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Health workers looking for more movement from employers when bargaining resumes.
Vancouver (14 Aug. 2012) - Talks for a new Facilities collective agreement covering 46,000 health care workers in British Columbia will resume in September.
The multi-union Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) has now tabled its entire package including proposals for fair and reasonable wage increases, improvements to health and safety, and stronger scheduling language.
Despite the overall lack of progress at the bargaining table, the FBA was successful in moving health employers to modify their position on a number of troublesome demands.
But so far, health employers have refused to table their position on wages and other monetary issues, despite being urged to do so repeatedly by the FBA bargaining committee.
“We have seen continuous stalling from the Health Employers Association of B.C. (HEABC) over the last six months of talks,” says Darryl Walker, B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU/NUPGE) President. “When we return to the table in September, health employers need to be prepared to table their complete set of demands - and provide a comprehensive response to our proposals - so that we can move these negotiations forward in a meaningful way."
The collective agreement covers a diverse health care team that includes workers in hospitals, nursing homes and diagnostic treatment centres as well as emergency health services and shared services such as logistics and supply operations.
In addition to BCGEU/NUPGE, the Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) is represented by the Hospital Employees Union (HEU), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 873, and the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 882/882H. Eight other unions in the association represent one per cent of workers covered by the talks.
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