Quality public health care continues to be the focus for HSPBA negotiators

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).

 

Update on contract talks for B.C.’s health science professionals

BURNABY—Bargaining for a new collective agreement covering B.C.’s 18,000 health science professionals working in hospitals and communities around the province concluded its second week on Friday after a series of meetings between unions, represented by the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA), and employers represented by the Health Employers’ Association of BC (HEABC).

The current collective agreement, which came into effect in April 2014 and continues to March 31, 2019, was ambitious in directing the union and employer bargaining associations to develop a modernized classification system, protect benefits, and address issues of recruitment and retention. The work on those areas has been continuous throughout the life of the agreement. The HSPBA welcomes recent Ministry of Health initiatives and policies focused on strengthening the delivery of patient care within a strong publicly funded health care system.

The unions’ proposals are aimed at securing contract improvements that promote job satisfaction and security, support the Ministry of Health’s efforts to address shortages, and promote stability and continuity in the healthcare workforce.  Proposals discussed to date are related to classifications, benefits, and improvements to the Enhanced Disability Management Program and accommodation process. Talks on these issues, and on addressing workload challenges, are scheduled to continue for the next two weeks.

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).

Contract negotiations begin for B.C.’s health science professionals

VANCOUVER—Bargaining for a new collective agreement for BC’s 18,000 health science professionals working in hospitals and communities throughout the province got underway this week as bargaining representatives for the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) and Health Employers’ Association of BC (HEABC) began contract negotiations today.

The union negotiators will focus on achieving a collective agreement that helps address years of erosion in the health care system.

“We’ve received a strong message from our members that years of neglect under previous governments have left a lot of their concerns unaddressed, so we look forward to negotiating a new contract that fixes the system while recognizing the value of their work as health science professionals,” said CUPE Health Coordinator Chris Losito.

“Our member survey earlier this year showed that excessive workload is the number one issue. As well, recruitment and retention need to be addressed because health care teams are being stretched to the limit. So we are hopeful and optimistic that this current round of negotiations will produce an agreement that improves health care services for all British Columbians while respecting the contributions of the hard-working, multi-disciplinary professionals who deliver them.”

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 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, Environmental Health Officer, Vancouver.
  • Sheri Moy, Licensing Officer, Burnaby.
  • Michael McKinley, Environmental Health Officer, Victoria (alternate committee member).

New $3 million professional development fund to help address health science professions shortages in B.C.

BURNABY—The Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) is pleased to announce the creation of a new $3-million professional development fund for members of the health care team  to undertake professional development to increase specialization, improve health care service to rural and remote areas of B.C., and meet ongoing requirements for professional development.

The fund, available to health science professionals who work under the HSPBA collective agreement, was created through a contribution from the Ministry of Health. CUPE’s share of the funding for its members is approximately $115,000.  Applications will be reviewed and approved by CUPE HSPBA locals and funds will be directly reimbursed to successful applicants upon production of receipts for eligible expenses.

The fund focuses on supporting professional development in three areas:

  • $1 million to encourage HSPBA members to retrain for health science professions experiencing shortages in B.C.
  • $1 million to enhance professional development opportunities for health science professionals working in rural or remote areas of B.C.
  • $1 million to assist health science professionals across the province to meet ongoing requirements for professional development.

All health science professionals covered by the HSPBA collective agreement, which includes members of PEA, HSA, BCGEU, CUPE, and HEU, are eligible to apply for funding. Applications will be approved on a first come, first served basis, until the fund is exhausted. Members are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

The guidelines, application, and frequently asked questions documents are downloadable.

 

In solidarity,

Chris Losito
CUPE Health Coordinator – BC Region

New videos highlight CUPE members in Community Health

BURNABY—The more than 1,300 CUPE members who work in B.C.’s community health sector play an important role in health care service delivery, adding value to their communities while facing workload and other significant challenges on a daily basis, a new pair of CUPE videos reveals.

“Building Caring Communities” and “Meeting the Challenges” feature CUPE members from the Community Bargaining Association and the Health Sciences Professionals Bargaining Association talking about their jobs. The members describe their work in community-based public health care, some of the challenges they face, and the advantages of being represented by CUPE.

“These members provide important health services in our communities,” says CUPE Health Coordinator Chris Losito. “They do everything from diagnostic, clinical and inspection services to advocacy, home support, counselling, preventative, and rehabilitation, as well as administrative support services. They’re a key part of our public health care system but don’t have a high profile in the sector. So these videos put a much-needed face to their work.”

The videos can be viewed at the revamped website for B.C.’s CUPE Community Health workers. The site contains information for members in CUPE’s Community Health sector, including contact information for Health Locals and helpful resources to support their work. There’s also a link to the sector’s new Facebook group page.

Workload high on the agenda as health care presidents meet

NANAIMO—The critical issue of how to address workload in CUPE’s community health and health science professionals sectors was prominent on the agenda at a recent meeting of the union’s Health Care Presidents Council (HCPC).

At CUPE’s area office in Nanaimo on May 11, health care presidents from Victoria, mid-Island and Metro Vancouver met to discuss ongoing business, including a review of the council’s protocol agreement, trustee vacancies, and how to improve member access to the sector’s Enhanced Disability Management Plan advocate. They also reviewed a strategic plan for bargaining in the sector, which begins this week.

But workload was foremost on the agenda, with discussion focused on next steps after a strong member response to a workload survey conducted by CUPE Research. Survey results revealing chronic understaffing, unpaid overtime and systemic burnout across the sector led to a series of meetings with members and local union officers that began with worksite visits and culminated with highly attended workload strategy sessions on April 30 and May 2.

“If we are encouraging members to put in for overtime—and we are—then we need to develop a tracking system for this,” said CUPE 1978’s Lindsay Fumalle, the Local’s chair for the Vancouver Island Health Authority.

“Shop stewards have already requested a tracking system, so we need to gather the right stats and have a user-friendly tool not only to track overtime hours but cases where overtime is denied.”

The HCPC meeting also featured an update on a member awareness campaign with CUPE National, including member videos and a revamped CUPE Health website, to be rolled out shortly.

Workload strategy sessions well attended by CUPE health members

BURNABY—CUPE community health members in Victoria and Metro Vancouver showed up in big numbers this week for two evening workshops aimed at tackling the growing problem of workload in their sector.

At CUPE’s B.C. regional office on Wednesday (May 2), more than 50 members turned out to discuss the results of the union’s recent workload survey and develop solutions for building safer, healthier workplaces. That session followed a similar event in Victoria two nights earlier in which CUPE members filled a meeting room at the Local 1978 office, with two members from Port Alberni joining the proceedings via Skype feed.

The workload strategy sessions followed a series of health sector work site meetings held over several weeks earlier this spring. For those sessions, CUPE staff and local union officers met with members working under the Community Bargaining Association (CBA) and Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) to discuss the results of a CUPE Research survey on workload in the sector. Those discussions lay the groundwork for this week’s meetings.

Wednesday’s strategy session began with CUPE Union Development representative Vanessa Wolff providing a brief overview on workload as it relates to health and safety. CUPE Research representative Sarah St. John followed with a summary of the survey results, noting how excessive workload and understaffing, systemic unpaid overtime, and systemic burnout have had a negative impact on health service delivery and patient care.

Participants then formed breakout groups, based on CBA and HSPBA job classification, to discuss major workload issues in their workplaces and explore some of the causes and contributing factors. After reviewing employer responses to date, if any, each group came up with possible solutions to share with the larger group in the closing plenary. Finally, a point person was identified for each classification, so that CUPE staff and union officers will be able to follow up and recommend further action.

“The members who attended these meetings were completely engaged in the discussion and very proactive about changing their workplaces for the better,” said CUPE Health Coordinator Chris Losito. “This will help us moving forward, as we’re committed to working with the point persons to develop additional strategies.”

Members are encouraged to follow guidance documents for CBA and HSPBA provided at the strategy session, refuse unsafe work where their workloads have become excessive and unsafe, and stay tuned for further updates on the CUPE health website.

View the photo gallery.

Registration deadline extended for Health Bargaining Conference

BURNABY – The deadline to register for CUPE’s Health Care Bargaining Conference has been extended to January 29.

The conference, a one-day gathering for CUPE members in the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association and Community Bargaining Association, will be held on Tuesday, February 6 at the Inn at the Quay in New Westminster.

To register for the conference, please complete this form and forward by January 29 to CUPE Health Sector Coordinator Chris Losito: closito@cupe.ca
 

CUPE health sector to hold bargaining conference in February

BURNABY – Registration is now open for the CUPE Health Care Bargaining Conference, a one-day gathering for CUPE members in the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association and Community Bargaining Association.

The conference, to be held on Tuesday, February 6 at the Inn at the Quay in New Westminster, will feature a guest speech from BC Health Coalition Co-chair Edith MacHattie and include sector breakouts sessions for HSPBA and CBA delegates.

The conference is aimed at ratifying proposals for submission to the Associations Negotiating Committee for its consideration and to elect representatives to the Associations Negotiating Committee.

To register for the conference, please complete this form and forward to CUPE Health Sector Coordinator Chris Losito by e-mail: closito@cupe.ca
 

MSP premium reduction savings must be passed onto members – HSPBA

BURNABY – The savings resulting from the 50-per-cent reduction in Medical Services Plan premiums introduced by the BC government on January 1, 2018 must be directed to employees, says the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA).

 

Under the HSPBA collective agreement, employers pay 100 per cent of MSP benefits, representing a benefit negotiated on behalf of members. HSPBA’s position is that savings realized by employers by the reduction in premiums must be passed onto members and not put into employers’ coffers.

 

The HSPBA, which includes health science professionals represented by CUPE, HSA, PEA, BCGEU, and HEU, has requested that employers hold the savings in trust until such time as agreement is reached on how to pass the savings onto members.