Better working conditions were the focus of discussions between the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) and the Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) bargaining committee when the two parties met on July 9 for week 12 of negotiations on a renewed FBA agreement.
“Employers came back to the table this week with counterproposals on addressing workload concerns, reducing the impact of aggressive patients and residents, and ways to improve working alone,” says FBA lead negotiator and HEU secretary-business manager Lynn Bueckert.
“While it was good to see these responses to FBA demands for improved health and safety measures for our 58,000-plus members, more needs to be done, if employers are going to change the fact that health care is by far the most dangerous sector for workers in B.C. – bar none.”
FBA committee members also continued their work of finalizing their response to last month’s wage offer by employers of up to 3.5 per cent over two years. At the time, the FBA made it clear to HEABC representatives that their initial wage proposal fails to address the financial insecurity members currently face, nor does it guard against future economic instability.
Looking ahead, on Tuesday, July 15, all FBA members are invited to take part in an evening telephone town hall hosted by HEU president Barb Nederpel with guest speakers FBA bargaining committee chair Chena Binns, lead negotiator Lynn Bueckert and HEU financial secretary Betty Valenzuela.
“At the town hall, we will recap the status of negotiations with the employer, and members will have a chance to ask questions about what’s happening at the bargaining table, including the FBA’s response to the employer’s first wage offer which we found unacceptable,” says Bueckert.
“Members can also ask questions about other bargaining proposals that have been put forward by the FBA bargaining committee, such as health and safety provisions, measures to reduce workload, improvements to leaves and vacations, and other enhancements to the collective agreement we are seeking in this round of talks.”
The town hall starts at 7:00 p.m. Pacific when all HEU members will be called and invited to join. Members who answer the phone call and stay on the line will automatically enter the telephone town hall.
If your phone number has recently changed or you are unsure whether the union has your most current number, please visit https://www.heu.org/change-contact-information to update your contact information with HEU.
Bargaining for the facilities subsector, B.C.’s largest public sector negotiating table, is set to resume on July 16.