Tentative contract reached with B.C. health care workers / Ottawa food services staff join UFCW / Job availabilitity dropped in February: StatsCan
Tentative contract reached with B.C. health care workers
VANCOUVER — The Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) has reached a tentative settlement with B.C.’s health employers.
The multi-union association — representing 47,000 health care workers in hospitals, residential care facilities, emergency health services and logistics and supply operations across the province — reached the five-year agreement with the assistance of a mediator.
The contract includes 5.5 per cent in general wage increases over the life of the agreement in addition to limiting contracting out, expanding employment options and protecting employee benefits.
The agreement also includes provisions that address outstanding issues around paramedics’ pay scales.
The FBA bargaining committee unanimously recommended the agreement to its constituent unions and the provincial executive of the Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU) voted on May 15 to recommend ratification to its members.
HEU represents a majority of the workers covered by the collective agreement.
Bonnie Pearson — secretary-business manager for the HEU and chief spokesperson for the FBA — said the 96 per cent strike mandate delivered by union members one month after the association’s contract expired on March 31 played a major part in securing the tentative deal.
"Health care workers signalled clearly that they were determined to protect jobs and improve working and caring conditions," Pearson said. "This agreement meets those conditions and provides a measure of stability and certainty in a health care system that is under considerable stress."
Ottawa food services staff join UFCW
OTTAWA — Food service staffers in Ottawa were officially inducted into the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union following a certification vote earlier this year.
Workers at Healthcare Food Services — who prepare meals for health-care facilities in the capital — joined UFCW’s local chapter 175 in an effort to create a fair and respectful work environment, according to the union.
On the bargaining table for negotiators will be improvements to wages, mending scheduling problems, ending favouritism and seniority recognition.
President of UFCW Canada, Local 175 Shawn Haggerty congratulated the employees.
"We are very proud of the workers for uniting together to build good jobs and establish better working conditions at Healthcare Food Services, and we look forward to negotiating a fair and competitive first contract."
Job availability dropped in February: StatsCan
OTTAWA — Earlier this year, the number of job vacancies in the country dropped, according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada.
On May 20, the three-month average — ending in February — for job vacancies was released, indicating a decline from the previous year.
In February, there were 194,000 job vacancies among Canadian businesses, which equates to a decline of 21,000 openings compared with February of 2013. There were seven unemployed people for every job vacancy, up from 6.3 the previous year. The increase in the unemployment-to-job-vacancy ratio was mostly the result of the decline in job vacancies, Statistics Canada noted.
The national job vacancy rate for that time period was 1.3 per cent, down from 1.5 per cent the year before.
