BCNU Update Magazine December 2018 Special Issue

UPDATE DECEMBER 2018

M A G A Z I N E

ON JANUARY 21

VOTE YES for safe patient care

HIGHLIGHTS OF PROPOSED PROVINCIAL COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT INSIDE

special

issue

ADVANCING THE PROFESSION OF NURSING | TARGETING WORKLOAD AND STAFFING | OUR PENSION OUR FUTURE | RESPECTING OUR PROFESSIONAL AUTONOMY | KEEPING NURSES SAFE

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CONTENTS

VOL 37 NO4 | DEC. 2018 | SPECIAL ISSUE

FULL REVIEW BCNU members are reviewing the terms of the proposed collective agreement at contract ratification sessions being held across the province.

INSIDE

5 PRESIDENT’S REPORT BCNU President Christine Sorensen says she’s proud of what was achieved at the bargaining table.

12 PROTECTING PENSIONS Options for control over our retirement security to be explored.

6 STAFFING AND WORKLOAD Joint needs assessment process will help determine appropriate short-term staffing levels.

14 COMMUNITY NURSING Specialized programs will help provide care to more complex patients.

8 RESPECTING NURSES’ AUTONOMY Leave days and selfscheduling will elevate and advance the profession of nursing.

15 FAIR COMPENSATION College registration fees will soon be partially reimbursed.

10 FLEXIBLE BENEFITS Nurses will be consulted about the benefits they value and want protected.

17 HEALTH AND SAFETY Provincial framework will make care safer and healthier for nurses and patients.

NURSES’ BARGAINING

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VOTING FOR SAFE PATIENT CARE

Over 90 percent of all BCNU members work under the provincial collective agreement and are eligible to participate in the ratification vote on or before January 21.

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MOVING? NEW EMAIL?

UPDATE M A G A Z I N E

MISSION STATEMENT The British Columbia Nurses’ Union protects and advances the health, social and economic well-being of our members, our profession and our communities.

BCNU UPDATE is published by the BC Nurses’ Union, an independent Canadian union governed by a council elected by our 47,000 members. Signed articles do not necessarily represent official BCNU policies.

EDITOR Lew MacDonald CONTRIBUTORS Juliet Chang, Deb Charrois, Lani deHek, Evans Li, Robert Macquarrie, Courtney McGillion, Caitlin O’Leary, Dominique Roelants, Umar Sheikh, Christine Sorensen PHOTOS Lew MacDonald CONTACT US BCNU Communications Department 4060 Regent Street Burnaby, BC, V5C 6P5

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DECEMBER 2018 • SPECIAL ISSUE • UPDATE MAGAZINE

Canadian addresses to BCNU 4060 Regent Street Burnaby, BC, V5C 6P5

PRESIDENT’S REPORT WORKING TOGETHER FOR SAFE PATIENT CARE

PHOTO: PETER HOLST

CHRISTINE SORENSEN

O

N BEHALF OF YOUR bargaining committee I am very pleased to present the details of our proposed collective agreement with health employers.

The tentative agreement we’ve reached has real potential to positively influence the future of health care in our province.

The terms of this agreement commit health employers to fundamentally shift the delivery of health care in our province in a way that respects our roles as professionals while creatively addressing the staffing challenges we face. This is a contract that will elevate and advance the profession of nursing.

I’m proud of what our bargaining committee achieved – but this tentative deal is the culmination of a process that began over two years ago and involved the participation of thousands of our members. Our 2016 province-wide bargaining survey confirmed what we had been hearing from members in the workplace: workload and staffing remained a significant concern, hours of unpaid work had become commonplace, and respect for the work that nurses were doing had reached an all-time low.

We brought this feedback to our January 2017 provincial bargaining strategy conference, and invited members to help shape the process going forward. By the end of the conference, our eight-member bargaining committee had been elected, and further consultation began. Over the past 11 months, nurses have sent the committee a strong message: it’s time for real change in the system.

Working short-staffed is no longer sustainable; thousands of worked, unpaid hours is not acceptable; nurses’ benefits must be protected;

and retirement security must be guaranteed.

By the fall of 2018, the bargaining committee was sitting across the table from provincial health employers having respectful, open and honest conversations about the obstacles nurses and employers both face when trying to deliver safe patient care to the people of BC. A tentative deal has now been reached and a six-week tour of the province is underway. The union is hosting a series of face-to-face contract ratification meetings with members in their regions to review the language details and answer questions. Visit www.bcnu.org/events to find out where and when these meetings will be taking place, and also check with your regional chair for updates on more local events.

A province-wide telephone town hall is scheduled for January 14. We’ll be contacting you at your personal phone number and I encourage you to participate. BCNU CEO and lead negotiator Umar Sheikh and I will be on hand to take member questions over the phone.

There will be multiple opportunities for members to vote until January 21, 2019.

Call the BCNU Ratification Information Hotline at 1-800-894-3311 if you have any questions about the process, or email us at ratification@bcnu.org.

This is your contract, every bit as much as it is mine. It’s an agreement that gives nurses the means to assert ourselves as health care professionals and advances nursing practice, education, and leadership. Read this special issue of Update Magazine to help you better understand the proposed terms of settlement.

It is my hope that you see yourselves, your colleagues and your patients in this contract and vote yes as I plan to. •

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STAFFING TO MEET PATIENT CARE NEEDS Challenges with safe staffing contract language now resolved

S

AFE STAFFING FOR SAFE patient care remains our top priority. And the BC Nurses’ Union’s advocacy on behalf of our patients is unwavering.

In the previous two rounds of negotiations with the Ministry of Health and provincial health employers our bargaining teams negotiated creative strategies to better align staffing levels with patient care needs. Some of those strategies were successful and some were resisted by health administrators.

The safe staffing language in our 2012 – 14 contract gave us important victories such as establishing a nurse’s right to participate in staffing decisions, the regularization of hours and mandatory back-filling of leaves and vacations. These protocol memoranda of understanding were the first of their kind in Canada, and a clear reflection of our commitment to make a positive difference in our working lives and for our patients.

But ratifying a contract is just the beginning. Compelling employers to follow through with their staffing commitments is an ongoing challenge nurses face daily. The union reached an arbitrated settlement in 2016 that acknowledged health authorities’ failure to adequately staff BC’s hospitals and care facilities under the terms of the 2012 – 14 contract.

In the last round of talks we negotiated a joint worksite committee process to address this compliance gap, and we established a health human resources framework that committed the government and health employers to better

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achieve critical health delivery objectives.

Direct Patient Care Staffing

The latest proposed provincial collective agreement takes BCNU’s push for safe staffing a step further. We learned from previous negotiations that, despite our best efforts to relieve staffing and workload pressure, the contract language lacked specific consequences for managers who fail to replace nurses when short-staffed, or compensate those nurses left bearing the cost of additional workload.

Now, we have negotiated an innovative nurse-driven staffing and workload assessment process to ensure all short-term staffing needs are met.

Existing staffing language has been consolidated into a new “direct patient care staffing” article and employers must still make all reasonable efforts to replace staff or call in workload, such as calling in casuals or regular staff at straight time and overtime.

This new process will allow point-of-care nurses to identify when additional nursing staff is needed, such as when units are below baseline or have identified workload. Point-of-care nurses can provide their manager with a filled-out workload assessment tool in order to secure additional nursing staff. Significantly, the assessment tool will now be documented in order to prevent baseline manipulation. And if point-of-care nurses don’t agree with managers’ staffing decisions, they can grieve and may be eligible for the new working short premium.

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Employers have until April 1, 2020, to hire enough nurses to meet baseline staffing before the working short premium takes effect (see sidebar: Time Equals Money).

Working Short Premium will Drive Appropriate Staffing

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, health employers must pay the new working short premium when there aren’t enough nurses to meet patient care needs. However, this premium is considered an unfunded liability worth approximately $100 million annually across the province. Managers will not have money in their budgets to pay nurses this premium, creating a powerful incentive to staff appropriately in order to avoid shouldering the cost.

The working short premium is an important tool that changes the nurse-management relationship and allows nurses and managers to work together to address a common challenge. Our goal is to align nurses’ and managers’ interests – nurses want enough staff to meet patient care needs

TIME EQUALS MONEY All nurses to receive wage premiums if employers fail to meet agreed-to staffing levels SAFE STAFFING WILL ALWAYS BE OUR NUMBER-ONE PRIORITY. Under the proposed agreement, a new direct patient care staffing assessment process will ensure that employers adequately staff units. But we’ve also negotiated a number of wage premiums that will incentivize health authorities to match staffing with patient care needs. And if they don’t, nurses will be compensated for working short.

WORKING SHORT PREMIUM

$

and managers want to avoid paying an expensive, unfunded premium.

Our bargaining team carefully evaluated the existing safe staffing language, retained the best parts and added a powerful incentive for managers to staff appropriately.

Your voice was clear – you want enough staff to meet patient care needs. And when you don’t have enough staff you want to be paid appropriately. The new language will help achieve those goals.

Now the onus will be on the employer to regularize positions and hire more nurses because they cannot afford this penalty if they maintain the health-care system in its current state.

Arbitrations will also no longer be required because the penalty has now been written into the contact language. •

5/hr

$

3/hr

Effective April 1, 2020, an additional $5.00 an hour will be paid to any nurse working short on a unit, department or program with 10 or fewer scheduled nurses.

Nurses working short on a unit, department or program with 11 or more scheduled nurses will receive an additional $3.00 an hour.

SHORT NOTICE PREMIUM Nurses who take a straight-time shift that begins within 24 hours will be paid a $2.00 an hour shift premium.

$

2/hr

PAID END-OF-SHIFT WORK Unpaid work and short-staffing go hand in hand. One of the most common and frustrating experiences nurses face today is the expectation that they do unpaid work before and after their shifts. This normalization of unpaid work is a growing problem that threatens the health and safety of our members and the patients in their care.

The practice of paying nurses for “handover” work was inconsistent throughout the system. A new article clarifies that handover time will now be paid.

< 15 min

1 – 14 minutes at straight-time rate of pay.

>15 min

15 minutes and greater at overtime rate of pay.

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RESPECTING OUR PROFESSIONAL AUTONOMY Proposed contract puts nurses at the decisionmaking table and gives us more control over our working lives

T

HE PROPOSED AGREEMENT our bargaining committee reached with health employers acknowledges that nurses are autonomous health-care professionals with the leadership skills needed to shape change in the workplace.

Shifting the Professional Relationship

This round of bargaining set out to establish a new approach to health authority accountability and evaluation that puts the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) on equal footing with health employers when determining funding allocation.

Under the terms of the proposed contract, a working short rebate fund will be established that gives employers an opportunity to collect a performance-based rebate if approved by the union. It’s an innovative concept that changes the power dynamic between nurses and their employers. Now, instead of nurses going to the employer to ask for solutions or improvements to care conditions, employers will be coming to us to ask how we can help them solve their problems in order that they may access needed funding.

This initiative is funded by the government, but disbursement of money will be adjudicated by the NBA and the Health Employers Association of BC. A new Performance Feedback Working Group will also be created to

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develop positive opportunities for open dialogue and identify best practices for reciprocal feedback between managers and employees.

Managing our own Schedules

The proposed agreement gives nurses greater control over our work schedules. >> Employees will be guaranteed 28 days to create their own master rotation proposal once they have received the necessary information from the employer. >> Staff will be able to self-schedule their own rotations by a majority vote. Those who wish to maintain a master rotation will still have the right to do so. (Article 25) >> Six-day rotations can be eliminated or reduced if supported by the majority of employees. >> 37.5 hours of vacation (45 hours for extended day shifts) can now be held back during the annual vacation scheduling process to be scheduled

by August 1 of the following year.

New Leaves for Better Work-Life Balance

Our bargaining team negotiated new personal leaves that recognize nurses are professionals with busy lives and personal obligations that sometimes mean they need to be away from work.

Starting on April 1, 2020 regular nurses will earn one day per year of

DECEMBER 2018 • SPECIAL ISSUE • UPDATE MAGAZINE

personal leave that can be used for any reason they wish. This will increase to two days per year on April 1, 2021.

Personal leave days are based on 7.5 hours. Employees on extended shifts can use other banks to pay the balance of the extended shift. One personal leave day can be scheduled at any time of the year with no notice or approval required, and the second must meet the employer’s operational requirements.

Our bargaining team also negotiated three additional paid leave days per year for absences when employees or their children experience domestic or sexual violence.

Maternity and Parental Leaves Increased

The proposed contract sees updated maternity and parental leave to reflect legislative changes that now allow 18-months of leave. For regular employees: >> The birthing parent is now eligible for up to 78 weeks (18 months) of maternity and parental leave. >> Non-birthing parents are eligible for up to 62 weeks of parental leave. >> The extended parental leaves are considered continuous employment for the purpose of benefits.

Our bargaining team negotiated an important enhancement to vacation that’s accrued while an employee is on parental leave. Previously vacation

GAINS FOR CASUAL NURSES

credits earned on parental leave were paid out on February 15 of the subsequent year, which triggered unpleasant EI clawbacks for nurses who were still on leave.

Now these vacation credits are held until the end of the parental leave and can be paid out or taken as vacation at the end of the leave, or be carried over to the following year.

Improved Vacation Leave

Nurses are professionals who work year round and need time off during the peak periods (the month of March, June 15 to September 15 and the month of December). Our province-wide BCNU bargaining survey clearly told us that members wanted access to prime-time vacation. Nurses also wanted more flexibility to schedule their vacations.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, starting in 2019 nurses can hold back a 37.5-hour block of time (up to 45 hours for those on extended shifts) for vacation planning.

This time can be taken during peak periods, or applied for during those peak periods.

To facilitate peak-period vacations, we have agreed to: 1. Restrict Article 44 – Union Leave during peak periods so members can have more time off.

2. Allow employers to schedule casuals for up to 200 hours in peak vacation periods.

3. Create incentives for casuals to work in peak periods.

Casuals now have two ways to earn benefit premium reimbursement: a. work 500 annual hours in peak periods, or b. work 975 annual hours throughout the year.

These changes provide incentives for casuals to work more hours in peak vacation periods so regular members can have time off with family and friends. •

THIS ROUND OF CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS saw the Nurses’ Bargaining Association make important gains for casual nurses, and for regular nurses who want move to casual status.

A major improvement in the proposed contract will now allow nurses to maintain their seniority and banks when they transfer from regular to casual status. Previously, these nurses had to resign and pay out, or lose their banks, even if they intended to return to regular work in the future.

Once the new contract is ratified, regular nurses who want to switch to casual should ask their managers to approve the change and add them to the unit’s casual list. Their seniority will be retained and their banks maintained (vacation and sick credits, etc.). If they return to regular employment, their banks will be reinstated.

Other contract gains for casuals include: >> Casual nurses are eligible for the $2 an hour short notice premium if they accept a shift within 24 hours of start time. >> Casuals who work 500 hours in peak periods will now be eligible for benefits reimbursement. >> The casual availability bonus will now be paid quarterly. >> Casuals will receive all regular benefits when filling temporary appointments of more than 30 work days. Long term disability benefits for casuals in temporary appointments will last up to two years. >> Employers must attempt to find equivalent casual appointments within the same health authority when employees are laid-off because of contracting out.

These changes bring more flexibility to nurses who want to spend part of their career as casuals because they can retain their seniority and earned banks. And casuals will also have more flexibility on how many hours they need to work to qualify for benefit premium reimbursement. •

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The nurses’ benefit plan spends far more on massage therapy than prescription drugs The cost of massage benefits increased from $3 million to $ 31 million in the past 10 years.

FINDING THE BEST OPTION FOR NURSES

BCNU members to be consulted extensive changes to paramedical benefits

Ten years ago, massage therapy cost the plan less than 1/5 of the amount that was spent on prescription drugs

Today, massage therapy coverage accounts for more than 71% of all paramedical costs and is more expensive than prescription drugs.

Massage therapy costs have risen dramatically in the last 10 years

TODAY The cost of employer-paid massage therapy coverage has risen over

percentage increase in massage therapy cost

900%

in just 10 years – an unsustainable increase

percentage of payroll

3% of payroll –

projected cost of massage therapy coverage in five years

1.2

% of payroll – cost of massage therapy coverage for today

0.2

% of payroll – cost of massage therapy coverage in 2008 2008

10

2017

2022

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Under the terms of the proposed contract, nurses w a 12-month period, and a working group will recomm benefits based on the options members prefer. The

Creating an Enhanced Flex Benefit Account This option would give nurses an annual amount for paramedical benefits with more choice on how it’s spent. If the annual amount isn’t spent it would carry forward to future years for use as a pension enhancement, withdrawn as a retirement allowance or used for health benefits in retirement.

SUSTAINING A GREAT BENEFIT PLAN Improving choice and enhancing the value of health and welfare benefits

ely on any

will be consulted extensively over mend changes to paramedical e possible recommendations are:

Limiting Massage and Increasing Other Benefits This option recognizes that nursing is physically demanding and massage would be capped at levels that cover most members.

Savings would be used to improve other benefits such as vision, dental or psychology.

N

URSING IS PHYSICALLY, intellectually and emotionally demanding. That’s why nurses need comprehensive benefits that promote good health and support recovery from illness and injury. Both BCNU and health employers agree that health benefits are essential to nurses’ well-being and their ability to provide quality patient care.

The current BCNU benefit package is one of the best in Canadian health care, and one of the only nurses’ contracts where the employer pays 100 percent of the costs. Our 2016 contract improved this package further, adding Blue Rx, a new expanded drug formulary that greatly improved nurses’ access to prescription drugs.

But this round of bargaining again saw employers coming to the table with the message that rising benefits costs is a serious issue. HEABC negotiators have told us that annual benefits form an ever-growing share of total compensation costs. The cost of providing coverage for unlimited massage therapy, for example, is skyrocketing. We have acknowledged this problem, and our bargaining team agreed that we can assume some responsibility for keeping our plan affordable and sustainable.

CUSTOMIZED OPTIONS MONEY IN YOUR POCKET Think of the ways you could use a flex benefit account to pay for costs not covered by the current plan.

Our bargaining team took a proactive approach to this issue and agreed to explore ways of achieving efficiencies that don’t require nurses to sacrifice our acquired gains. The proposed agreement establishes a clear, consultative process that allows us to explore ways of reorganizing our paramedical benefits plan (massage, physiotherapy, naturopathy, etc.) while increasing individual choice.

The union and employer will establish a working group and consult with nurses over 12 months to better understand our paramedical needs. Non-paramedical benefits (dental, drugs, vision, etc.) will not change, but could be improved by reallocating paramedical resources.

The working group will also look at enhancing support to vulnerable employees by improving access to early intervention services to nurses enrolled in the Enhanced Disability Management Program.

The current benefit plan will not change until January 1, 2021 at the earliest. Nurses will be consulted extensively over a 12-month period, and the working group will recommend changes to paramedical benefits based on the options members prefer.

The current paramedical benefits plan is risking other benefits that nurses rely on. By tailoring future paramedical benefits to meet our needs, we can make our whole benefits plan sustainable and secure the future of all nurses’ benefits.

NO JOINT BENEFITS TRUST

In the last round of bargaining, many health sector bargaining associations agreed to a Joint Benefits Trust (JBT), a benefits cost-sharing agreement that requires workers to share the responsibility for financing the cost of all health and welfare benefits, including prescription drugs and long-term disability.

Health employers came to negotiations this year demanding that nurses accept a similar cost-sharing arrangement. But the Nurses’ Bargaining Association once again resisted employer attempts to move nurses into a JBT and has retained one of the best benefit plans in health care. •

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SECURING OUR FUTURE Agreement explores new pension options to put nurses in control

A

FTER SALARIES, the most important item in nurses’ overall compensation is our pension. Wages and premiums support nurses during our working years but it’s our defined-benefit pension that guarantees a retirement income while we’re alive.

But changes occurring within public sector pension plans could soon affect the majority of nurses in BC. In 2018 the Public Service Pension Plan made substantial plan design changes by increasing the number of years that some 3,000 registered psychiatric and community nurses must work

to get an unreduced pension. BCNU anticipates that a 2019 review of the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP) will cause similar adverse pension changes to nurses.

Most nurses are in the MPP, where we have over one-third of assets in the plan but only one vote on the 16-member board of trustees.

That means nurses have no real control over our investments or future retirement benefits.

This is a governance problem that’s negatively impacting nurses right now. For example, in 2016 the MPP board capped members’ inflation protection at 2.1 percent even though real inflation in 2018 was higher.

In response, BCNU wanted nurses to receive full inflation protection by accessing the Retiree Benefit Fund that was set up in 2008 for this very purpose, and which currently holds about $250 million. Unfortunately, MPP rules will not allow nurses to receive this additional protection.

Problems like this need to be fixed.

That’s why the bargaining committee negotiated a mechanism to study a separate pension fund for nurses. This tentative agreement gives nurses important options on the future of our pension, and the choice is ours: do we vote to study forming a separate pension plan that we control, or do we vote to leave control of our retirement with others? •

OUR PENSION. OUR FUTURE. Changes occurring within public sector pension plans could also affect the majority of BC’s nurses who are members of the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP). The proposed agreement acknowledges that nurses should have control over decisions about their money and their pensions. Several options exist that would better serve our interests.

Exploratory Process Establish a new Nurses’ Pension Plan.

Once the tentative agreement is ratified the Pension Review Committee will be established.

The NBA and HEABC will each have three representatives on the committee.

The committee will request an actuarial analysis, and within six months of receiving the report they will recommend one of these options:

Establish a separate investment pool and governance body within the MPP.

Maintain the current MPP.

MEMBERS VOTE All active and retired members will vote to determine what option we choose. Our defined benefit pension investments will continue to be administered by the BC Pension Corporation and current MPP members will enjoy legal protections ensuring there are no changes to their pension as a result of this process.

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DECEMBER 2018 • SPECIAL ISSUE • UPDATE MAGAZINE

SUPPORTING

OUR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND DEVELOPMENT A collaborative approach will help address care model changes

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NSURING OUR MEMBERS get the best professional practice support and access to education remains one of our highest priorities. Our bargaining committee was able to negotiate new contract language that addresses nurses’ practice concerns and puts greater emphasis on professional partnerships and clinical mentoring to elevate standards of care.

The agreement acknowledges the important structural changes occurring within the health care system and the larger shift toward integrated primary and community care. Enhanced primary health care contributes to significant improvements in community health status, and nurses are central to this transformation which puts the needs of patients, clients and residents first. However, it’s also important to protect and support nurses who may be affected by these primary care model changes.

Under the proposed agreement, health employers will take a coordinated approach to delivering new community-based services as part of a primary and community care model implementation plan. This will see nurses participating in learning self-assessments, a review of job descriptions and collaborative ongoing discussion.

New language also recognizes how specialized community services, not generalists, are needed for complex patients, and a comprehensive labour adjustment plan will be developed to promote safe nursing practice, increased

job satisfaction and staff retention.

A new professional practice issues working group will meet within the next 60 days to review current outstanding issues and address any future concerns. Made up of three employer and three union reps, the group will develop terms of reference and education materials, and finalize administrative processes.

Professional Development and Education Support

Appendix JJ.3 Nursing Scope of Practice: An additional $1.4 million will be allocated to fund scope-of-practice upgrades for all nurses and support members interested in opportunities such as LPN Ortho Tech, LPN bridging, RN First Assist and RN anesthetist programs.

MOA - Primary and Community Care Model Implementation: An additional $2 million in both 2020 and 2021 will be allocated toward a new pilot project focused on primary and community-based care. This money will fund site-specific hands-on clinical mentors who will not have a patient assignment in order to provide continuous learning through elbow-to-elbow support.

Members eligible for specialty education under Article 35 will now provide 18 months of service and may be required to return or post into a regular position in the area of their specialty. In the event that a position does not exist, the employer will create one in order to help keep specialty-educated nurses in the system. •

STREAMLINED PR PROCESS WILL FOCUS ON PRACTICE ISSUES For many years now, filing a professional responsibility form (PRF) has been one of the best ways for nurses to protect their practice and promote positive changes for patients.

There is no question that staffing and workload problems can directly affect nurses’ professional practice.

However, a recent annual review showed that less that 20 percent of professional responsibility forms filed actually addressed clinical practice issues that could affect a nurse’s licence. Because most issues were related to staffing and workload, the parties agreed that they would be better addressed through a separate process.

The professional responsibility process will now be refined to better address concerns directly related to the college’s nursing standards of practice, and involve professional practice staff early on. Key outcomes achieved through the PR process will continue to be built on. These include improvements to policies and procedures, increased communication and professional practice councils, improved decision making tools, staff development and clinical education and leadership support.

Staffing and workload-related issues will now be resolved using new direct patient care staffing language and through the new workload assessment process that utilizes nurses’ clinical expertise to determine staffing on units. •

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SUPPORTING OUR

WORK IN THE COMMUNITY

Proposed agreement will see better safety, mileage and professional support

T

HERE ARE IMPORTANT structural changes occurring in health care that shift resources towards integrated primary care and community care.

Some of those changes overlapped with contract negotiations, which gave our bargaining team a well-timed opportunity to negotiate commitments to better manage the shift to community care and support our affected members.

A proposed memorandum of agreement was reached that commits health employers to taking a coordinated approach to improving the delivery of community-based services when implementing primary and community care model changes. Our bargaining team negotiated the following provisions: >> Within 30 days of ratification the NBA and employers will meet to build a comprehensive change-management plan that promotes safe nursing practice, retention and higher job satisfaction. >> Nurses will participate in individual learning needs assessments; they will not be expected to provide services for which they have not been trained. >> All job descriptions will be reviewed with the Union to ensure roles and responsibilities are clear. >> Specialized programs will be provided for palliative care, patients with complex conditions, and patients with moderate to severe mental health and addictions. >> Employers will invest $4 million from 2019 to 2022 for additional clinical resources.

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Our bargaining team also negotiated improvements for nurses working in the community today. These include improved safety language, vehicle expense coverage and the ability to self-schedule.

Better Scheduling

Where it meets operational requirements, earned days off will be reinstated and nurses can explore self-scheduling, which brings opportunities for nine-day fortnights or other desirable rotations.

Mileage and Expenses

All regular community nurses will receive a monthly $50 business allowance that will replace the existing $50 vehicle allowance that is only paid to some community nurses. Mileage expenses will align with Canada Revenue Agency rates and will automatically increase when those rates are adjusted. And by changing the car allowance to a business allowance, nurses’ mileage expenses will no longer be considered taxable income – a significant benefit for nurses with high mileage expenses.

Improved Safety

The practice of nurses transporting patients in their personal vehicles has been an ongoing concern for the union.

This requirement not only puts nurses’ safety at risk, but it can also create difficult circumstances if bodily fluids contaminate their vehicles. In previous rounds of bargaining we negotiated guidelines for the safe transportation of

DECEMBER 2018 • SPECIAL ISSUE • UPDATE MAGAZINE

IMPROVEMENTS FOR COMMUNITY NURSES A real voice in changes to integrate primary and community care

Improved safety while working with clients

$50.00 monthly business expense for every regular community nurse

Mileage expenses are now aligned with CRA rates and will automatically increase

Mileage reimbursement is no longer taxable income

patients, but these improvements never fully addressed the issue. Now, under the terms of the proposed agreement, nurses are no longer required to transport patients in their own vehicles.

We have also negotiated safety improvements for members working with clients in the community. Now, on initial home visits, or when nurses believe there is a risk of violence, nurses can request to be accompanied by another team member. •

FAIR

COMPENSATION

Compensation will increase further if employers don’t staff to meet patient needs

N

URSES HAVE BEEN clear about our need for compensation that rewards their contribution to health care. We’ve also been clear that employers must match staffing levels with patient care needs.

Our bargaining team found innovative ways to work within the provincial government’s bargaining mandate and secure new premiums to compensate nurses for the unique working conditions we face. It was important that health employers deliver not only a salary increase, but that they acknowledge the unique challenges nurses face – and compensate us accordingly.

Nurses will receive a general wage increase of six percent over three years for all members in accordance with the provincial government’s sustainable services negotiating mandate that’s applicable to all public sector unions.

The proposed contract contains the following improvements: WAGE INCREASES April 1, 2019

2%*

April 1, 2020

2%

April 1, 2021

2%

* Combined with the current NBA contract wage increase of 1.75% effective February 1, 2019, RNs will receive a total wage increase of 3.75% in 2019.

Forensic nurses

Forensic nurses will be integrated into the RN/RPN wage grid and will get the following hourly premiums: >> 4% of the Level 3 Year 8 wage when working in maximum or multi-level security >> 2% of the Level 3 Year 4 wage when working in minimum or medium security.

Forensic community liaison nurses will also receive the 2% premium.

LPNs

LPNs will be integrated into the NBA’s ninestep pay grid based on their current location on the previous six-step grid.

This integration gave our bargaining team a unique opportunity to move money within the nine steps in order to incentivize retention and provide the highest total income over a long career. >> In 2021 the highest step on the new LPN grid will be 8.3% higher than the highest step on the old grid. The new Year 9 wage is where long-serving nurses will spend most of their career – it will bring the most overall income and highest possible pension. >> LPNs on Step 1 and 2 in 2019, 2020 and 2021 will get an additional $487.50 per year based on the number of hours worked.

Licensing Fees

Rising regulatory college fees are hitting nurses’ wallets. Under the proposed agreement, employers will help nurses cover this cost by partially reimbursing a portion of our college and licensing fees – $215 a year – starting April 1, 2020. •

TIME EQUALS MONEY No more unpaid end-of-shift work Unpaid work emerged as a top priority for members ahead of Nurses’ Bargaining Association negotiations.

One of the most common and frustrating experiences nurses face today is the expectation that they do unpaid work before and after their shifts.

This normalization of unpaid work is a growing problem that threatens the health and safety of our members and the patients in their care.

Under the terms of the proposed contract, nurses will now be paid for end-ofshift work: >> 1 – 14 minutes will be paid at straight time >> 15 minutes and greater will be paid at overtime rates.

UPDATE MAGAZINE • SPECIAL ISSUE • DECEMBER 2018

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Q&A

RATIFICATION VOTE When can I vote?

You can vote for our new provincial collective agreement until January 21 Am I eligible to vote?

The vast majority of BCNU’s over 45,000 members are covered by the Nurses’ Bargaining Association provincial collective agreement (PCA) and are eligible to participate in the ratification vote until Monday, Jan. 21.

Eligible members include licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses who deliver care in the public sector for one of the six health authorities or their affiliates. Also eligible to vote for the new PCA are BCNU members working in undergraduate/employed student nurse positions and all nurses on maternity leave, LOA, WCB and LTD, as well as nurses currently on the recall list and nurses who have received displacement notices within the past year.

Who is not eligible to vote?

BCNU members cannot participate in the ratification vote if they are covered by other contracts, such as the public service agreement, and those working under a variety of independent contracts, including those that cover private residential care facilities.

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DECEMBER 2018 • SPECIAL ISSUE • UPDATE MAGAZINE

It’s easier than ever to participate in a PCA ratification vote. Bargaining committee members are touring the province to present the contract to nurses and answer questions. There will be several opportunities for members to vote at these NBA contract ratification sessions. You can also vote at the polling station that will be set up at your worksite on Monday, Jan. 21.

Some members in small and remote worksites will vote by mail-in ballot. These members will receive their ballot and return envelope in December. The ballot must be completed and returned via Canada Post and received by the Burnaby office no later than Jan. 21 in order to be included in the final vote count.

Where can I vote?

Eligible members can vote at NBA contract ratification sessions being held in their region or at the polling station set up at their worksite on Monday, Jan. 21. Visit bcnu.org and click on News and Events, then the Events Calendar where you can select your region to get the most current voting information.

How do I get more information on how to vote and the upcoming meetings?

For more information on how and when you can vote, please visit the member portal at bcnu.org. Check back frequently for the latest information or contact your regional chair. Finally, don’t forget to check your inbox. All members will be receiving an email in early January telling them where and when to vote on January 21. •

KEEPING NURSES SAFE

of refresher training will be offered to all employees on an annual basis in addition to employees in new positions.

The employer also agrees to provide paid OH&S supervisory training to any nurse whose job duties require supervision or direction.

New agreement sees the establishment of a provincial framework for occupational health and safety

O

UR NEW TENTATIVE agreement builds on the important advances we have made to protect members’ health and safety, and will go a long way to ensuring nurses can provide the highest level of professional care without fear of injury or violence.

During the last round of bargaining, we successfully negotiated a provincial violence-prevention framework that has translated into enhanced violence prevention training, procedures and security at targeted high-risk sites.

We are unwavering in our commitment to build on this culture of safety, but we also believe that improvements to our occupational health and safety program should not come at the expense of other bargaining priorities. New language in the proposed agreement now makes it clear that all provisions in Article 32 – OH&S Program – are designed to strengthen the existing provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act and related regulations.

Building on the provisions within the current agreement, a new joint working group will be established within 90 days of ratification that will make recommendations for the establishment of a provincial health sector occupational health and safety (OH&S) framework.

This framework will be proactive, informed by evidence and mandated to continuously improve both the physical and psychological health and safety of nurses.

This group will be responsible for many existing OH&S projects such as member education, improved Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee functioning and effectiveness and implementation of the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.

Supporting Safety Advocates

Violence-prevention training provided by employers under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding on Workplace Violence Prevention will now be improved. An appropriate level

Enhanced Disability Management Program

The Enhanced Disability Management Program (EDMP) is a proactive, customized disability management program designed to help members suffering from an illness or injury.

EDMP representatives provide support for members returning to work or transitioning to long-term disability benefits. The proposed contract provides additional funding for six new EDMP representatives, bringing the total from 11 to 17.

Workers’ Compensation Leave Improvements

The employer will now include all additional shifts worked by part-time employees and all shift premiums when calculating the “regular net take-home wages” that are placed in an employee’s disability management file after a WorkSafeBC claim is made.

Employees’ benefits and wages will also be maintained while claims for violence-related injuries or illnesses are adjudicated. •

UPDATE MAGAZINE • SPECIAL ISSUE • DECEMBER 2018

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WHO CAN HELP? BCNU IS HERE TO SERVE MEMBERS

BCNU CAN. Here’s how you can get in touch with the right person to help you.

CONTACT YOUR

Stewards for all workplace concerns.

Regional Reps if your steward can’t help, or for all regional matters.

Executive Committee for all provincial, national or union policy issues.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

REGIONAL REPS CENTRAL VANCOUVER Marlene Goertzen Co-chair C 778-874-9330 marlenegoertzen@bcnu.org Judy McGrath Co-chair C 604-970-4339 jmcgrath@bcnu.org COASTAL MOUNTAIN Kath-Ann Terrett Chair C 604-828-0155 kterrett@bcnu.org EAST KOOTENAY Helena Barzilay Chair C 250-919-3310 hbarzilay@bcnu.org FRASER VALLEY Tracey Greenberg Chair C 604-785-8147 traceygreenberg@bcnu.org

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PRESIDENT Christine Sorensen C 250-819-6293 christinesorensen@bcnu.org

TREASURER Sharon Sponton C 250-877-2547 sharonsponton@bcnu.org

ACTING VICE PRESIDENT Adriane Gear C 778-679-1213 adrianegear@bcnu.org

EXECUTIVE COUNCILLOR Chris Armeanu C 604-209-4260 chrisarmeanu@bcnu.org

ACTING EXECUTIVE COUNCILLOR Rhonda Croft C 250-212-0530 rcroft@bcnu.org

NORTH EAST Danette Thomsen Chair C 250-960-8621 danettethomsen @bcnu.org

SHAUGHNESSY HEIGHTS Claudette Jut Chair C 604-786-8422 claudettejut@bcnu.org

SOUTH ISLANDS Lynnda Smith Co-chair C 778-977-6315 lynndasmith@bcnu.org

NORTH WEST Teri Forster Chair C 250-615-8077 teriforster@bcnu.org

SIMON FRASER Lynn Lagace Co-chair C 604-219-4162 lynnlagace@bcnu.org

Margo Wilton Co-chair C 250-818-4862 mwilton@bcnu.org

OKANAGAN-SIMILKAMEEN Deanna Jerowsky Acting Chair C 250-499-9134 deannajerowsky@bcnu.org

Wendy Gibbs Co-Chair C 604-240-1242 wendygibbs@bcnu.org

PACIFIC RIM Rachel Kimler Chair C 250-816-0865 rachelkimler@bcnu.org RIVA Sara Mattu Chair C 778-989-8231 saramattu@bcnu.org

DECEMBER 2018 • SPECIAL ISSUE • UPDATE MAGAZINE

SOUTH FRASER VALLEY Hardev Bhullar Co-chair C 778-855-0220 hardevbhullar@bcnu.org Walter Lumamba Co-chair C 604-512-2004 walterlumamba@bcnu.org

THOMPSON NORTH OKANAGAN Tracy Quewezance Chair C 250-320-8064 tquewezance@bcnu.org VANCOUVER METRO Meghan Friesen Chair C 604-250-0751 meghanfriesen@bcnu.org WEST KOOTENAY Ron Poland Chair C 250-368-1085 ronpoland@bcnu.org

“This agreement delivers equitable gains that acknowledge the important work that nurses do.”

HANNA EMBREE, RN

“We want health authorities to recognize that nurses are more than just employees.”

DEB BRADSHAW-WHITE, RN Burnaby Home Health, Community

Dawson Creek & District Hospital, Acute Care – small

“The NBA has delivered solid gains for LPNs.”

ANN-MARIE

CHARBONNEAU, LPN

“Nurses will now be paid more when working short.”

CLAUDETTE JUT, RN BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital, Acute Care – large

Queen’s Park Care Centre, Long-term care

“We’ve enhanced safety for community nurses.”

MICHAEL PREVOST, RN Terrace Health Unit, Community

“We want to increase nurses’ control over their own retirement security.”

CHRISTINE SORENSEN, RN President, BC Nurses’ Union

“Stable schedules and more job opportunities are important to nurses.”

SHANNON SLUGGETT, LPN University Hospital of Northern BC, Acute Care – large

YOUR BARGAINING

“We’ll find ways to improve benefits and make them sustainable.”

WILLIAM HOWE, RN Cowichan District Hospital, Acute Care – medium

COMMITTEE

UPDATE MAGAZINE • SPECIAL ISSUE • DECEMBER 2018

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Proposed Provincial Collective Agreement

RATIFICATION VOTE Your Bargaining Committee recommends you vote yes There are many opportunities to cast your vote up to and including January 21 For voting times & locations • visit www.bcnu.org • check your email for eNews • talk to your stewards or regional chair

PM 40834030