News & Updates

Applications are being invited from HSA members who work under the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) collective agreement for $550 awards to support professional development. The awards will be distributed province wide, with two awards available to members in each of the union’s 10 regions. Awards will be randomly selected. Funding will be awarded for professional development related to...

Bargaining is underway for a new collective agreement between HSA and West Coast Medical Imaging (WCMI).Union bargaining committee members Gary Finnerty and Fran Wagner from the Lower Mainland and Lee McKellar and Jenn Frost from Victoria, along with HSA staff negotiators Dani Demetlika and Gurleen Sahota and labour relations specialist Jessica Magalios, got underway at the end of April and...

Nurses covered by the Nurses Bargaining Association (NBA) contract, including the 900 Registered Psychiatric Nurses represented by HSA, have voted 85 per cent in favour of accepting a new collective agreement. The new agreement features wage increases for all nurses, some changes to benefits coverage, and a number of contract changes that address staffing issues, education, and violence in the...

Confronted with increasing demand for member services, support for stewards facing growing caseloads and the mounting cost of defending members against hostile raids by the BC Nurses, delegates to HSA’s 45th annual convention voted overwhelmingly in favour of a small dues increase, the first in 19 years. Almost 300 delegates, each elected by local members, debated and ultimately supported plans...

The United Nations says there are eight standards that are fundamental to the rights of human beings at work. Canada is one of the few countries in the world that have not yet formally accepted all eight of these standards. The overwhelming majority of countries have ratified all eight of the ILO's core conventions. Canada has not. Neither have a...

Course: Supervisors in the Union Date: Thursday, June 2 nd, 2016 Location: HSA Office, 180 East Columbia Street, New Westminster Summary: HSA is unique in terms of the number of supervisors who are included in the union. Part of the reason for this is that supervisors were the founding members of HSA when the union was first organized. This workshop...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2016 Val Avery, President, HSA We often find our greatest strength when confronted by adversity. As a physiotherapist, I have seen people discover incredible resources inside themselves, and use them to overcome great odds. And I think every one of us working with patients and clients have seen this time and again. People are tough and...

HSA members in Region 8 have elected Kevin Towhey to serve a two-year term as their representative on the union’s Board of Directors. Towhey is a medical radiation technologist at Royal Inland Hospital.This is Towhey’s first term on the union’s Board of Directors. He currently serves as the Chief Steward at Royal Inland Hospital.The other candidate for the board position...

HSA members in Region 6 have elected Nancy Hay to serve a two-year term as their representative on the union’s Board of Directors. Hay is a social worker at St. Paul’s and Lions Gate Hospitals.This is Hay’s first term on the union’s Board of Directors. She currently serves as the Chief Steward at St. Paul’s Hospital.The other candidate for the...

HSA members in Region 4 have re-elected Joseph Sebastian to serve another two-year term as their representative on the union’s Board of Directors. Sebastian is a medical radiation technologist at Vancouver Hospital.Sebastian first joined the union’s Board of Directors in April 2014. He has served on the Occupational Health and Safety and Constitutional and Organization Policy committees, and has served...