July 26, 2004
As has been announced previously, a Framework Agreement has been achieved that guarantees that our members in the Health Sector will not be subject to cutbacks in their wages and benefits. As part of this agreement, the parties were to meet over the months of June and July to discuss certain specific items that were tabled by either the NBA or the Employer. Should no agreement be reached on these items, then the contract would roll over without any changes.
The initial stage of these talks was to deal with policy issues on an informal basis. The parties spent much of June exploring ways to improve the practice environment and workload of RPNs and RNs. The main topics for discussion were increasing regular positions, innovative scheduling options, hours of work, employment of new graduates and phased retirement. The talks were very productive and helped in developing a good dialogue between the unions and the employers which will hopefully lead to improved communication and cooperation.
In July, we have been dealing with topics that more closely resemble negotiations. The areas being discussed include mileage expenses, LTD Supplementary benefits and the Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare (OHSAH). Also included in these discussions is the development of contract language that will deal with displacement options and bumping procedures once relevant sections of Bill 29 expire in December 2005. These talks are continuing on through to the end of this week.
The results of both phases of the Framework Agreement (policy discussion and bargaining) will be reported on in the latter half of September. Regardless of whether the Nurses' Bargaining Association recommends changes or a roll-over of the present agreement, members will have an opportunity to review the contract and vote on it by the end of September.
In the meantime, we are also gearing up for negotiations with the Public Service Agency to renew the 11th Master Agreement. We are asking all affected members to start reviewing their collective agreements and send in their suggestions for how they would like to change the contract. We will be holding our Bargaining Conference in October to finalize proposals. Please get your ideas in before then. The Bargaining Committee is comprised of Lorraine Ibbitson, Aaron Crowhurst, Max Davidson and Sherry Moller. Alternates are Karen Wysiecki and Jacquie Theriault.
This year began fairly quietly on the grievance front but has really picked up in the last month and a half. We have several grievances that are going forward now. The most recent are a number of successorship grievances with Riverview Hospital and Forensic Psychiatric Hospital. Not all of the potential sites for Riverview devolution are covered under the Successorship Agreement recently concluded with the Provincial Government and Health Employers' Association of B.C. Riverview has begun transferring patients to Deltaview Habilitation Centre and we are filing grievances under MOU#15 of the 11th Master Agreement arguing that the government is under an obligation to ensure that Deltaview acknowledges the UPN as the successor union for the staff at their site.
We are also filing a similar claim against Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission with respect to the work that they are contracting out to the Coast Foundation Society for the "Cottage Program" of Transitional Housing over on the Riverview site.
We have also filed a grievance on behalf of a female member who was refused employment on a unit because the Employer has a "male only" restriction on the job. We are of the opinion that the restriction is discriminatory and is not founded on a bona fide operational requirement. As well, if a real operational requirement does exist, the employer is not applying it consistently and therefore, they should be able to accommodate our member into the job. If anything, this will require the Employer to review the presuppositions that have existed for many years and determine if they are still valid.
Douglas McLaren
Director, Operations & Member Services