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New FN health authority the first of its kind
■ M UDDY M AYHEM
Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
The newly activated First Nations Health Authority can be seen the “next natural step” in the evolution of health service delivery for B.C. aboriginals, said Grand Chief Doug Kelly of Sto:lo Tribal Council. Some programs delivered to aboriginals in B.C. that were a Health Canada responsibility last week, now fall under the aegis of the newly minted First Nations Health Authority. As chair of the First Nations Health Council, Grand Chief Kelly has a mandate for advocacy and reciprocal accountability for FNHA, and as such has been front and centre as they complete a formal transfer on Oct. 1, of programs, resources, staff, assets and more. “What we achieved today is elevating the work that began many years ago,” he said Tuesday in a phone interview with The Progress. “We have proven we could take on the responsibilities that were once Health Canada’s, and that we could blend the best of two worlds, the best of modern medicine and the best of our cultural traditions and ceremonies.” “We knew that what we did locally we could do regionally, and what we did regionally we could do right across the province.” The FNHA, as a result of a signed agreement, will take on delivery of health programs and services in B.C. to aboriginals living on-reserve and off. It’s everything from primary care to mental health and addictions as well as environmental health and research, and they’ll be partnering with the province as well. It’s nothing new for Sto:lo communities, but it’s quite a feat to see it clear across the province, said Kelly.
Hospital support workers reach new contracts HEU demanded pay raises from multinational contractors Jeff Nagel Black Press Two groups of Lower Mainland hospital workers have now reached new tentative agreements with private firms that perform housekeeping for health authorities. A four-year deal was reached late Tuesday with U.S.-based Aramark, whose 1,300 employees handle housekeeping at 33 facilities in Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health. The Fraser sites include Royal Columbian,
Burnaby and Eagle Ridge hospitals. The Hospital Employees Union had staged a strike vote last week but had not yet begun job action. Most contracted housekeeping and dietary workers at Fraser Health facilities work for French multinational Sodexho, which reached an agreement with the HEU Sept. 15. Details have not been revealed pending ratification. Support workers at B.C. Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the B.C. Cancer Centre and several Vancouver Island facilities have conducted their own strike vote against multinational contractor Compass, with results slated for release Oct. 4. The HEU said the main issue in all three
sets of talks has been pay – it’s been two years since workers have had a raise. Hospital support workers who had been paid $18.50 an hour were fired in 2002 when the provincial government enabled widespread privatization by the health authorities to reduce costs. Firms like Sodexho took over with nonunion workers – often the same ones – and paid them $10 an hour. The HEU re-certified the non-union workers and negotiated contracts that brought pay back up to $15 an hour by 2011. The province was also forced to pay compensation to fired workers after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the 2002 terminations were illegal.
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Carmen Langbroek (right) tackles Laura van den Brink while competing in the Unbridled Mud Trials at Island 22 on Saturday. Nearly 700 people registered for the event. See more photos in an online slideshow at www.theprogress.com/lifestyles. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
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