & medical technologist Cariboo Regional Hospital The community of...

A move by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority to privatize thousands of surgical procedures has staggering implications for public health care, says a medicare advocacy organization.And the BC Health Coalition is calling on Health Services Minister Colin Hansen to order a stop to the health authority's plans to contract out publicly insured surgeries and hold public hearings on the government's...

The Report: June / July 2003 vol.24 num.3 by MIRIAM SOBRINO SAs 32nd annual convention wrapped up Saturday, April 12 after two days of debate on issues ranging from the Campbell governments record on health care and social services, to the unions support for the 2010 Olympic bid. Stewart acclaimed for sixth term Cindy Stewart, a physiotherapist from Vernon, was...

The Report: June / July 2003 vol.24 num.3 When Rick Lascelle and some colleagues from Royal Columbian Hospital went across the street recently to get a snack at the local convenience store, their medical attire set off some alarm bells. “The clerk stood about 10 feet away from us the whole time,” Lascelle, a respiratory therapist at the New Westminster...

The Report: June / July 2003 vol.24 num.3 ew information is coming out daily about how SARS can be transmitted and the type of precautions required to prevent infection. HSA encourages concerned members to check the web sites listed below for periodic updates. This article is based on what was known as of the date The Report went to press...

The Report: June / July 2003 vol.24 num.3 by CINDY STEWART s delegates to HSA’s 32nd annual convention wrapped up proceedings of this year’s two-day meeting, the room was filled with a sense of a renewed energy to take on the tasks of the coming years. Delegates left united in our resolve to ensure HSA is front and centre when...

The Report: June / July 2003 vol.24 num.3 by JEANNE MEYERS s we move into the third year of the Liberal regime we can begin to put wins and losses into some perspective. Faced with legislation that rolls back years of hard fought gains at the bargaining table, the union has begun the difficult process of reclaiming lost ground. In...

The Report: June / July 2003 vol.24 num.3 by JENNY ROBERTSON hange has become an old friend in Region 4, and probably also in yours, ever since the federal Liberals first slashed provincial transfer payments. Now we can blame even more change on the BC Liberals as they take us in overnight legislative sessions to places where we thought wed...