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Return to Bargaining Update
HSAS members have voted 98% to accept the Tentative Collective Agreement reached with SAHO on July 10, 2007.
Many thanks to the Membership from your Negotiating Committee for your strike vote which made this agreement possible.
Congratulations on your new Collective Agreement!
Updates:
Ratification Meetings
Ratification Meetings will be held throughout the province during the month of August. Please plan to attend one in your area.
Click Here for the Meeting Schedule
Click Here for Memo to Membership Regarding Ratification Process
Click Here to read about Tentative Changes to the Collective Agreement
Update: July 17 2007
Note to All HSAS Members
The General Wage Increases of 4% April 1, 2007 and 4% April 1, 2008 will be applied to the educational base rate of pay with that specific dollar amount added to the Market Supplement wage rate. The same application formula will apply to the October 1, 2007 2.5% retention adjustment. This is the same application formula that was proposed by the Employer in the last round of Provincial Negotiations and agreed to by HSAS.
PhD Psychologists and Respiratory Therapists who have been approved for a Market Supplement
HSAS will be pushing forward on your behalf to negotiate the amount of your Market Supplement and while the new contract may be factored into any final decision, HSAS will be making every effort to ensure that the Market Supplement you receive will address your profession’s needs. Call Kevin Glass, an LRO in Saskatoon or Chris Driol, President, if you have any questions.
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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)
- $1000 signing bonus for all members, pro-rated for casual and part-time employees
- Increase in sick leave accrual from 15days a year to 18 days a year (new accrual rate of 1.5days per month)
- Increase to LTD joint funding (reduction of employee’s share) (54 – 46% split).
- Guarantee of current Extended Health and Dental benefit levels to March 31, 2010
- Increased funding to allow for Pension parity for PEPP members
- Significant improvements to Northern Allowance provisions
Your Negotiating Committee, Executive Council and staff wish to thank the membership for your support during this difficult time for all of us.
Further details will be forthcoming soon as we forward the Tentative Agreement to the membership for your review and ratification.
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Good Morning HSAS members!
We have a tentative agreement,
the details of which are outlined below. Your bargaining committee was at work until very late last night and the rest of us stayed in the Saskatoon office until midnight to give them our encouragement and then to make a motion to accept the tentative agreement on behalf of the membership. All day yesterday HSAS members continued to send us our thoughts about the issues you felt are important to you and we wanted to have a chance to print them today. Let us know your thoughts as well, now that job action is complete, and we have a settlement. Today, we are going to post your thoughts in random order.
These emails came in yesterday afternoon.
“Hello!
I want to send my encouragement to the bargaining team and all those who are off on strike. Thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication to making health care in Saskatchewan better. I deeply appreciate those who are off the job at present. The commitment and dedication of HSAS elected members is impressive”.
“Dear Negotiating Team:
Just a little note to commend all of you on your continuing professionalism during your 'negotiations' with SAHO…Considering the tremendous scope of your (our) struggle to attain what is right and deserved and necessary, Chris Driol (et al) continues to show himself as an honorable, well-spoken, articulate, polite yet persistently adamant negotiator on our behalf. Congratulations on a job being more than well-done; exquisitely well done!”
“I find this conversations about education funding interesting. In my former position, I was repeatedly told that I had $200 for education (and I could use this money for hotel and travel or for the conference fee) so I was very excited when I accepted a position where I receive $400 for education. The part of the story that gets strange is that my former manager asked how much I was getting for education funding and proceeded to tell me that she had always budgeted $1000. I guess what I'm saying is that since many of the members of our union no longer have control over our budgets, it is often difficult to really know what the bottom line is”.
“I also work in Mental Health and my workload has increased tremendously. We are expected to implement a number of significant changes without any transition time or training. We are also expected to use the new process with the same level of speed and efficiency as the old process. We are constantly told we are not working harder and our numbers don' show any increase in caseloads or complexity of cases. My job is being consumed by clerical functions. You can imagine what this does to staff morale and the quality of client care”.
“I also wanted to add that I have been reading about the frustrations of signing bonuses for new employees and the retention concerns of more senior employees. I think both recruitment and retention are issues that need to be addressed in this contract, as we need both new people and more senior people in our workplaces. I think it is very important that we band together to achieve a contract rather than arguing with ourselves. It greatly saddens me though when I read that new employees can hardly wait to leave. It tells me that our workplaces have become so empty and devoid of any possibility of fulfillment that even money can't get them to stay”.
“I am employed as an assessor coordinator. We are currently finding it very difficult to recruit new staff. This is due in part to having to compete for the same professional who are taking positions under other collective agreements, which pay better. This is resulting in shifts going unfilled and having no one available for holiday relief, putting our clients and professionals at risk”.
“I have been reading the emails posted for today and I want to add my voice to the others saying, “Thank you” for giving us a voice. And thanks for earning the designation “spunky little union”!! It sounds to me like the variance on funding available for professional development is huge. We are allowed $1000.00 per year which covers one session in Saskatoon but that’s it. My biggest concern is that when we get back, there is no forum for sharing what we have learned, no interest from management and so the value of the training is lost. I had the opportunity to attend training with one of the leading experts in addictions and no opportunity to share it with my colleagues at a staff meeting, even though I asked. Why have competent, well-trained staff and not utilize their skills and abilities? I have been reviewing the Core Competencies for Canada’s Substance Abuse Professionals draft report that has just come out form the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. Doesn’t that sound like a topic of interest for an entire addictions department? Wouldn’t it be interesting to bring together addictions staff in the health region together to discuss this report and make recommendations? A professional response to a document that is going to shape the profession. Or just forward to all staff with FYI as the subject? I don’t think I am alone in wondering how valued my role is as a health care professional, not only by other professionals in the region, but also by the management of my department. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to vent – makes me feel valued to know someone is listening”.
“I have a great job, work in a great facility and have great opportunities afforded me by management. I also have great responsibilities and an ever increasingly complex job. Here's an example of one small part of my job. Last year my colleagues and I were responsible for training 20 new recruits. We’ve managed to keep less than a third and have lost many of our more experienced staff. Thus our retention problem is not only with new staff but also with senior staff. For this reason I believe in both signing and retention bonuses. With fewer and fewer senior staff the mentoring of new staff falls on numerous staff members who are not on step six. By the time these employees reach step six their retention increment will be well earned. It will take many years for a 4% retention increment to equal a ten thousand dollar signing bonus however I do not begrudge any new employee their bonus…I just wish they would stick around for longer. My profession currently has no signing bonus. I greatly appreciate the work our association is doing in promoting health science professions and look forward to the financial enumeration, benefits and pension such professions should bring”.
“I have been a HSAS member for a few years now and I have seen our workloads increase dramatically over the past 5 years. I am an Assessor coordinator and also a RN. At one point myself and my colleagues have had to cover two areas due to lack of staff who are on extended sick leave or people resigning. With two areas it is extremely hard to do good discharge planning and also to give the client's and their families the support they need, especially the Palliative client or the client going to LTC. We have been supervising the HHAs but now the focus has come to be the supervisor of office staff and also the Home Care nurses. Due to the big areas we cover we also incur a great deal of travel time. We also have to do all the orientation and sometimes I feel this is rushed and not always very well done. The new person is thrown in feet first and I have been told they feel like they are drowning. And before you know it they can't handle the pressure, they resign or go on extended sick time. It is also expected that we all sit on different committees and do this and give good care to all the clients in the huge areas we cover.
As to retention I have no plans to move on and it would be nice to have someone recognize the fact that I am here to stay and to have some retention bonus in place. Paying the huge recruitment money has been lost many times for they leave as soon as their contract is done. What about the loyalty of the ones who stay and pick up their workload and re-orientate the next one who is already got the huge bonus. Just some positive recognition for all the hard work!!!”
“We have to stay strong and try our best to get the message out that this is not just about money it is about the mental health of all our health care professionals in the province. Thanks for taking on this huge battle !!!!!”
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Update for July 11, 2007
Your HSAS Executive Council is pleased to report that a tentative agreement between HSAS and SAHO was reached late last night.
Further information regarding agreement will be posted on the web later today.
Member updates for Tuesday, July 10th.
All of these emails came in over the past 24 hours. We have taken the liberty of editing them for the sole purposes of protecting the identity of our members. It is great to read these stories and share them with our membership.
A special thanks to the first HSAS member who refers to us as a “spunky little union”.
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. Waitlists
No stories 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”.
That’s it for our members’ emails as of noon today. We’ll publish the next batch tomorrow.
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Update for Tuesday, July 10th, 2007
Conciliation talks between HSAS and SAHO resume today
at 1:30 p.m. in Regina.
HSAS has committed to no further job escalation of job action
during the continuation of these talks.
As all of you are aware, 28 members of HSAS have been off the job since July 3rd. Some of these members are on your Bargaining Committee and are working very hard (sometimes into the wee hours of the morning) to secure a fair contract settlement for the whole membership. The rest of us are working hard to ensure that your union is well prepared in the event that further job action is warranted. We continue to regularly review our Emergency Services plans with the Health Regions, ensure that the communications for membership and the media are updated as well as assisting office staff with updating our data base with the information members have sent in.
We have had an overwhelming response to our solicitation for member stories. The emails you have sent over the last 24 hours will appear on the webpage early this afternoon. You still have some time to get your stories in if you’d like them to appear later today on the web. Thanks for all your support.
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Member updates for Monday, July 9th
These emails came in over the weekend. We have taken the liberty of editing them to protect the identity of our members. They will be grouped under the same headings as on Friday, July 6th.
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. Waitlists
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”.
In response to the posting on the HSAS website these are some of the concerns from one group of Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy staff
Variances in wait list times in your region for services
- Currently our outpatient waiting list in moose jaw is on average: 8 weeks
- Rural communities on average: 6 weeks to 5 months depending on the nature of the referral.
Difficulties you have had in accessing professional development that was either......
- Not sure how this statement was meant to end but money for professional development is always an issue....on average we have been getting $350 per year per employee. If there are staff members on maternity leaves/other LOA’s, this money is not carried over to the following year. There are several employees who have not taken continuing education for 3 + years. Our courses are commonly at least $600 - $1500.
Some of the stories you have heard about the health regions giving signing bonuses to new recruits.
- Some of us were given signing bonuses but some were not. We are currently aware of the recruitment bonuses for rural areas and we have a staff member who received the $10000.00. Some of us received $2500 about 4 years ago. More recently, this has not been done. We are frustrated with the large recruitment incentives especially when those who come have little to no intent of staying.
Your increased workload when orienting new students and/or new staff.
- Huge...students are a large increased workload. For example, OT currently has 2 students, and they are commonly here for 8 weeks at a time. We get a lot of students every year, OT, PT, OTA and PTA – probably at least 8 students per year. In some cases our staff has just been given students without being ready to take them.
Your frustrations with increasing workloads but no new staff.
- Frustrated with the market supplement review where they only considered our vacancies as of Feb 01. We are currently 2 full time staff members short (maternity leaves that were not filled) and as of July 9 we will be 3 short. OT does not get any supplement at all and PT only gets 50 cents.
- Frustrated when patients/clients call and get angry at us over the phone with waiting times for OT/PT services. We are dealing with this on a daily basis and get blamed for making clients wait.
“Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to express our concerns and giving us a VOICE”.
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Update for Monday, July 9th, 2007
Conciliation talks between HSAS and SAHO have been recessed until
Tuesday, July 10th in Regina.
HSAS has committed to no further escalation in Job Action pending the resumption of conciliation talks.
However, we will be open to receiving and answering questions that HSAS members may have
today at the HSAS Saskatoon office.
Thank you for your attention. We will continue to print your stories. They are coming in large numbers. We will respect your privacy and print them without any identifying information.
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Update as of 2:30 pm Sunday, July 8, 2007
* * * * * * * *
Talks Continue
* * * * * * * *
Both HSAS and SAHO continue to meet today with the assistance of the conciliators.
We will update you as things progress.
Feel free to continue to send in your stories. We will attempt to pubish them in the days to come.
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The Key Issues in this Round of HSAS Negotiations:
We are Definitely Talking About More than Just Wages
These are the emails we have received from our members
As of 2:15 p.m., Friday, July 6th, 2007
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) Waitlists 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.
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Update for July 6, 2007
Many of the HSAS membership have responded to the webpage request for your voice! Other HSAS members have requested information regarding the key points that have resulted in the limited strike action taken by committee. In one member’s words, “I would support the cause if I knew exactly what the cause was”.
Answers to general questions about strike are posted below. We would like to acknowledge that some of the information we are using was provided to SGEU members in an SGEU Communications Document during their last strike action.
We would also encourage members to read the updates later today to obtain more information about the key bargaining issues that your negotiating committee is taking forward during this round of talks, which resumed today, Friday, July 6th. We have started to publish some of your anecdotes that were solicited yesterday. Thanks for your stories and feel free to continue to send them in.
Strike Frequently Asked Questions
What is a strike mandate?
A strike mandate is a formal decision by the membership, which provides the Negotiating Committee with the authority to take job action as per the Trade Union Act. A strike mandate does not mean that the membership will walk the picket line necessarily, bur rather that the Negotiating Committee may legally authorize a variety of job actions. This is an important step in the negotiating process s it demonstrates to management that the membership is united and stands behind their proposals and their committee.
HSAS members gave its negotiating committee a strike mandate on June 5th, 2007.
What is Job Action?
Job action is defined under the Trade Union Act and refers to a collective attempt by employees to restrict or limit output or the delivery of services. This could include “super” customer service, a work slow down, work-to-rule, a van on overtime and travel, conducting study sessions, rotating strikes or a general walk-out to name a few.
At this time, our Job Action has involved pulling out 28 HSAS members. This includes members of the Executive Council, Job Action Committee and the Emergency Services Committee. HSAS has guaranteed that we will not escalate our job action until the two sides have had time to meet on July 6th and 7th, or as long as we see some progress in securing a deal.
If we vote for a strike mandate, when do we strike?
A strike mandate does not mean that the membership will immediately start any form of job action. If the membership votes for a strike mandate, the Negotiating Committee will continue negotiations in an attempt to reach a collective agreement. The added pressure of the strike mandate conveys a strong message to the employer that the membership’s proposals are to be taken seriously. Should negotiations fail to progress in an appropriate manner, various forms of job action remain an option.
What is the Bargaining or the Negotiating Committee?
The HSAS negotiating committee is composed primarily of members of your executive council. The Executive Council selects a chairperson of the Negotiating Committee, who in turn, selects its members, the majority of whom must be active members of the Association. The Negotiating Committee in HSAS shall:
1) Be responsible for negotiating the Provincial Collective Agreement with employers or organizations of employers;
2) Communicate with members of each of the professional, occupational and “composite” groups to formulate the outline of a Collective Agreement satisfactory to each of the groups; and
3) Report regularly during negotiation to Executive Council for directions and make recommendations to only the Executive Council with regard to the terms and conditions of the Provincial Collective Agreement between the Association and any employer or organization of employees.
How does a strike start?
The Trade Union Act requires that the union provide written notice to the employer of their intent to start any job action. This notice must be served a minimum of 48 hours prior to any form of job action. This notice must be served by the President of HSAS.
In accordance with the Trade Union Act, The HSAS President, Chris Driol, served the 12 Health Regions in Saskatchewan notice of Job Action effective Tuesday, July 3rd at 8:00 a.m. 28 members of HSAS from 6 health regions have been off the job since that announcement was made.
At 3:00 p.m. July 3rd, Premier Lorne Calvert announced that HSAS and SAHO agreed to resume conciliation talks with the assistance of a second conciliator on July 6th and 7th. HSAS agreed to the Premier’s offer and guaranteed that there would be no escalation of job action while talks were underway.
Will I get paid when I am on strike?
In the event of either a rotating strike or a general walk-out, members will receive strike pay from the HSAS Strike Fund. The amount of strike pay will be determined by the Job Action Committee and members will be informed of this amount when you are phoned to be pulled for strike duty.
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Update for July 5, 2007
Give us the Tools to Do our Job!
The Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan (HSAS) is a union of health care professionals. When members were first approached as to what items were important for this collective agreement, many of them stated that they considered “Continued Education and Professional Development” vital to their occupation and a key component in retaining seasoned employees and improving job satisfaction. Members have requested that the HSAS negotiating committee include this benefit to our collective agreement. Furthermore, as is the case with other health care providers, such as doctors and nurses, our members have stressed that ongoing professional development is necessary, and in fact is mandated, in order to maintain licensure or registration with their licensing bodies and/or professional associations.
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.
HSAS feels that a commitment from SAHO and the Health Regions
for professional development should be part of our benefits package.
Adding this to our collective agreement is part of a good retention strategy.
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 28 members.
This constitutes 1% of total HSAS membership.
| Professions | Health Regions Affected |
| Dietitian (1) | Saskatoon |
| Addictions Counsellors (2) | Five Hills |
| Speech and Language Pathologists (3) | Regina Qu’Appelle |
| Respiratory Therapists (5) | Prince Albert Parkland |
| Psychologists (2) | Prairie North |
| Assessor /Coordinators (2) | Heartland Health |
| Social Workers (3) |
| Physical Therapists (3) |
| Occupational Therapist (1) |
| Pharmacists (2) |
| Emergency Medical Technicians (2) |
| Health Educator (1) |
| Mental Health Therapist (1) |
Following is the HSAS plan for providing Health Sciences Emergency Services.
HSAS Plan for Emergency Services: The 5Ws.
| WHO: | | | | Our dedicated and ethical healthcare providers in various disciplines will be providing emergency services. |
| WHAT: | | | | Those services which will be for life threatening and emergent situations. |
| WHERE: | | | | In all of our hospitals and affiliated clinics. |
| WHEN: | | | | 24/7
|
| WHY: | | | | Because HSAS is a union of healthcare professionals and we are committed to safeguard the public. |
| HOW: | | | | Our Health Sciences Emergency Services Personnel will be onsite and accessible to the region. Some of our members will be on call 24/7. |
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To All HSAS Members – You Can Have a Voice!
Your Executive Council acknowledges that this is a difficult time for all members. We encourage you to continue to access Website updates on a daily basis to get the news releases for the day. These updates will help you answer questions in your own region as well as give you some reassurance that the issues you identified are being addressed in our talks.
In order to help us continue to report your concerns, we welcome you to submit information pertaining to:
- Variances in wait list times in your region for services
- Difficulties you have had in accessing professional development that was either mandated or that you felt was important in improving the quality of care you provide.
- Some of the stories you have heard about the health regions giving signing bonuses to new recruits.
- Your increased workload when orienting new students and/or new staff.
- What is great and not so great about your job and work environment.
- Your frustrations with increasing workloads but no new staff.
- Please let us know about any unusual occurrences within your health region during the last week, such as your employer taking away your office keys, limiting your access to work resources, rescheduling your shifts, reducing or closing services, etc.
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.
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Update - July 4, 2007
Where are Your Health Care Professionals?
There is a shortage of health care professionals across the country. The situation is expected to get worse, with upcoming retirements and fewer people electing to enroll in university health care training programs. In addition, there is growing evidence that health care professionals, both new graduates and seasoned professionals are leaving Saskatchewan and moving to other provinces. By all accounts, we have not remained competitive. HSAS feels that health care in this province is reaching a crisis. This is the main reason that we are taking job action. We need to secure a fair and equitable agreement so that we can retain our experienced health care employees and continue to recruit new health care professionals in this province. This will be a win-win situation for the general public and the union that represents these 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.
OUR FAIR SHARE WILL RESULT IN IMPROVED PATIENT CARE.
Retention of experienced Health Care Professionals is our focus.
Higher quality care and more timely access to healthcare services
will be the result.
Following is a list of the reported vacancy rates for our health care professionals. Only the professions that have come under review from the Market Supplement Committee are reported:
Profession | % Vacancy Rate
Full-Time | %Vacancy Rate
Part-Time |
| Ph.D. Psychologist | 22 % | 28.5 % |
| Respiratory Therapist | 11.8 % | 0 % |
| Dental Therapist | 14.2 % | 0 % |
| Occupational Therapist | 6.1 % | 8. 6 % |
| Orthotist | 66 % | 0 % |
| Infection Control Practitioner | 9 % | 25 % |
| Physical Therapist | 5.2 % | 6.7 % |
| Pharmacist | 10.5 % | 5.2 % |
| Paramedic | 8.5 % | 0 % |
| Public Health Inspector | 16.4 % | 50 % |
| Speech and Language Pathologist | 6. 8 % | 14.2 % |
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 28 members.
This constitutes 1% of total HSAS membership.
| Professions | Health Regions Affected |
| Dietitian (1) | Saskatoon |
| Addictions Counsellors (2) | Five Hills |
| Speech and Language Pathologists (3) | Regina Qu’Appelle |
| Respiratory Therapists (5) | Prince Albert Parkland |
| Psychologists (2) | Prairie North |
| Assessor /Coordinators (2) | Heartland Health |
| Social Workers (3) |
| Physical Therapists (3) |
| Occupational Therapist (1) |
| Pharmacists (2) |
| Emergency Medical Technicians (2) |
| Health Educator (1) |
| Mental Health Therapist (1) |
Following is the HSAS plan for providing Health Sciences Emergency Services.
HSAS Plan for Emergency Services: The 5Ws.
| WHO: | | | | Our dedicated and ethical healthcare providers in various disciplines will be providing emergency services. |
| WHAT: | | | | Those services which will be for life threatening and emergent situations. |
| WHERE: | | | | In all of our hospitals and affiliated clinics. |
| WHEN: | | | | 24/7
|
| WHY: | | | | Because HSAS is a union of healthcare professionals and we are committed to safeguard the public. |
| HOW: | | | | Our Health Sciences Emergency Services Personnel will be onsite and accessible to the region. Some of our members will be on call 24/7. |
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MEDIA RELEASE FOR JULY 3, 2007
Update for HSAS Members - July 3/07
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.
All of our members, except for those who were pulled out today, are instructed to report for work tomorrow as normal. We will keep you up to date if there are any changes to this plan.
In solidarity,
Your HSAS Executive Council
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MEDIA ADVISORY
HSAS to Make Announcement about
“Essential Services” and Job Action
The Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan (HSAS), which represents 2,700 health care professionals employed by health regions across Saskatchewan, begins strike action today, Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007.
Chris Driol, HSAS President, will hold a news conference to release information regarding the union’s plan for job action and essential services. The news conference will be held:
11:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007
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
FOR RELEASE
11:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007
HSAS to Make Announcement about
“Essential Services” and Job Action
Definition of Essential Services: Services that are “vital, imperative, necessary, of utmost importance, indispensable”. HSAS believes that all of our members provide “essential services”.
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:
- There have been cancellations of elective surgeries without any job action by our members.
- There was also a shut down of Addictions Treatment Facilities in the last week. All of this is due to long wait times, high vacancy rates and large workloads. Our members are overworked and facilities are understaffed.
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.
| WHO: | | | | Our dedicated and ethical healthcare providers in various disciplines will be providing emergency services. |
| WHAT: | | | | Those services which will be for life threatening and emergent situations. |
| WHERE: | | | | In all of our hospitals and affiliated clinics. |
| WHEN: | | | | 24/7
|
| WHY: | | | | Because HSAS is a union of healthcare professionals and we are committed to safeguard the public. |
| HOW: | | | | Our Health Sciences Emergency Services Personnel will be onsite and accessible to the region. Some of our members will be on call 24/7. |
Today’s Job Action:
| Professions | Health Regions Affected |
| Dietitian | Saskatoon |
| Addictions Counsellors | Five Hills |
| Speech and Language Pathologists | Regina Qu’appelle |
| Respiratory Therapists | Prince Albert |
| Psychologists | Prairie North Parkland |
| Assessor Coordinators | Heartland Health |
| Social Workers |
| Physiotherapists |
| Occupational Therapist |
| Pharmacists |
| Emergency Medical Technicians |
| Health Educator |
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS ONLY
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MEDIA RELEASE FOR JUNE 29, 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.
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June 28th Update
The Health Sciences Association is concerned about the information that has been published in the papers and shared with the media over the past 24 hours. The public can be reassured that we have, in the past two months, negotiated in good faith to reach a collective agreement and will continue to do so as we continue to bargain during these two days of meetings with SAHO and the appointed conciliator. As a union of health care professionals our priority is, and has always been, the safety and quality of care that we provide patients. It is for these reasons that we feel we need to act now to settle our contract dispute with SAHO.
Over two weeks ago HSAS asked the 12 Health Regions to provide us with information about essential services in their regions. As of 5:00 pm on Tuesday, June 26, 2007, only 6 regions had provided us with that information. The public can be reassured that once we have the information we requested, we will put measures in place. HSAS has an Essential Services Committee which has been meeting for some time. In the event of strike action, the union will make sure essential services will be provided and the public will be safe.
HSAS provided essential services to the public in a responsible fashion during the strike of 2002. We want to reassure the public that we will provide the employers in all 12 Health Regions with the appropriate contact information to continue to provide essential services in the event of strike action over the next 48 hours.
We thank the public for your support during this time. We would like to add that
we believe “Our Fair Share” will result in “Improved Patient Care”.
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June 25th Update
Starting at 10:00 am this Monday, June 25, 2007, HSAS began transmitting STRIKE NOTICES to the 12 Regional Health Authorities that employ HSAS members and SAHO, the Employer’s bargaining representative.
HSAS indicated that strike action could occur as of 1300 hours (1:00 p.m.) Thursday, June 28, 2007 or any time thereafter, and in any form and at any location the Union chooses.
Notices of Strike have been given to the Employers even though negotiations with the assistance of a Dept of Labour Conciliator will take place June 27 & 28 in Saskatoon. In the opinion of the Union, serving the notices was necessary to make the Employers/SAHO and the Government aware of the Union and member’s determination (75% voted in favor of Job Action) to get an acceptable settlement.
Under the Sask. 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.
HSAS members who will be expected to take job action will be advised of such by their local “Job Action Coordinator” who will receive the notice of job action from the HSAS Provincial Job Action Committee (JAC) based in Saskatoon.
If job action is taken, the Essential Services Committee (ESC) will provide direction with respect to the provision of essential services at specific locations.
HSAS has advised Employers that notices of specific job action by HSAS members will be transmitted to them prior the action commencing indicating: the classifications of HSAS members who will be withdrawing services, locations of such, the time of the withdrawal of services, etc.
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June 15th Update
The Department of Labour has acknowledged receipt of our request for conciliation services to meet with SAHO on June 27 & 28, 2007. We are hopeful that these dates will be confirmed and we will update our website once this occurs.
At this time, HSAS has issued no notice of job action.
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June 13th Update
On Wednesday, June 13, SAHO informed Health Sciences that they were not prepared to respond to our offer of June 12. The parties had been meeting June 11-13 during which HSAS tendered 2 proposals attempting to resolve outstanding matters.
To date, SAHO has made no adequate response to our request for Benefit Funding and retention
initiatives proposed by Health Sciences. Length of Agreement and wages are also still contentious issues between the parties.
Health Sciences informed SAHO that we will be seeking Conciliation in an attempt to reach an agreement.
Stay tuned to this website for further updates.
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Strike Vote Result
HSAS members have voted overwhelmingly YES in favour of a strike mandate. Your
Negotiating Committee will return to
the table this week to bargain hard on your behalf. Meetings are scheduled for June 11 to 14th.
Stay tuned to this website for further updates.
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June 1, 2007
Our negotiating Committee
wishes to thank the hundreds of members from across the province who came out to a meeting over the last month.
For those of you who have not yet voted “YES” to support your Negotiating Committee in securing the best possible Collective Agreement, we wish to update you on several recent developments.
Please refer to the SAHO website to view details of the Tentative Agreement reached at the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency between SGEU and SAHO. This settlement includes a better wage increase than was conditionally offered by SAHO to HSAS, plus a $1,000.00 signing bonus, pension increases, benefit guarantees and other monetary items.
We also wish to inform you that SAHO has hired our lead negotiator to work for them. He has been replaced on our Negotiating Committee by our Executive Director, Tim Slattery. This has resulted in us having to refocus our
bargaining strategy as well as causing difficulty in scheduling meetings with SAHO. Now, more than ever, we need
your support to ensure that we can bargain hard and negotiate a new Collective Agreement that addresses all our needs.
HSAS has agreed to meet with SAHO June 11th – 14th; SAHO has refused to meet with us until the afternoon of June 11th
despite our offer to meet in the morning. We will keep you informed of new developments at those meetings.
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May 25, 2007
We
encourage our members to view the SAHO website to see the Conditional Offer made by SAHO to your Negotiating Committee on May 17th. Please also refer to the memo that was mailed to member's
on May 22, 2007. Please keep in mind that as per the first page of this document, it is a Conditional Offer and SAHO “reserves the right to revert to its last official position on each
Article”. This means that SAHO could revert to positions outlined in our memo of May 17, 2007
or force us to accept this completely unacceptable offer.
HSAS still has significant, substantive monetary proposals on the table in order to attempt to improve Wages, Benefits, Working Conditions and Paid Leaves. We will keep these items on the table until SAHO makes a decision as to where they want to offer improvements to our Collective Agreement. You deserve a better deal.
Support your Negotiating Committee in getting the best new Collective Agreement possible.
VOTE YES
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May 22, 2007
Your Provincial Negotiating Committee met with SAHO on May 17th & 18th. Details of the
limited progress made at these sessions and the remaining challenges facing
us will be
enclosed in a memo which has been mailed to all members.
Come to a meeting. Support your Negotiating Committee.
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Revised Schedule for Bargaining Information Meetings for Members in May
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Attention: All Saskatoon Health Region HSAS Members:
New Strike Mandate Information Meeting
Thursday, May 24th at 7:00 PM
East Lecture Theatre
Royal University Hospital
All HSAS Members:
SAHO has approached
us to request that we resume bargaining. We have agreed to meet with the Employer on May 17th
and 18th. They have committed to respond to our
monetary proposals on that date.
We will provide you with a further update on this website following those meetings.
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Schedule for Bargaining Information Meetings for Members in May
Memo to Membership from the
Bargaining Committee - April 24, 2007
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Memo to Membership from the Bargaining
Committee - April 20, 2007
The Negotiating Committee
has been preparing for upcoming bargaining. The current Collective Agreement will expire
March 31, 2007. Your Committee consists of the following HSAS members and HSAS staff:
| Chris Driol | Mental Health Therapist (Chair) | Saskatoon Health Region |
| Nicole Bidwell | Pharmacist | Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region |
| Debra Ginther | Assessor Coordinator | Saskatoon Health Region |
| Deb Morton | Respiratory Therapist | Saskatoon Health Region |
| Marcel Shevalier | Addictions Counsellor | Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region |
| Mary Spurr | Occupational Therapist | Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region |
| Al Shalansky | Labour Relations Officer | HSAS – Saskatoon |
| Sumana Dasgupta | Labour Relations Officer | HSAS – Saskatoon |
Our Collective Agreement expires March 31, 2007. HSAS served notice to commence bargaining on February 1, 2007. SAHO has agreed to meet with us on March 13, 14 & 15 and on March 26, 27 & 28. We look forward to achieving a fair settlement which addresses your needs. Further details in regards to Negotiating will be found on this website, in the Dispatches, and through mail-outs from your Negotiating Committee.
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