BURNABY—In its first virtual meeting of the year, CUPE’s Health Care Presidents Council (HCPC) today reviewed its action plan in light of pandemic conditions, set a date for a bargaining conference in advance of the next round of contract negotiations, and elected a new executive.
Council members set targets for meeting goals and objectives, adapting the action plan as necessary in the face of changing circumstances brought about by COVID-19. Site visits, in many cases, have had to be cancelled and most locals are now holding virtual meetings.
“These online sessions cover most everything that an in-person meeting has to offer,” said CUPE Health Care coordinator Tanya Paterson. “That means including links to important guidance documents—such as those for occupational health and safety—and creating other ones for areas such as the right to a shop steward, the overtime process, and grievance procedures.”
The presidents confirmed that a health care bargaining conference will take place on October 6. At this conference, delegates will review survey results and set priorities for the next round of negotiations for CUPE members under the Community Health Bargaining Association and Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association.
Also at the meeting, the HCPC confirmed that a half-day workshop on the Enhanced Disability Management Program will be held on March 18.
In elections for the HCPC executive, CUPE 1004 President Andrew Ledger was acclaimed as the new HCPC chair while incumbents filled most of the remaining positions: CUPE 1978’s Kazuhiro Takeuchi (secretary-treasurer), CUPE 3403-01’s Shaunah Cairney and CUPE 15’s Benita Spindel (trustees), and CUPE 1978’s Lindsay Fumalle (alternate trustee). The recording secretary position remains vacant.
The HCPC’s next meeting is on June 3.
