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Health professionals in B.C. head into bargaining for new contract

Health science professionals begin negotiations for a new collective agreement next week.

Vancouver (24 Feb. 2012) - Health science professionals will be looking for strong indications early on that government and its bargaining agent, Health Employers’ Association of BC (HEABC), are prepared to address fundamental issues, said Reid Johnson, President, Health Sciences Association of B.C. (HSABC/NUPGE).

“HSABC/NUPGE members served notice at the beginning of this year that continuing to fall behind our counterparts in other provinces is not an option. What our members are looking for in this round of bargaining is fairness and respect: fair, respectful, and meaningful collective bargaining; and fair recognition of the role health science professionals play in the modern health care system,” he said.

The Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association’s (HSPBA) chief negotiator, Jeanne Meyers, said all the signals coming from HEABC and the government – including HEABC’s refusal to undertake meaningful work in a number of areas negotiated in the last collective agreement, HEABC’s arbitrary wage rollback announcement for pharmacists, the government’s announced mandate of freezing wages, and a health care budget that doesn’t keep up with inflation – is that HEABC and the government have limited interest in arriving at a negotiated agreement.

“HSA will enter into the collective bargaining process with a commitment to the process, but, frankly, if we don’t see signs from government and HEABC that there is an appetite for free collective bargaining, we are not interested in participating in a farce,” Meyers said.

HSA stewards and staff are currently involved in negotiating essential service levels. Essential services are a legislative requirement to create a balance between workers’ rights to strike, and the need to protect the public from “immediate and serious danger.” In health care, essential service levels ensure there is staff available during a labour dispute to ensure patients are not in immediate or serious danger.

HSPBA represents 17,000 members, the majority of whom are represented by HSABC/NUPGE. Other unions at the table are CUPE, BCGEU/NUPGE, PEA, and HEU.

For regular bargaining updates, check the HSABC/NUPGE website at www.hsabc.org, follow on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/HSABC, or on Twitter @hsabc.

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE