Bargaining opens for health science professionals collective agreement

Talks got underway yesterday in Burnaby for a new collective agreement for health science professionals who deliver the critical diagnostic, clinical and rehabilitation services British Columbians depend on for their good health.

Stephen Pope, Chair of the BCGEU bargaining committee at the health science professionals' table, said the bargaining committee is committed to achieving a collective agreement that protects quality health care and values the work of health science professionals.

"In this round of bargaining, we'll be looking at ways to strengthen the system and ensure that British Columbians can continue to receive the same quality of service that they have come to depend on from the province's health science professionals," Pope said.

HSA is the lead union in the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA), which also includes members of BCGEU, CUPE, PEA and HEU.

The HSPBA tabled a list of bargaining objectives. The proposal was meant to set the tone for a positive and productive bargaining agenda aimed at delivering improvements to the health care system to benefit patients and their families, the members of the modern health care team responsible for their health, and employers working towards a mandate of improved quality of care and smooth delivery of services.

The HSPBA proposal was guided by the following elements:

• Delivering Quality Healthcare
Ongoing joint initiatives that recognize the value of health science professionals in health care delivery and that involve and include health science professionals in health care changes.

• Fair Wage Increases
Wage increases that recognize the value of health science professionals and are consistent with increases for members of the modern health care team in BC and across the country.

• Modernizing the Classification System
Development of a unified, transparent, rationalized wage schedule that is responsive to the current industry structure while protecting integral features.

• Recruitment and Retention
Initiatives that attract people to health science professional disciplines; that attract trained health science professionals to work in the BC public health sector.

• Enhanced Quality of Work Life
Initiatives related to workload, scheduling, education, leaves of absence, violence prevention, occupational health and safety, and other healthy workplace improvements.

• Improved Benefit Package
Maximizing the value of the benefit package to meet the differing needs of the membership.

• Sick Leave and Disability Management
Development of a seamless integrated sick leave and disability management scheme that supports early and productive return to work.

• Job Security and Seniority
Initiatives to protect and enhance members' entitlements particularly in response to consolidation/integration of service.

• Improve Administration of the Collective Agreement
Clarification of existing provisions to ensure collective agreement language reflects existing entitlements, improved grievance processing, housekeeping changes to streamline the collective agreement, and other initiatives that make the collective agreement more efficient or allow better harmonization/coordination of existing benefits.

The Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association represents 17,000 health science professionals, including 1,100 BCGEU members, who deliver public health care services in hospitals and communities across the province. The current HSPBA collective agreement expires March 31, 2010.