2019-2022 Tentative Agreement Information Package - Compiled by: Nicholas Monfries, MD - President, Resident Doctors of BC Geoff Frost, MD ...
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2019-2022 Tentative Agreement
Information Package
Compiled by:
Nicholas Monfries, MD – President, Resident Doctors of BC
Geoff Frost, MD – Director of Communications, Resident Doctors of BC
Harry Gray – Executive Director, Resident Doctors of BC
1Overview
Over the past few months, Resident Doctors of BC (RDBC) has been actively negotiating an
agreement to replace the current Collective Agreement. After several months of bargaining
with the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC), RDBC and HEABC came to a tentative
agreement on March 16.
The negotiations process started over a year ago with the collection of information from the
membership on what is and isn’t working in the agreement, and priorities for change. A team of
residents were selected from within the membership to negotiate a new deal on your behalf
with assistance from the staff, external legal counsel, and the Board of Directors.
The Resident Doctors of BC staff compiled a complete list of priorities based on member
feedback and the Negotiations team came up with a final list of priorities for this round of
negotiations. The main categories of bargaining priorities included:
1. Compensation
2. Costs of Residency
3. Resident Wellness and Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S)
4. Language Clarity
In line with the above overarching priorities, proposals were created by the Negotiations team
to present at the bargaining table. In the end, our organization developed over 80 proposals,
covering a wide range of resident priorities.
We believe that the final tentative agreement recognizes the important role resident doctors
have in the healthcare system, and better values their service and commitment to patient care.
In addition to compensation increases, including increases to call stipends, the expansion of the
Professional Expenses Benefit, and advances in our call scheduling and maternity leave
definitions, there are a number of significant costs to residents which will now be covered.
We are excited to announce that as part of the discussions that led to the tentative agreement,
the Ministry of Health and UBC have agreed on a policy change which will reimburse Category
12 CMPA premiums. As well, the Ministry of Health has designated funding to work on
increasing and supporting resident engagement in BC.
We hope that the membership will recognize the significant improvements we have achieved
through our discussions and in this tentative agreement. A thorough overview of the changes
2has been included in this package. Please do not hesitate to contact Resident Doctors of BC
directly at info@residentdoctorsbc.ca, or speak directly with a Board Director or your program’s
CoPR representative. Our organization will also be holding a number of in-person tentative
agreement discussions at sites across the province.
The Board of Directors and the Bargaining Team have reviewed the Tentative Agreement and
strongly recommend acceptance of the agreement. All members will have the opportunity to
vote for this tentative collective agreement. Voting will begin on March 29, 2019 and votes will
be accepted until the end of the day on April 14, 2019. If ratified the Resident Doctors of BC
new Collective Agreement will be in effect from April 1, 2019 until March 31, 2022. Any
compensation or monetary benefits will be paid retroactively to the first pay period following
April 1 for all members.
3Compensation
Salary
The resident wage will receive an annual 2% increase each year of the three-year collective
agreement, representing a total wage increase of 6%. Given that most Provincial Housestaff
Organizations across Canada have negotiated 0-0.5% yearly increases during this last round of
bargaining, this increase will move our salaries closer to the national average, while reflecting
the current provincial fiscal climate. Below is the full resident compensation grid under the
tentative agreement and with a comparison to the first pay period salaries under the previous
collective agreement.
2014-2019 Collective As of April 1, 2019 As of April 1, 2020 As of April 1, 2021
Agreement
As of April 1, 2014
R1 $49,934.50 $54,848.73 $55,945.70 $57,064.62
R2 $55,705.25 $61,187.38 $62,411.13 $63,659.35
R3 $60,702.95 $66,676.93 $68,010.47 $69,370.68
R4 $65,341.31 $71,771.76 $73,207.20 $74,671.34
R5 $70,268.71 $77,184.09 $78,727.77 $80,302.33
R6 $75,022.44 $82,405.65 $84,053.76 $85,734.84
R7 $79,951.15 $87,819.41 $89,575.80 $91,367.31
Call Stipends
Through the thoughtful addition and reallocation of funds, we are excited to have negotiated a
20% increase to call stipend rates, which will now meet or exceed many other provinces’ call
stipend rates. Based on the average annual resident call amount, our members who do call will
receive as much as $500-$700 in additional compensation per year.
42014-2019 Collective 2019-2022 Collective
Agreement Agreement
In-Hospital Call Overnight $100 $120
Converted Out-of-Hospital Call $100 $120
Out-of-Hospital Call $50 $60
Evening Call $50 $60
Weekend Day Call $50 $60
National Wage Comparison Committee
Over the next 18 months, HEABC and RDBC will review wages as well as the recruitment and
retention of residents to create joint recommendations prior to the next round of negotiations.
Costs of Residency
Long-Term Disability Insurance Coverage
Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance is a mandatory employment requirement for Resident
Doctors in BC. In the previous collective agreement, the payment of the insurance premium
was the responsibility of the Resident. In an effort to reduce the financial hardship of
mandatory fees, we have negotiated a 100% covered Long-Term Disability Insurance plan that
suits the needs of residents. The plan will become effective July 1, 2019. This will save the
average resident between $300-$1300 annually. Residents will be able to supplement the
employer-provided LTD plan with additional private LTD coverage if desired, and at the
Resident’s expense.
Terms of the Employer-Provided LTD include:
1. 5 month waiting period – which matches the 5 months of Short-Term Disability
coverage provided by our employer
2. Own Occupation coverage for 2 years, then Any Occupation Coverage for the remainder
of the disability period
3. 66% of employment income furnished to the resident while on disability
4. Financial reimbursement up to the age of 65
5Professional Expenses Benefit Expansion
Under the previous collective agreement, the Professional Expenses Benefit (PEB) was provided
only to Resident Doctors in their PGY-1 and PGY-2 year. In acknowledgment of the significant
costs that Resident Doctors incur throughout their training, the PEB will be extended to all
Residents. At the conclusion of the 2019/2020 Academic year, all Residents, regardless of their
PGY level, will receive a $1000 stipend annually.
Policy Initiatives
Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) Premium Reimbursement
CMPA Insurance is a mandatory component of our employment. Our team is very excited to
announce that, starting with the 2019/2020 academic year, as part of the discussions that lead
to the tentative agreement, the Ministry of Health and UBC have agreed on a policy change to
reimburse CMPA premiums for the Resident and Fellow Type of Work Code 12. This makes BC
one of the few provinces in Canada to reimburse 100% of CMPA premiums charged to
residents.
Resident Engagement Funding
The Ministry of Health has designated policy funds to work on increasing and supporting
resident engagement in BC.
Resident Wellness and Occupational Health & Safety
Exam Travel Leave
Exams are an essential component of any residency program. British Columbians face unique
hardships when attempting to complete our national level exams, given the distance we must
travel to complete our end of residency exams. To reflect this, we secured:
1. Two (2) days of protected travel time before, and one (1) day after, for Royal College
Specialty Exams and exams administered by the province of Quebec
2. One (1) day of protected travel time before, and one (1) day after, for Family Medicine
and LMCC exams.
6OH&S Training
Residents face a unique workplace environment. Healthcare workers, in general, are the most
injured type of worker in the province. In an attempt to reduce workplace injury, and to help
residents understand what to do in the case of injury, we have agreed to hold one day of
Occupational Health and Safety training prior to the beginning of residency. This will be
considered a day of work and will be paid at full salary.
OH&S Committees
Residents have for too long been a forgotten voice in the healthcare system. HEABC has agreed
to have residents join three Occupational Health and Safety committees in the hopes of
addressing resident OH&S concerns:
1. Resident specific OH&S Committee
2. General BC Healthcare OH&S Committee, which includes nurses, staff physicians, and
allied health
3. Provincial Psychological OH&S Committee
Language Clarity
Call Scheduling
We worked with our employer to better define the types and application of call. To begin with,
we collected all references to call in the Collective Agreement into a series of articles: this was a
large step forward for the readability of the agreement. We then worked with HEABC to create
a list of defined terms that apply to call and simplify the language throughout the agreement,
so that a resident could read the agreement, understand their rights and responsibilities, and
ensure they were scheduled accordingly.
Maternity Leave
We worked with the employer to secure an 18-month maternity leave, which puts us in line
with federal standards for maternity leave. As a union, we secured benefits coverage for those
parents who take leave for the entire 18-month period. This is a significant benefit for parents.
7Recommendation
The Board and the Bargaining Team strongly recommend the acceptance of this tentative
agreement.
Resident Doctors of BC Team
Staff:
• Harry Gray – Executive Director
• Brandi MacLean
• Rose Mani
• Sasha Zalyvadna
• Michelle Seymour
Negotiations Committee:
• Harry Gray – Executive Director
• Brandi MacLean
• Tony Glavin – Chief Negotiator
• Dr. Geoff Frost (Physiatry, PGY-3)
• Dr. Patrick McDonald (Psychiatry, PGY-3)
• Dr. David McVea (Public Health & Preventative Medicine, PGY-3)
• Dr. Grace Qiao (Ophthalmology, PGY-3)
Board of Directors:
• Dr. Nicholas Monfries (Emergency Medicine, PGY-3) – President & Board Chair
• Dr. James Wang (Pediatrics, PGY-3) – Vice-President
• Dr. Geoff Frost (Physiatry, PGY-3) – Director of Communications
• Dr. Emily Stewart (Emergency Medicine, PGY-3) – Director of Finance
• Dr. David Kim (Emergency Medicine, PGY-3) – Immediate Past President
• Dr. Aleksander Brezar (Family Medicine, PGY-2)
• Dr. Alana Fleet (Physiatry, PGY-2)
• Dr. Meriem Latrous (Pediatrics, PGY-2)
• Dr. Patrick McDonald (Psychiatry, PGY-3)
8• Dr. Chantal McFetridge (Emergency Medicine, PGY-2)
• Dr. Marianne Schwartz (Neurology, PGY-4)
• Dr. Ashley Yip (Internal Medicine, PGY-1)
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