Negotiating teams head back into talks tomorrow to continue bargaining for a new collective agreement for the province’s 18,000 health science professionals working in hospitals and communities around the province.
Discussions have centred on measures to enhance job security, including addressing internal equity issues, improving the delivery of disability management programs for members, and expanding access to fill vacancies. Legislative protections for workers and extended parental leaves have been the focus of much discussion, as have been social changes that require updating leave provisions in the contract.
With a focus on improving the public health care system to strengthen the delivery of patient care, negotiators are pursuing a modernized collective agreement that allows for flexibility in a changing system, while ensuring continued growth in wages, benefits and career opportunities to ensure affordability for the province’s dedicated care givers. The coming week is expected to see continued discussion of classification redesign, and strategies to assist effective management of workload.
HSPBA represents 18,000 union members, the majority of whom are represented by the Health Sciences Association. As well as CUPE, which has 800 members in the sector, other unions at represented at the bargaining table are BCGEU, PEA, and HEU. The current collective agreement expires in March 2019.
For regular bargaining updates, check CUPE’s Community Health website, or follow us on our Facebook page.
It’s important for CUPE to be able to contact you. Please make sure your contact information is current. Visiting the Community Health website, contact your local to ensure that your contact information is up-to-date.
CUPE’s member representatives to the HSPBA bargaining committee are:
- Chief negotiator: Chris Losito, CUPE National Representative and Health Coordinator – BC Region.
Bargaining Committee members:
- Jennifer Kassimatis, Senior Environmental Health Officer, Vancouver.
- Sheri Moy, Licensing Officer, Burnaby.
- Michael McKinley, Environmental Health Officer, Victoria (alternate committee member).