 |
April 22, 2003
Health support workers reach deal to minimize privatization
While welcoming the agreement to prevent mass firing of experienced support staff, nurses have different issues – fighting for the right to speak out and get action for patients and on the nursing shortage
HEU and the other unions in the facilities sub-sector have reached a tentative framework agreement with the provincial government to minimize the impact of privatization on workers and public health care. Their members will vote on the agreement between April 28 and May 15.
Faced with the firing of thousands of experienced, skilled health care support staff, and their replacement by inexperienced low-wage contractors, the support worker unions had little choice but to negotiate an alternative to the Campbell government’s privatization scheme. The deal - which extends their collective agreement to March 31, 2006 - follows a long campaign, supported by BCNU and the BC Federation of Labour, to persuade the government to negotiate.
What health care support workers gain
- A cap on the number of positions that government can contract out to 3,500 FTEs (or about 5200 positions) instead of the government’s target of 13.600 FTEs (or 20,400 jobs)
- Expanded bumping provisions to provide greater protection for displaced workers
- Enhanced severance and retraining provisions, providing an additional 16 to 24 weeks of severance for eligible laid off employees retroactive to Jan. 29, 2002.
|
What health care support workers give up
- April 1, 2003 wage and pay equity increases of 4.4 per cent; plus future pay equity adjustments of one per cent in each of 2004 and 2005.
- A $1 per hour wage reduction effective June 1, 2003 for laundry, housekeeping and cleaners, security, food services, and maintenance (including supervisors)
- For all other classifications, a $0.35 per hour wage reduction
- An increased work week to 37.5 hours from 36 hours effective Sept. 30, 2003 with no increase in pay
- A reduction in vacation entitlement by five days for the accumulation period starting July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004, plus a consequential decrease in casual payment in lieu to 10.2 per cent from 12.2 per cent
- Injury duty leave will be paid at 100 per cent of net pay, plus posting and scheduling changes, modify overtime premiums for work on three statutory holidays.
|
For Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses, the issues are quite different than those facing health care support staff. With the provincial government ordering bed closures and service cuts, nurses need more effective ways to identify problems and improve patient care.
We need a strong third party process to review our professional responsibility complaints And nurses must be free to speak out about our concerns. We must have protection against gag orders imposed by health authorities. And we need continued action to recruit and retain Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses during the continuing international nursing shortage.
|
|
 |
|
