15/03/01

WHERE: Grassy knoll in front of Children’s Hospital on Oak Street

WHEN: March 14, 11 am - 1 pm

SPEAKER: HEU secretary-business manager Chris Allnutt to speak at 11:30 am

REFRESHMENTS

While health care union negotiators and employers caucus through the week, health care workers are hardly sitting idle.

The strike vote for 60,000 health care workers in the facilities and community sectors is proceeding apace, with heavy voter turnout. And locals are holding rallies to underscore their bargaining issues.

Tomorrow, here in Vancouver, HEU members at Children’s and Women’s will stage a two-hour rally on the grassy area in front of Children’s Hospital. There will be music, food, balloons, lots of speeches from union leaders and members of the bargaining committee and solidarity greetings from other health care unions.

“The Health Employers Association of B.C. removed some of their concessions from the table after we called a strike vote,” said Chris Allnutt, HEU’s secretary-business manager and spokesperson for the bargaining association. “Now we’re looking forward to some serious discussions on our proposals to improve the health care system — and certainly more movement on other employer concessions like cutting benefits to injured workers when we resume talks on Friday.”

60,000 health care workers are represented by a dozen unions including HEU.

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For more information, please contact at 604/734-3431: Dale Fuller, comunications officer, 604/818-5105 (cell) HEU website: www.heu.org