BC’S 25,000 specialized health professionals reached a tentative agreement in the early hours of Friday morning, after almost one year of negotiations between the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) and Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC).
“Members sent us to the bargaining table to make improvements to wages, classifications, work-life balance, recognition and respect, and partnership for quality health care,” said Jeanne Meyers, lead negotiator for the HSPBA and Executive Director of Health Sciences Association of BC (HSA).
“This tentative agreement achieves gains in all these areas, despite the province’s significant fiscal challenges. It provides general wage increases of 12% over four years, the maximum possible under the government’s wage mandate, and equal to that offered other public service professionals in BC. Other gains have been made to address working conditions and service improvements, and deal with professional shortages driving wait times and cancelations for the public.”
“This was a very challenging round of negotiations,” said HSA President Sarah Kooner. “It was quickly apparent that our members would have to fight hard for every dollar, and that’s what we did.”
Health science professionals voted 70% in favour of job action to support contract negotiations in December.
“Members stood shoulder to shoulder to let the government know we would not back down from the priorities set out to improve conditions in their worksites, provide more support for the people who keep the health care system running, and ensure better care for the public.”
HSPBA negotiations are led by HSA, which represents over 20,000 health science professionals in BC. Another 5,000 health science professionals are represented by four constituent unions: Canadian Union of Public Employees, BC General Employees’ Union, Professional Employees Association, and Hospital Employees’ Union.
Health Sciences Association is the union representing over 23,000 specialized health science professionals working alongside doctors and nurses at every level of BC’s public health system. These highly-skilled professionals work in over 70 different professions to provide preventative care, diagnosis, surgical support, treatment and rehabilitation. Our members are lab technologists, imaging technologists in x-ray, CT, MRI, nuclear medicine, PET, mammography, and sonography, radiation therapists, social workers, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, respiratory therapists, perfusionists, psychologists and many more.
