News & Updates

Re: Pharmacare Tie-in – Grievance and Arbitration Award In the last round of bargaining, the Nurses' Bargaining Association (NBA) agreed to modify the existing drug plan in the collective agreement to include a Pharmacare Tie-in. You were advised of these changes in January 2013. The Pharmacare Tie-in was supposed to go into effect on February 1, 2013. However, as a...

This year, Regional Director elections will take place in Regions 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. All HSA members in these regions are encouraged to put their name forward for these important positions. The Board of Directors meets quarterly, and directors take an active leadership role in representing the union. They receive wage replacement at their regular rate of pay...

The next HSA Annual Convention will take place April 10 – 12, 2014 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. All HSA members are welcome to attend and speak at the convention. However, only delegates have the right to vote. At this year’s convention, delegates will elect a president to complete the 2013 – 2015 term. This is a mid-term byelection, and...

HOW TO VOTE ON COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES CONTRACT All HSA members covered by the Community Social Services Bargaining Association have been mailed an information package via personal email or Canada Post. Information and voting meetings will be held over the next few weeks, and members are now being contacted with information about where and when they are being held. You...

Health science professionals have voted 76 per cent in favour of accepting a new five-year contract. The agreement was reached in advance of the expiry of the current agreement, set to run out on March 31, 2014. "This agreement meets our shared objectives for stability in the health care system, and recognizes the importance of a commitment to recruitment and...

HSA members will soon be preparing for the 2014 HSA Convention, to be held April 10-12, 2014 at the Fairmont Hotel (Vancouver Hotel) in Vancouver. Annual convention is the union’s annual meeting where chapter representatives from around the province determine the union’s future direction. Policies, actions, constitutional amendments, and structural changes are all discussed and debated at convention. Members who...

The Community Health Bargaining Association (CBA) reached a tentative agreement in late November for the over 15,000 union members working in the community health sector across the province. It is a five-year agreement effective April 1, 2014 until March 31, 2019 and your HSA Board of Directors supports your bargaining committee’s recommendation that members VOTE YES to accept the agreement...

Take Action Against Domestic Violence Over a recent 5 year period, an estimated 183,000 British Columbians were victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence impacts victims and their families and has a serious effect on those who witness it. Health care costs related to domestic violence in Canada are estimated to be in the billions of dollars. Social and emotional costs...

The Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association tentative agreement has been amended to reflect two developments that have flowed out of review and discussion of the agreement. First, under wages, an Economic Stability Dividend payout was left out of the original document. This was an error of omission which came to our attention November 21, 2013. It was corrected that same...

The Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) has reached a tentative agreement for the 11,000 union members working in community-based social services across the province. The five-year agreement, which would be in place to March 31, 2019, significantly closes the wage gap between workers in this sector and those with equivalent positions in the community health sector. "With this tentative...