June 15, 2022
FBA bargaining focused on health and safety - BC General Employees' Union (BC...
Negotiations for a new facilities subsector collective agreement continued last week, with your Health Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) negotiating committee pressing for effective pandemic response tools, and stronger collective agreement language for orientation and training of new staff.
We told the Health Employers' Association of BC (HEABC) that pandemic response tools need to include:
- improved access to a range of PPE and safety attire
- better communication and information sharing
- provisions that strengthen members' ability to respond to health and safety issues
COVID-19 continues to put workers, patients and residents at risk, with a large number of new cases occurring in health care settings.
Health care workers need access to equipment and procedures that ensure that they can keep themselves safe while providing critical care and support. And there needs to be plans in place for outbreaks or epidemics we may face in the years to come.
Four bargaining committee members from around B.C. shared their direct experiences with the employer.
They talked of the physical risks and emotional toll heightened by miscommunication, conflicting directions and inadequate access to PPE, especially during the early days of the pandemic.
They also raised issues around the orientation and training of new staff -- key to recruitment and retention.
Worker safety continues to be a high priority for us in these talks, including updating provisions that ensure workplace health and safety, like the operation of Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committees.
In addition, we discussed ways to foster respectful workplaces like measures to address Human Rights Code concerns and bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment.
We expect to return to the table June 17.
In solidarity,
Your Health Facilities Bargaining Association Negotiating Team
BC General Employees Union (BCGEU), Hospital Employees Union (HEU), Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 882, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 230.
UWU/MoveUP
May 18, 2022
Employer picks up the pace at facilities bargaining table - BC General Employ...
After three months of negotiations during which the multi-union Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) tabled more than 100 bargaining demands, the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) has finally provided initial responses to the majority of the FBA's bargaining package.
Last week, talks continued to focus on retention and recruitment, scheduling and rotations, workload, shop steward support, health and safety, and the Enhanced Disability Management Program.
A FBA-HEABC working group has also had a number of positive discussions to address Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination in health care.
We continue to be laser-focused on the top issues for health care workers. Now that health employers have responded to most of our proposals, we are in a position to engage in more productive bargaining on important priorities identified by members.
We'll also be returning to the critical issue of compensation for our members in the face of inflation that we haven't seen for more than 30 years. The employer's initial proposals on wages failed to address this reality.
We continue to work in solidarity with other public sector bargaining tables to share information and push employers for a fair compensation package.
BCGEU has scheduled a telephone town hall with members in the facilities subsector on May 19 to provide a briefing on the status of negotiations.
The parties resume bargaining on May 24, and have scheduled dates through June.
In solidarity,
Your Health Facilities Bargaining Committee
UWU/MoveUP
May 18, 2022
All BCGEU Members in the Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) Telephone To...
BCGEU is hosting a telephone town hall on facilities bargaining on Thursday, May 19th, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Saving Time.
As a member working under the Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) collective agreement, we're inviting you to join.
On May 19th, you will receive a call at the number we have on file for you – just stay on the line to participate. You'll be put straight through to the town hall.
If you miss the call on Thursday, you will get a voicemail with instructions on how to phone in. You can join in or leave the call at any time, up to the end of the town hall.
In solidarity,
Richard Ziemianski, Chair, BCGEU Caucus, FBA Bargaining Committee
Mahen Ramdharry, Member, BCGEU Caucus, FBA Bargaining Ctte, & Vice-President, Component 4
Micheil Bryson, Member, BCGEU Caucus, FBA Bargaining Committee
Thomas Christen, Member, BCGEU Caucus, FBA Bargaining Committee
Gavin Gill, Member, Member, BCGEU Caucus, FBA Bargaining Committee
Lynn Meskas, Member, BCGEU Caucus, FBA Bargaining Committee
Ryan Stewart, Staff Representative, Negotiations
Download PDF of notice now
May 06, 2022
Health employers need to do better for your health and safety - BC General Em...
Health employers returned to the facilities bargaining table this week with disappointing responses to our proposals addressing the growing staffing crisis and rising levels of stress on frontline health care workers.
The Facilities Bargaining Association had proposed stronger measures to resolve workload concerns, including those arising from unfilled vacancies and inadequate baseline staffing levels.
Recognizing that high workloads, pandemic-related stress and other workplace hazards undermine the mental health of workers, we also proposed a collaborative process to identify hazards related to psychological health and safety in the workplace.
But the employer rejected those proposals and others that would improve the ability of shop stewards to represent members and resolve workplace issues.
In the face of a real crisis in our health care system, we have put forward concrete measures to tackle unmanageable workloads. We’ve clearly highlighted how these added pressures are burning out our frontline workers, putting the sustainability of our health care system at risk.
The underwhelming response on these critical issues by health employers is disappointing. We’ll continue to press employers at the bargaining table for solutions that will ease the pressure on the frontlines.
The pandemic and multiple climate emergencies demonstrated how much our communities rely on our health care system. But they have also revealed that our system is under stress with workers at their breaking point. Health employers need to face this reality.
As you continue to struggle with pandemic-related shortages, and prepare for another summer of heat domes, fires and resulting floods, health employers are providing a lukewarm response to our proposals on pandemic and emergency disaster response. Proposals that include establishing a process for the redeployment of staff.
We have scheduled bargaining dates through June and we’ll keep you updated as talks progress.
In solidarity,
Your Health Facilities Bargaining Association
UWU/MoveUP
April 22, 2022
Health Facilities bargaining slowly progressing - BC General Employees' Union...
Your health facilities bargaining team met with the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) again this week, but negotiations are moving slowly.
We remain committed to reaching a deal that secures better working conditions for health care workers and a compensation package that protects wages against inflation.
Progress is slow, but the committee is working hard formalizing responses to proposals and developing strategies to move negotiations forward.
We have no update on the wage proposals that we exchanged two weeks ago. Bargaining will continue with dates scheduled until the end of May.
We'll keep you updated as talks progress.
In solidarity,
Your Health Facilities Bargaining Association
UWU/MoveUP
April 08, 2022
HSPBA Bargaining update – Wage proposal on track to be tabled next week - BC ...
The Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) is preparing to table a wage proposal for health science professionals next week that addresses staff shortages, the rising cost of living, and closes the wage gap between B.C. and other provinces.
Meanwhile, your fellow BCGEU members in the public service have reached an impasse over wages in their negotiations with the provincial government. The Public Service Bargaining Committee announced yesterday that after nine weeks of talks it will take a break from bargaining to focus on negotiating essential services levels required to keep necessary government services running in the event of a strike or lockout, and preparing to take a strike vote to back contract demands. The break in bargaining was precipitated by the failure of the government to table a wage package that protects government workers from the skyrocketing cost of living in British Columbia.
HSPBA's bargaining committee has been in active contract negotiations with HEABC since March 28, and is scheduled to pause for a break at the end of next week. To date, the bargaining committee has made proposals addressing a number of priorities identified by members, including occupational health and safety matters related to workload, discrimination and harassment, facilitation of health sector-wide action on OHS issues, and classification proposals addressing concerns with employer-wide initiatives.
The bargaining committee is also committed to change addressing colonial features of the collective agreement. In the current round of talks, the bargaining committee is tabling equity and inclusion initiatives as well as removing colonial language.
Unions covered by HSPBA have been actively negotiating essential services levels since January, and are watching developments at other public sector bargaining tables closely. A number of public sector agreements expired on March 31, 2022.
We will continue to work to achieve fair contracts for all workers who have been on the frontlines of protecting and serving British Columbians through the COVID-19 pandemic, and the opioid and climate catastrophes.
Important: Is your contact information up to date?
You could miss important bargaining updates unless we have your correct personal email and phone number on file.
The updated BCGEU Member Portal makes it easy to review manage your contact information and it will be an important resource for you during bargaining.
Please log into the Member Portal as soon as possible to review and update your contact info. If you don't have a Member Portal account yet, click here to request an account, and then watch for an email with instructions on how to activate it.
In solidarity,
Your Health Science Professionals Bargaining Committee
UWU/MoveUP
April 04, 2022
Your Health Facilities Bargaining Association - Focus on safety and workload...
Talks for a new facilities collective agreement resumed this week with your union bargaining committee tabling proposals to address crushing workloads and a worsening health and safety crisis on the frontlines.
We have heard loud and clear from frontline workers that workloads are taking a huge toll on you physically, mentally, and emotionally, and that the pandemic has only deepened this crisis.
We tabled bargaining proposals this week to address short-staffing and provide Joint OH&S committees with more tools to address workload complaints. We are also proposing improved access to Personal Protective Equipment, better-ventilated workplaces, and other measures to protect workers in a future major pandemic.
Your union bargaining committee is also proposing an expansion to the Enhanced Disability Management Program, which supports ill and injured workers to safely return to work.
Safer workloads and better support for injured members are key to retaining skilled workers and attracting the health care workers we need going forward, but we also need to significantly improve wages, and provide union members with more opportunities for career mobility through education and training.
We are proposing continued and expanded funding for the union-managed FBA Education Fund, which has successfully supported thousands of members in skills-upgrading and career mobility since its inception in 2006.
We will be exchanging wage proposals next week.
In a week where the provincial government introduced legislation to bring provincial laws into compliance with the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we also exchanged proposals on how to promote the recruitment and promotion of Indigenous health care workers and combat Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination.
In solidarity,
Your Health Facilities Bargaining Association
March 17, 2022
Week 3 of Facilities Bargaining - BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU)
The multi-union Facilities Bargaining Committee has now tabled more than a hundred proposals for improvements to the collective agreement on issues ranging from safe workloads to recruitment and retention.
The parties will exchange detailed wage proposals when bargaining resumes after spring break. We told health employers last week that cost of living protections will be critical to achieving a renewed collective agreement.
In the face of rising inflation, you need a wage and compensation package that puts you ahead and not behind.
Last month's provincial budget can accommodate cost of living protections for health care workers. We are urging health employers to consult with government and return to the table prepared to negotiate a wage and compensation package that keeps wages ahead of rising costs.
We have proposed a number of improvements to the collective agreement addressing priorities such as stronger health and safety protections, a more inclusive workforce, stronger union rights, and measures to promote respectful workplaces free from bullying and systemic racism.
The committee also tabled language that addresses the needs of workers redeployed during health emergencies and natural disasters.
Our committee is determined to negotiate the best collective agreement possible – one that addresses your demands for safer workloads, and significant improvements to the compensation package.
There have been three weeks of negotiations between the FBA and the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) since February 11.
We will keep you updated as talks progress.
In solidarity,
Your Facilities Bargaining Association Negotiating Team
UWU/MoveUP
February 28, 2022
Your Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) - Facilities bargaining resumes ...
A second week of negotiations between your multi-union Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) and the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) included negotiations on a number of non-monetary and housekeeping items.
The week concluded with FBA committee discussions on how to increase the participation of Indigenous peoples in the health care workforce.
Those discussions come on the heels of a report issued earlier in the week by the First Nations Health Authority into the death of Keegan Combes, a young man from the Skwah First Nation, after delayed treatment for accidental poisoning.
The report recommends hiring more Indigenous health care workers in order to improve cultural safety for Indigenous patients. Similar recommendations are contained in the 2019 Addressing Racism investigation into anti-Indigenous racism and discrimination in B.C.'s health care system, and in the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Recruiting Indigenous health care workers is an important priority for the FBA. It is an important step in our work to address the impacts of colonialism on health care.
Negotiations will resume the week of March 7. All monetary proposals will be tabled later in March, after the majority of non-monetary proposals have been addressed.
Your bargaining committee is working extremely hard through nearly 200 bargaining proposals submitted by local unions and adopted at union bargaining conferences.
In solidarity,
Your Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA)
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