Monday, December 8, 2008
Bargaining Archive
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Monday, December 8, 2008
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Bargaining Archive
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Bargaining 2007
Bargaining Team from left (clockwise) Nicole Bidwell, Marcel Shevalier, Deb Ginther, Deb Morton, The HSAS/SAHO Collective Agreement expired March 31, 2007. HSAS served notice to commence bargaining on February 1, 2007. SAHO agreed to meet with us on March 13, 14 & 15 and on March 26, 27 & 28. We looked forward to achieving a fair settlement which would address the needs of our members. LIttle progress was achieved in bargaining and as a result the following mems were sent to the Membership to update them. Memo sent to the Membership April 20, 2007 Memo sent to the Membership April 24, 2007 Bargaining Information Meetings were scheduled for May and June throughout the province. SAHO contacted HSAS and requested that we resume bargaining. It was agreed that the Employer and HSAS would meet on May 17th and 18th. They committed to respond to our monetary proposals on that date. May 22, 2007 May 25, 2007 HSAS still has significant, substantive monetary posposals on the table in order to attempt to improve Wages, Benefits, Working Conditions and Paid Leaves. June 1, 2007 Strike Vote Result June 13, 2007 HSAS informed SAHO that they would be seeking Conciliation in an attempt to reach an agreement. June 15, 2007 June 25, 2007 Under the Saskatchewan Trade Union Act, a union must provide at least 48 hours notice of strike action to an employer. The Minister of Labour must also be advised that strike notice has been served. June 28, 2007 Two weeks previous, the 12 Health Regions were asked to provide information about essential services in their regions - only 6 had responded. As the possibility of a strike became more apparent, the following frequently asked questions and answers were posted on June 28, 2007: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Q. I am approved for vacation leave. What happens if we go out on strike?A. If you are already “approved” to take vacation leave a strike would not affect you. If we are out on strike at the time of your vacation you would be paid by your Employer for the time you are on vacation leave. Q. I am a HSAS Member currently on Long Term Disability – how would a strike affect me? A. If HSAS goes out on strike you would not be affected in anyway. Your LTD would continue as if there was no strike. Q. My Manager is asking me what essential services would be provided by HSAS if we do go out on strike. What should I tell them? A. You should refer any inquiries regarding essential services to the HSAS Saskatoon office (306 955 3399). Individual members can not agree to provide essential services on their own. All decisions about essential services must be made by the Essential Services Committee. Q. I have been approved for a leave of absence (education, family maternity) how would a strike affect me? A. You would not be affected if HSAS goes out on strike. Provided you are already “approved” for a LOA referred to above you would be able to take your leave. Q. I am employed in two different positions with the Health Region. In one I am represented by HSAS in the other I am represented by another union. Can I continue working in my other position where I am not represented by HSAS if HSAS goes out on strike? A. Yes. You would be treated as any other Employee covered by a different union. You should report to the Picket Caption (if a picket line is up) and let her/him know that you are intending to go into the facility and that you undertake not to do any work normally performed by a HSAS member. Q. I live in a community other than where I work. If there is a strike can I picket where I live rather than travel to my worksite? A. Yes provided there is a picket line in your home community. You can choose any location HSAS has a picket line and still be eligible for strike pay. Q. How would a strike affect my benefits? A. Provided you are not on strike for more than thirty-one days your benefits would not be affected. After thirty-one days you would not be able to access your benefits. When the strike ends and you go back to work you would then again be entitled to the benefits you were entitle to before the strike. July 3, 2007 FOR RELEASE HSAS to Make Announcement about “Essential Services” and Job Action The Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) and the Health Regions have made allegations that patients are being transported out of the province due to the impending strike by members of the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan (HSAS). While it is true that some patients have been recently transferred or moved out of province, the reasons for this are quite different from what SAHO and the Health Regions have indicated. Even before our members voted for job action, the Health Regions in Saskatoon and Regina had been at full capacity or over capacity in their intensive care units. For these reasons, the Health Regions chose to send critically ill patients out of province. All along, members of HSAS have been on the job and giving the quality care that patients deserve. The fact is that our hospitals are understaffed and Health Regions simply have not employed sufficient healthcare staff to meet the demands. In many ways, it is for these reasons that our members feel we must act now to secure a fair and equitable collective agreement in order to retain and recruit health care professionals. The actions that have been taken by the Health Regions prove to us that they consider all of the services that our members provide to be “essential”. On the other hand, their actions to date suggest that they have chosen NOT to provide them in sufficient numbers. HSAS believes it is the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) and the Health Regions that have created a false health care crisis. Reality Check:
HSAS would like to distinguish between “essential” services, which all of our members provide every working day, and “Health Sciences Emergency Services, which will be for “life threatening” and “emergent” situations during job action. All along, HSAS has had an Emergency Services plan in place. (Two weeks prior to our strike notice we asked the 12 health regions to provide us with what essential services they provide). It was not until Friday, June 29th that the final health region supplied our office with the information that was requested. We believe that the health regions delayed doing their homework and were then quick to blame our union in return. We believe that this was done to damage public perception of our union. Following is the HSAS plan for providing Health Sciences Emergency Services. HSAS Plan for Emergency Services: The 5Ws.
Today’s Job Action:
Media Advisory released July 3, 2007 HSAS to Make Announcement about “Essential Services” and Job Action HSAS office, # 42 – 1736 Quebec Avenue Saskatoon, SK HSAS was last forced into strike action in the fall of 2002 in an extended dispute with SAHO which saw all its members on the picket line. The 2,700 health care professionals, represented by HSAS, work in hospitals, emergency services, mental health, community health services and home care. HSAS members include pharmacists, respiratory therapists, social workers, public health inspectors, physiotherapists, psychologists, paramedics and many other essential professionals. For further information contact: Chris Driol, President Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan Direct: (306) 955-3399 Cell: (306) 270-0498 Later in the day, on July 3, 2007, the following information was posted for the benefit of HSAS Members: As of 3:00 p.m. today, Premier Lorne Calvert announced that HSAS and SAHO have agreed to resume talks with the assistance of a second conciliator. The HSAS Executive Council, the Job Action Committee and the Emergency Services Committee have decided TO ACCEPT THE PREMIER’S OFFER AND NOT TO ESCALATE OUR JOB ACTION AT THIS TIME. July 4, 2008 Where are Your Health Care Professionals?There are many stories of retention and recruitment difficulties in various health regions across the province. For example, in the Prairie North Health Region, an independent study stated that the region will have a complete turnover of their staff in a four and a half year period. In other regions, HSAS members have stated that they received a large sum of money as a recruitment incentive, but that they do not plan to stay in their position once their payback time is over. In the words of one of our long term members, “There is a lot of incentive for recruitment with bonuses, moving expenses, etc. ..Where are the incentives for retention? I think that SAHO needs to realize the cost involved in training, bonuses, etc. only to have those employees move on and receive the same again in another area. As a professional in a program with hard to recruit positions, I have seen many new employees come and go with a generous starting wage and bonus, only to leave after 2 years or less, with the experienced employees to pick up the slack again without so much as a thank you. Please keep this in mind when bargaining talks resume”. The HSAS feels that this situation has gone on long enough. It is our responsibility to work hard to retain our experienced members. Retention of experienced Health Care Professionals is our focus. Higher quality care and more timely access to healthcare services will be the result.
Today’s Job Action: The members of the Executive Council, Job Action Committee and Emergency Services Committee, will continue to stay off the job today, July 4th. This includes 29 members. This constitutes 1% of total HSAS membership.
Following is the HSAS plan for providing Health Sciences Emergency Services. HSAS Plan for Emergency Services: The 5Ws.
July 5, 2007 To All HSAS Members – You Can Have a Voice! In order to help us continue to report your concerns, we welcome you to submit information pertaining to:
We will gather these anecdotes and if you are willing, we will plan to publish them on our website.
Please email us at hsasstoon@sasktel.net or fax us at the Saskatoon office (955-3396) or phone us at 955-3399. Return to Top Give us the Tools to Do our Job!Our members have also stated that in their efforts to update skills and advance knowledge in their respective disciplines, they would be providing the public with better quality care and the latest in evidence-based practice. Our members have given the HSAS negotiating committee the clear message that they expected employers to work with them in their efforts to continue to improve their knowledge and skills in the common interests of the public. While it is true that some of our members have been able to access limited monies for professional development from employers, many of our members have not been successful in doing so. HSAS believes that ongoing professional development is critical in providing quality care to our clients and that it is our employer’s responsibility to support our entire membership in their efforts to do so. In other public sector jobs, employees are usually not asked to pay for their own training and take their own time to keep their skills up to date. Why should health care professionals in Saskatchewan be expected to do so? In a recent meeting of the Prairie North Health Region, a decision was made to provide the president and CEO of the region an “annual allowance for professional development” to a maximum of $10,000.00. If they feel this is important for their administrative personnel, they should support the health care professionals who provide direct care for the public in their region to access monies for professional development. In recent news releases, the managers in many of our health regions have reported that they are unable to step in and perform the duties of many of their employees because their professional skills are not up to date. This further highlights the need for ongoing professional development for frontline health care workers. The Details: When the HSAS bargaining committee first met with SAHO, we proposed that there be a commitment from our employers for “continuing education and professional development”. We asked SAHO to consider granting members in our union three paid education days per year as well as compensation for professional development costs for an amount up to $1,000 per year. We also asked the employer to consider giving the employee the right to carry over these monies for a period of up to two years, to a maximum of six days and two thousand dollars. SAHO flatly rejected what we felt was a reasonable proposal and asked us to go back to the drawing board and slash it because they stated that they already pay for all continuing education. When we met with SAHO again, we substantially changed our request for Continuing Education and Professional Development. In our new proposal we proposed that “when continuing education is required” by the guidelines of a professional association, the employer shall pay all costs including normal salary and benefits, as well as tuition costs and registration fees and expenses incurred. Again, SAHO rejected our proposal. HSAS believes that SAHO and the health regions are giving mixed messages about the importance of professional development. If professional development is seen as important for the president and CEO of health regions, we feel it should also be deemed important for the people who provide direct patient care. THIS WILL RESULT IN MORE TIMELY ACCESS TO HIGHER QUALITY HEALTH CARE FOR THE RESIDENTS OF SASKATCHEWAN. Today’s Job Action (Thursday, July 5th): The members of the Executive Council, Job Action Committee and Emergency Services Committee, will continue to stay off the job today, July 5th. This includes 29 members. This constitutes 1% of total HSAS membership.
Following is the HSAS plan for providing Health Sciences Emergency Services. HSAS Plan for Emergency Services: The 5Ws.
July 6, 2007 Strike Frequently Asked Questions What is a strike mandate?
How does a strike start?
(To read what members had to say, click on the subject to open and close drop down menu.) The Key Issues in the round of HSAS Negotiations: 1. Workload
One of our members wrote:
“I am writing to express my concern about something that is not so great in the EMS field; i.e.; the fact that there is no maximum number of on call hours in a week or 3 week period. Employers have to ensure you are scheduled for 6 days off in a three-week rotation, and not scheduled for more than 7 days in a row. But they can put you on call 24 hours a day with no maximum number of hours per week or per 3-week period. Employers tend to abuse this and in doing so those of us that do call put in more time than some full time and part time staff” .The union should help limit the abuse of their EMS staff, and look a little further into capping the number of on call hours. 2. Wait Lists - As a result of our high vacancy rates in some professions and excessive workloads, many of the services HSAS professionals perform in other provinces are not offered to patients in Saskatchewan. Due to heavy caseloads, patients are having to wait for diagnosis and/or treatment up to a year.
One of our members wrote:
“There are 3 Physical Therapists working in our health region – 2.75 FTE. We have one full time vacancy. We also have 2FTE Occupational Therapists and a .6 maternity leave that has not been filled. There are also 3 part-time therapy assistants in our region. We have had wait list times from 2 months to 1 year for physiotherapy services in our area. Of course clients are prioritized so that people who have had injuries or surgery do not have to wait that long. There are also private sector physiotherapy services available in our region for those who can afford it. These long waiting lists are a source of stress for us therapists and also for patients who are waiting. In my opinion our workload and job satisfaction would improve by increasing staffing levels. If the region would be able to offer permanent positions for a Physical Therapist and/or Occupational Therapist and increase our therapy assistants we would be able to offer better services to our clients. I know that recruitment and retention are big issues for all of these disciplines but I wonder if increased staffing levels would address this more or as much as wage increases – at least for retention issues”. Another member wrote: “…I thought I would write you a little about what I would want this potential strike to be about. I realize I represent a small factor of therapists in the bigger picture, but you may find the following information important, as I do. Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) services in Saskatchewan are far behind most other provinces and in fact, North America. I’ve included an example of the resources and funding available in other provinces. AAC services affect people 0-99 years old and we are poorly serviced in Saskatchewan. A few years ago I ran across an article (I believe it was from the International Society of Augmentative Alternative Communication) that identified Saskatchewan as the province with the least AAC services”. 3. Incentives to Retain our Experienced Members - As reported earlier this week, retention of experienced health care professionals is on our key areas of focus. With a shortage of health care professionals across the country, the upcoming retirements and new and seasoned employees being offered large sums of money to locate elsewhere, the shortage of health care professionals in this province is reaching a crisis.
One of our members wrote:
“There is a lot of incentive for recruitment with bonuses, moving expenses, etc. …where are the incentives for retention? I think that SAHO needs to realize the cost involved in training, bonuses, etc. only to have those employees move on and receive the same again in another area. As a professional in a program with hard to recruit positions, I have seen many new employees come and go with a generous starting wage and bonus, only to leave after 2 years or less, with the experienced employees to pick up the slack again without so much as a thank you. Please keep this in mind when bargaining talks resume”. Another member wrote: “I am a former HSAS member, having participated in the last HSAS strike. I left my position for some of the reasons you are fighting to improve – constantly disrupted services due to retention problems and workloads that were too heavy to provide the quality of services that met my personal standards. I will be returning to an HSAS position with a health region in August. For that reason, I’ve been following the media and checking in on your website…” 4. Continued Education and Professional Development -
Please refer to the news brief for July 5th as to why this is an important issue for our members.
One of our members wrote:
“…working for the --HR for clinical nutrition services provides very very little CE (continued education). We are never asked to attend an out of town event or an after hours/Saturday event therefore if we request to attend a CE event on a Saturday it is on our own time, with our own vehicle, our own gas money and total expenses paid by ourselves. Our employer pays for our conference fee and that’s it. Our regulatory body requires us to obtain CE on a regular basis to stay up to date in our field as nutrition is constantly changing. I moved from –HR just over a year ago where I was fully compensated for meals, travel, hotel, and work time. Our contract states that if we are requested to attend an event then all expenses must be covered but we are never asked to but rather encouraged to send our requests for CE events so that CE events are distributed among all…” Another member wrote: “Thus far –HR has provided all Child and Youth Mental Health Social Workers with a maximum of $400.00 per year for education, which has been helpful. They have also been supportive of taking paid education leaves. However, there has been recent talk of pooling all the money and distributing it very differently. One rumor that is circulating is that we will pay professionals to come to our region and everyone will receive the same education. Another is that it will be distributed to individuals as directors deem fit. I have some concerns about the rumors. I greatly value the opportunity to receive education in various areas. As we work in a lot of rural areas with a limited number of staff we are often required to take cases, at times where we have limited expertise. Continuing education offers us a chance to get some good training in areas of best practice that we might have been previously unfamiliar with. If we are only able to access education the region imports to us, this valuable opportunity will be taken away. We also have a requirement for 40 hours of education per year to fulfill. If we do not receive assistance with this we are not eligible to re-new our registration with our association, which is a job requirement. At present, education is the only vital issue for myself and I for one would like some conclusion brought to this issue and a cessation to the various rumors that are spreading like wild fire”. In our meetings with the media, we stressed that some of our members have been successful in securing dollars for professional development, while other have not been. HSAS believes that this benefit should be available to all our members because we are a union of health care professionals. Some of our members have had positive experiences in securing PD funding: “I am responding to your request for some job status information. I appreciate your efforts to ensure high quality care and maintaining as well as retaining a workforce that shines in excellence…I just wanted to pass along that all things considered, I have nothing but wonderful things to say about my work environment, colleagues and program management…(our manager) is always searching and digging to find various forms of professional development. We are always supported to attend teleconferences and local speakers and have had the opportunity to access visiting speakers on a variety of topics. There are never enough dollars to send many therapists out of town but whatever monies are provided are distributed fairly...I know that I am very lucky to work where I do and am thankful for having such a great team. If only every manager (or employer) could give the support and flexibility with the families in mind…” Another writes: Hi there: Thank you all for your continuing efforts. I appreciate your intent to get a written commitment from management. I for one am a professional who gets strokes for ongoing professional development through our budget process. This is probably true of others PHI’s in our area. We are expected to add to our net worth over time and as I understand it our certification is owned by the CIPHI national body and can be taken away from us for various reasons, one being our inability or unwillingness to pursue ongoing educational points. This process is still under development. In the future who knows what management will commit to should money be an issue and a policy was not written in stone. This spring my supervisor asked if I would attend a one-day session in Calgary. The employer paid the registration fee and my wages. I paid for the airfare & accommodation because my employer knew I could readily cover those costs and would have done so in the course of visiting my spouse. It was a value added opportunity I could manage and it was appreciated by all. Since that date my employer has provided two other 1-day work shops within Saskatchewan where all expenses were paid for by the employer. Recently several of our professional group attended a BC national conference of PHI’s with all of our expenses covered through the employer or bursary opportunities offered from the provincial branch of the CIPHI. When I was in the north associated with MCRRHA they were always willing to aid in our ongoing educational opportunities. We have been lucky to have such good forward thinking management and decent funding. If these informal ongoing funding opportunities have to be written in stone to facilitate our needs throughout the province for all professionals in other jurisdictions then so be it. But at what cost should this be pursued? If they do not exist as part of the collective agreement in print then perhaps they should? However whether written in stone or not when the bank is empty then we are all frustrated. Those who can’t get out of the situation buckle down and suck it up! The rest of the profession move onto new opportunities either within other health regions or out of province should the bottom line and benefits make it viable. Perhaps the language in the agreement can be softened, be open ended to facilitate the needs of the day to maintain the staff professionalism and educational opportunities? The $10,000 ongoing budgetary requirement for the out of scope CEO as mentioned means that other budgetary funds suffer if these dollars are not provided for in the budget. Without these perks would the CEO leave? Retention is important! On going education is important regardless who pays! Given that many of our professional associations demand this then the buck should stop with the employer when it is written that we must remain certified”. Thanks again for all your emails. We feel it is important that our membership has a voice and is able to hear the concerns that other members are reporting. We will publish more of your stories (without your names added or the HR you work in) on Monday.
July 8, 2007 July 9, 2007
1. Workload
One person who works in the area of mental health wrote:
“Our expectations for assessments within our program has doubled to address waiting lists, and we have been told that we are "not" working harder. I really would love to write about workload issues and the decreased quality of service offered. I am too scared to identify myself or site. We have been doubling our caseload and it's been crazy. Quality of client care is affected but no one in management would admit that”. Another member wrote: “For more that 5 years this EMS has run with four 24/7 Paramedic ALS units. In that time our call volume has increased each year by ~ 2.5-3%. In addition to the four cars, we run two day support cars. One for 12 hrs and the other was for only 8 hrs but has been increased for just over a year now to 12hrs as well. Only in the last month we have been trialing another support car that runs Wed- Fri for 12hrs also. It is my understanding that EMS received over 22000 calls last year. When the work load is figured out on a per car basis, we are comparable to New York EMS which is the busiest service in all North America”. Another EMS worker writes: “ I would like to add another issue with EMS. Mandating on-call shifts is beginning to happen in the rural services. There is nothing that covers it in the union contract. I was mandated to take a on-call night shift after my paid day shift recently. I live a substantial distance away from work and all I had was the uniform I had sweated in for the past 10 hours. No change of clothes, personal hygiene products, no medications, etc. On top of it, there's no monetary compensation, only the 4.12/hr stand-by pay. I would like to see this addressed as I'm told it's going to happen more and more as things are getting worse in the rural setting for staffing. Nurses get double time for mandated shifts. I deserved the one night off out of three I get every month between my scheduled shifts and on-call. It feels like they can walk all over us whenever they feel like”. 2. Wait Lists
One member writes: “I work in mental health and I have never seen wait-lists like we have right now. As a front-line worker, I’m the one that has to tell individuals and families we can’t see them right away we will call when there is an open spot. People are angry, frustrated, and often feel hopeless when they hear about our waitlist. The government and the health region keep saying they are dealing with the wait-list issue; I don’t see it. We keep asking for more staff and the only response is “There’s no money”. 3. Incentives to retain our Experienced Members
One member writes:
“As a HSAS member working in a rural community, it’s been nice to finally see some of the many vacant positions get filled as a result of the government and health regions recruitment initiatives. It’s a lot of work training these staff as they are all new graduates and don’t have experience. It is quite disheartening to know these new graduates get $20,000 for providing a two-year commitment and they are quite upfront about admitting they will leave for greener pastures once their return-in-service is completed; they see the huge workload, lack of support, and they know there are better working conditions elsewhere”. Another member writes: “I was hoping in the process of negotiations the issue of an increased % to senior positions who are supervisors does not get lost. This issue does also connect with the retention of our more experienced, senior staff. I am an out of scope supervisor in a senior position, have responsibilities for supervision of staff, program development and evaluation and am paid the same as senior designations with much less responsibility. Hang in there with the process and you have my support”. Another member writes: “Hello – thanks for all of your hard work. I appreciate the most recent updates. As one of the senior therapists, I agree with the statement published about watching the newly hired with the bonuses leave within a year or two, with education and experience from our region, to get another bonus elsewhere. It is extremely frustrating that there is no effort into retention of the skilled and experienced staff that are settled and not looking elsewhere. It is also extremely frustrating from the employer’s standpoint as well, so it could be a win-win situation to keep your skilled and experienced staff somehow. Keep up the good work. I look forward to good news after the next couple of days”. 4. Continued Education and Professional Development
One member writes:
“In my health region, I was granted permission to attend a conference in a neighboring province. However, I was told that I would have to take 3 days off without pay, cover the cost of my travel, accommodation and meals. The HR did agree to cover the cost of registration, which was $140.00. In order for me to attend CE that is 2 or 3 day sessions, I must plan far enough in advance to ensure that I am able to cover the cost of the convention, travel, accommodation and meals, since I know that my next pay cheque will be smaller. It has been recommended that I attend CE within the HR, however in most cases the CE does not pertain to my profession. Attending education sessions in Saskatoon and Regina are usually only 2 or 3 hours of CE and I require 36 hours of CE. At this rate I would have to attend between 12 - 18 different CE sessions in a 3-year period, which is impossible since there is very little CE offered in Saskatchewan. The closest CE sessions that are the most fitting to my program are held in such locations as: Calgary, Edmonton or Winnipeg”. Another writes: “Many times "out of province" CE has been denied, meaning if a person wants to attend these sessions, they are on their own. The bottom line is...NOT all of us can afford to cover the cost to attend the appropriate CE sessions especially when there are lost wages involved”. 5. Other Issues
One member writes:
“I have a major concern with the way that our sick pay benefits are handled. I work EMS and therefore am required to work both regular hours (12 hours shifts) and on call hours (which are usually 36-48 hours inclusive). If I get injured or ill and have to take time off work, I am only covered for the regular scheduled hours. Since my oncall and call back hours are not covered I end up loosing about 35-40% of my income hence I cannot afford to get sick/injured. This dilemma seems unrealistic and unprofessional”. Another writes: “Hi there I would just like to encourage the Executive Council to continue to work hard (which I know they are doing) on the membership's behalf. For some one who went through the last strike (with many of my colleagues), I can only surmise that no one wants to go on strike. Personally, I gave you my vote to strike as a bargaining tool but hope that it will be used very wisely and cautiously. I am hopeful based on the continued talks, keep up the good work”. Another writes: ”We are just wondering if anything is being looked at for the EMS Standby Pay. As a full time EMT for a rural service we receive $2.19/hr. for standby pay when we are not on regular scheduled hours. Which is hardly enough for dedicated 24hr. coverage. However, in the same shift if you are working with a relief EMT (casual/ other then full time) they receive $4.12/hr. We are just wondering why there time would be more valuable then any other person’s time when we are doing the same work on the same day. We know the word incentive is going to be brought up but when the casual is getting a regular shift why should there standby be any different then a full time staff member”. July 10, 2007 Vacancies in wait list times in your region for services
Difficulties you have had in accessing professional development that was either...
Some of the stories you have heard about the helath regions giving signing bonuses to new recruits.
Your increased workoad when orienting new students and/or new staff.
Your frustrations with increasing workloads but no new staff.
Conciliation talks between HSAS and SAHO resumed at 1:30 p.m. in Regina. HSAS committed to no further job escalation of job action during the continuation of these talks. Twenty-nine (29) HSAS members, including the Bargaining Committee, had been off the job since July 3rd. They had been working very hard to secure a fair contract settlement for the whole membership while preparing for further job action should it have become necessary. These members reviewed Emergency Services plans with the Health Regions, ensured that communications with both the membership and the media were updated as well as assisted office staff with updating our database with the informaiton members had sent in. Email that was received over the past 24 hours. 1. Workload
This member writes:
“It has been interesting to see how your invitation to share our stories has opened a bit of a forum to express frustrations we cannot normally express openly in the workplace or which at least are not acknowledged in any way if we do. I noted that a colleague from another Health Region wrote last week about professional development funding. This reveals that there is a lot of discrepancy across the province as that person had been accessing $400 per year, whereas in our Region we have been allowed $250 per person per year for as long as I can remember. This used to allow each of us to attend one fully covered professional development event but due to increased costs, we now usually have to pay part of our expenses to attend anything outside of our Health Region. I also could relate to the other workers, especially the one who referred to doubled caseloads without any recognition of that reality. We are also experiencing significant workload pressures and most of the time I experience a day (or a week) at work as an unrelenting treadmill of back-to-back clients with no hope of completing the accompanying paperwork, or thinking about what would be helpful to the client, or looking into what resources may be available to use with them in a session. In addition to that, we are implementing a number of changes in the work process without time for transition, and all of this is compounded by the seeming lack of any acknowledgment that there are extraordinary workload expectations and associated high stress levels. I have noticed often, when at home, that I have just released a huge sigh and realized it was the result of the large buildup of tension and anxiety that goes along with constantly being overwhelmed and feeling trapped under a growing mountain of uncompleted work with no relief in sight. This "forum" has also spurred me to communicate appreciation to HSAS, which I have intended to do for some time. Since one of the major concerns right now is retention, I want you to know that I am definitely an example of success in this area. I had made a very definite decision some time ago to retire this year. I have reconsidered and postponed that plan as a direct result of the significant increase in salary that resulted largely from our previous strike of 2002, (in addition to the significant gains that are occurring in my pension plan). Except for the effort of HSAS to insist that we should be recognized monetarily for our professional qualifications, I would definitely have been enjoying my first month of retirement right now! I am proud to be a member of our "spunky little union" that will not back down and accept anything less than what is fair for its members!” 2. Wait Lists
No stories for today.
3. Incentives to Retain our Experienced Members
One HSAS member wrote:
“I have been reading comments on the HSAS site and was surprised to learn that some members have received hiring bonuses (for example $10,000.00) from their employers. If these individuals leave after a short period of time how effective a recruitment strategy is this I wonder? Large bonuses may encourage recruitment but does not speak to retention. Can we afford bonuses on a two-year turn around? Perhaps looking at longer-term strategies and overall job satisfaction would help with retention issues. Give me a $10,000.00 bonus and I will agree to stay longer than 2 years!” Another writes: “As a long time health care worker in HSAS I am amazed as to how SAHO and the health regions recognize our contribution as being “essential” when job action is threatened but after a contract is reached, they behave quite differently. We have worked very hard to have necessary items included in our agreement such as: extra pay for “senior” positions, recognition of prior experience, family responsibility leave, and meal expenses, however SAHO and the health regions seem to try and find every way possible to avoid paying these items out. Rather than try to find creative ways so employees can be recognized for “senior” designation, prior experience, etc., the emphasis by the employer has been to do everything possible so employees are exempted from these entitlements”. Another member writes: “I agree with other members that the issue of retention bonuses vs. recruitment bonuses is a huge problem. While it is important to recruit new employees to health care positions in our province, it is also essential to have a bonus structure in place that ensures experienced professionals have some incentive to stay. I also want to mention that such retention bonuses should not be given solely to professionals with "senior" status, but rather should perhaps be based on years of service. As a Speech-Language Pathologist, our profession is hugely under-represented in terms of the senior status designation. We have SLPs within our health region who have been working 15+ years, supervising students, creating programs, etc. who still have not been given senior status. It seems that the longer one works in health care in this province, the more jaded and frustrated one becomes”. Late yesterday, one of our new members wanted to share her perspectives on recruitment strategies. After reading her email, we reassured her that we appreciate our new members, as well as our “seasoned ones”. Our union is strong because of all of the entire membership. Thanks to this dedicated professional for her thoughts. “I'm sure this isn't the type of email you're looking for right now, but as a new recruit to health care in Saskatchewan (just started a few months ago), I feel the need to write in after reading the messages from other members. I want to start by saying that I wholeheartedly support the union's position on acknowledging the experience of longstanding employees, however I wish there was a way to do this without maligning new recruits, and the incentives they've received. While providing monetary compensation to existing employees is one way to help with retention, another way would be to make new employees feel welcome, rather than complaining about the time and effort it takes to train them, and making them feel guilty for the bonuses they've received. In fact, most of this training should be done by senior staff, who are already receiving a percentage above their base pay, because providing supervision and training is part of their job. In my own situation, I bring 8 years of clinical experience with me. Due to vacation and medical leave, the senior therapist has been in the office for 13 working days in the three months that I've been here. With an extremely limited orientation, I have taken over her caseload, the supervision of our assistant, projects related to the restructuring of our program, the interviewing of new applicants for a third vacant position, as well as starting to build a new caseload of my own. Believe me, I have earned my signing bonus! As for the bonus I did receive - my husband and I have used it as a down payment on a house, as this is where we want to settle and raise our family. While I'm sure there are many new recruits that are new grads who are still exploring their options, maybe a warmer work environment would help to entice them to stay. However, there are lots of experienced people out there, too - I was an experienced new recruit, as was the other applicant at the time of my hire, as were the two applicants that we have interviewed since I started. We are all working in difficult conditions, and newcomers feel the impact of being short staffed just as much as existing employees. Please be considerate of everyone's feelings and contributions. Alienating new members does not strengthen our workforce”. Another one of our “very new members” shares her thoughts about recruitment incentives: “First wanted to thank you for printing the stories from members. As a very new member to the union, when people asked me why we were striking I would reply, "I have no idea and I don't want to walk out." I would check the website daily and still be no further out of the dark. It wasn't until the recent stories were published that I can finally say, “I know why we are striking and would be happy to walk out of my job for this cause”, thank you. I would like to make a note as well on recruitment and retention incentives. As I mentioned I am a new employee and got a rather large signing bonus when I accepted my rural position. However, even with this signing bonus, I am making less annual income than I would solely from wage in Alberta (I would get close to $5/hr more in Alberta). I took this position for the experience and I love my job but I am sorry to say that once the signing bonus has run out it would be a hard sell not to move one province over and make a significant amount more for doing the same job. I think recruitment incentives are great but if you want to keep me, pay me a competitive wage. That's really all there is to it”. 4. Continued Education and Professional Development
One of our members writes: “As a HSAS health professional, I want to provide the best possible care, which means I must constantly update my skills. The fact that I work in a rural area also means I need to have expertise in a lot of areas. We are at the mercy of our health region who determines what, if any professional development we will receive. On most occasions, I end up paying for my own continuing education, travel, and I use vacation time if time off from work is needed. I do this for my clients; it’s too bad the health region wouldn’t contribute at least something”. 5. Other Issues
One of our union members writes:
“Thanks for all your hard work on our behalf. I am also concerned about HSAS members not being replaced by members within our union. This occurs in Mental Health at ---. Management has appointed a float position to do relief for certain staff. Other HSAS casual staff was not approached to apply for this new job. It was an “appointed position of float.” It was given to a member of another union”. July 11, 2007 HSAS Executive Council announces that a tentative agreement was Email from previous afternoon
Tentative Memorandum of Settlement (MOS)
Monetary provisions:
April 1, 2007 General Wage Increase of 4% for all members. April 1, 2007 Incumbents currently at Step 1, will be advanced to Step 2. Step 1 will be eliminated and the remaining steps will be renumbered (creating a new 5 step scale). October 1, 2007 A 2.5% retention adjustment will be added to the new Step 5 wage rate. April 1, 2008 General Wage Increase of 4% for all members. Other items: Eligibility for retro-activity to those on staff July 10, 2007. New provisions come into effect date of signing of collective agreement. (other than noted above)
July 17, 2007 To view the Tentative Changes to the Collective Agreement, click here.
HSAS members voted 98% to accept the Tentative Colective Agreement reached with SAHO on July 10, 2007. |
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