News & Updates

On National Indigenous Peoples Day, we’re asking you to share how you’re working to decolonize your workplace and ensure it is safe and welcoming to Indigenous peoples. Let us know in an email to: @email We remember that our union works and has members in unceded territories across the province. Our full territorial acknowledgement is here: https://bit.ly/2YePFFU And finally, if...

Val Avery, President of the Health Sciences Association of BC, strongly condemns the racist actions of health care workers reported by Health Minister Adrian Dix this morning. “I am appalled by the emerging allegations of racist behaviors by health care workers – the very people British Columbians turn to and trust in times of health crisis,” Avery said. "There is...

HSA’s Board of Directors has voted unanimously to waive the union’s policy on collecting union dues on all employment income to exclude employment income earned under the Temporary Pandemic Pay announced May 19. All HSA members working under the HSPBA, CBA, and NBA collective agreements will receive pandemic pay at a rate of $4 an hour on all straight hours...

Employers and unions have reached an agreement on how to address vacation scheduling for the remainder of 2020 by members covered by the Community Social Services collective agreement in light of the impact of COVID-19 on operations. The agreement applies to members in the Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA), which includes HSA members. Under the agreement reached last week...

(Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver BC) British Columbians support stronger workplace health and safety protection and Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) coverage for workers who contract COVID-19 by a wide margin, according to a survey conducted by polling firm Stratcom for the BC Federation of Labour. See the full BC Federation of Labour release and survey data here. See HSA's submission to...

HSA President Val Avery presented today to the provincial Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, focusing on the need to address the shortage of critical health science professionals. The committee is holding virtual hearings to gather input on the development of the next BC Budget. If our public health care system is to be successful in fighting COVID-19...

The Canadian Labour Congress is hosting a free webinar this Wednesday, June 10 at 11am PST on the role of unions in combating anti-Black racism. The CLC's Larry Rousseau and Marie Clark-Walker will be joined by Sandy Hudson, a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement in Toronto. This is an opportunity for union members across the country to come...

Amid the horrific scenes coming out of the United States of continued police brutality against protesters in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, Canada’s unions are expressing solidarity with Black communities everywhere, including in our own backyard. The fight against anti-Black racism and police brutality is based in the long, despicable history of slavery, oppression and colonization of...

Ottawa (26 May 2020) — After 3 months of daily news about COVID-19, we are seeing the major impact the pandemic is having, not only on people's lives and work, but also on how they see the world moving forward. People clearly want change and specifically how we treat our elderly in Canada. This is one of the findings from...

A serious occupational health and safety issue related to PPE in hospital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) departments has been uncovered regarding the safety of certain masks and respirators in an MRI setting. HSA has called on health authorities and the Provincial Occupational Health and Safety Committee to provide details on the steps underway to identify and remove any masks or...