If you have ever worked on shifts, you know how important your schedule is. Picking up the kids, buying groceries, spending time with the family, doing your banking -- every aspect of life is governed by your shift schedule.

In August, HHS management decided the system had to change. So they cancelled all 12-hour shifts. We all know the arguments for and against 12-hour shifts. But rather than discuss the issue with employee representatives, management simply abolished the shifts in one stroke, with virtually no warning.

Well guess what? That kind of management-by-decree doesn't work. Management discovered it had an unmanageable situation on its hands.

In the meantime, the union responded. We personally canvassed every one of our members to see what their favoured shift schedule was. Our Shift Committee has taken the member surveys and is coming up with a comprehensive answer to the problem.

For its part, management finally realized its decree could not work. It has rescinded the order.

Working with all of our members, the union will come up with a solution to the shift problem. We can only hope management listens.