HSA DECISION PENDING Elective surg faces the kn LIONS GATE Hospital’s (LGH) scheduled cancellation of elective surgery was put on held Friday after a new contract proposal was presented by the industrial inquiry commis- sioner in the contract dispute between the Health Sciences Association (HSA) and Association (HLRA)}. The HSA announced Friday thas picket lines would temporarily be lifted to give the union a chance to consider the contract offer recommended in a report by gov. ernment appointed industrial in- quiry commissioner Fred Long, “We are back in business,’” LGH president: John Borthwick said Friday. ‘We are hopeful." Along with 113 other BLOC. acute care hospitals, LOH was served with 72-hour strike notice by the union Tuesday night. In preparation for strike action by the hespital’'s 209 HSA workers, Borthwick had announce- ed Thursday that the hospital would suspend all elective surgery because “we could have a picket line around the hospital tomorrow (Friday). So, in the interests of safety, we just cannot afford to take the chance (of scheduling WEST VAN school trustee Margot Furk...questioned if elementary schoo) parents had been allowed to contribute to creation of child abuse programs. the Hospital Labor Relations Hy TIMOTHY RENSHA Joho Bor- thwick...‘'We are back in business. We are hopeful." LGH PRESIDENT West Van School Board has second thoughts ery fe elective surgery) ' Prior to Tuesday, 16 BOC. hos. Pitals had been the target of HSA strike action after cantract talks between the HSA and the HERA, which is the barvaming agent tor B.C. hospitals, had broken off, At issue in the dispute are wages und length of contract, The HSA rejected a proposal Qet. 17 for a 10.2 per cent salary increase in the first two years of a four-year contrict, Pong’s report contained a pro. Posed three-vear pact, but the HISA, executive has urged its &,S00 members to reject Chat proposal. HSA spokesman Howie Saith sid the report's: proposal would hot solve the union's problems, Smith said the four-year con- tract was rejected because it would lock members into a contract that would not sufficiently close wage disparity between the B.C. union and health professionals in’ other Provinces. HLRA president Peter McAllister said the recommended rejection of the compromise pro- posal was deplorable, WEST VANCOUVER School Board (WVSB) is having se- cond thoughts about a child abuse prevention program that it had previously approved. The program, aimed at West Vancouver elementary schools, is designed to teach children about child abuse and how to deal with it. In September, WVSB approved the program for a one-year trial basis. The board also approved $5,000 to fund the program. Teachers and parents of children in elementary schools were to decide together what kind of child abuse prevention programs they wanted and what would be in those programs. The decisions were ex- pected to be made by Oct. 10 and each of the programs was to be reviewed by WVSB at its meeting By SURJ RATTAN Contributing Write Oct. 20. But George Stewart, the district's supervising principal of special education, told the board Monday that more time was need- ed before all of the programs were selected. The extension was granted and a motion was passed that Stewart would spend $5,000 to purchase materials for the programs. But trustee Margot Furk ques- tioned if all elementary school parents had been allowed to con- TTA Weather: Rain Sunday. Highs 12% Lows 7°. Outlook for Monday & Tuesday inter- mittent rain. Highs 11° Lows 6°C. Heo tas prestously said Chit the {3S.snember hospital employer associanion is not tatesested: in a shorter deal. The HERA offer, tuied down by the HSA, ts contingent as much on wages as an length, McAllister Said, The offer called for mereases of 2.8 per cent and 2.7 per cent i VW88o and 1987. The union would also receive market Labor inercases of three and two per cent over the same period, whieh mikes Ute total increase 10.2 per cent. Rorthwick said GH manage- ment had been at the Labor Relit- tions Board all day Thursday ap- plying to have 180 of LGEs 437 Hospital Employees Union (HEU) members designated as essential in the event ot a strike at the hospital, The HEU has been honoring é ‘ peepee tribute to the creation of the child abuse prevention programs. “I don’t remember seeing any newsletters asking parents for their opinions on the programs. !'m re- ally concerned about this because now I’m hearing that some of the programs have already been selected,’’ Furk said. Trustee. Hugh Stark said he wasn’t against the program, but he does not want any academic pro- grams to be cut as a result of ac- commodating the child abuse prevention programs. “—?m concerned that my kid’s curriculum is going to be cut for this,’’ said Stark. ‘‘We only have so much time for teaching each day. | wonder if the three R’s will suffer." West Vancouver Teachers 3 - sundays, October 26, 1886 - North Shore News HSA picket lines. INDEX Business ........... Editorial Page....... Fashion ............ Lifestyles .......... Mailbox........... What's Going On....4 at With the possibility of a picket line at LGH on Friday, Borthwick had said 10 elective and 200 day. care surgical procedures had been cancelled, He said the hospital would also close T12 of ats 40b acute care beds. Hat with the suspeusion of strike action, Borthwick said: all surgical procedures, except those scheduled for Friday morning, would go ahead. The HSA represents lab technologists, pharmacists and physiotherapists. Starting wage for a lab technologist in B.C. as of Dec. 31, 1985 is $1,998 per month com- pared with $2,191 per month in Alberta and $2,279 per month in On the block AUCTIONEERS FROM Joiner Commercias Industrial Sales Lid. liquidated the remaining assets of North Vancouver's Bel-Aire Shipyard Thursday. The auction followed the final decision of creditors to salvage what they could) trom the bankrupt shipyard. Joiner co- owner Dennis Joiner said Fri- day the auction, which began at 9 a.m. Thursday and finished at 12:45 a.m. Friday, had raised under $500,000. Bel-Aire was shut down at the end of January, three months after it had been acquired by Pinecorp Research Corp, when Revenue Canada froze the shipyard’s assets to collect $2.2 million in unpaid taxes. As a resull of the shut down, 150 employees from the 25-year-old shipyard were put out of work. Association president Kit Krieger said several teachers have express- ed concern over having to teach a child the abuse prevention pro- gram. “We do feel uncomfortable with this issue. We’ve been operating for a long time without such a prograin, and now J think we’re moving too fast on this,”’ said Krieger. , He also questioned ‘‘what $5,000 can buy in terms of protec- ting children from child abuse.”’ WVSB will receive a report from each elementary school as to how they decided which child abuse prevention program to use. In June, 1987 the school board will review the child abuse preven- tion program and decide if it should be continued.