PA bargaining: Treasury Board brings remote work concessions to the table
Treasury Board started negotiations off on the wrong foot with Program and Administrative Services (PA) this round by putting problematic concessions on the table that would penalize employees who choose to work remotely.
The proposal would claw back meal-time allowances for employees who work three or more hours before or after their shift from a remote location, and diminish provisions for remote employees who are called back to work after completing their workday.
“Remote work is one of our members’ biggest priorities as we look towards more flexibility in our work after the pandemic,” said Marianne Hladun, Regional Executive Vice-President for the Prairies. “It’s incredibly frustrating Treasury Board seems intent on forcing our members to ‘pay’ for the opportunity to work remotely.”
According to the results of PSAC’s membership bargaining input survey, three out of four respondents had been mostly working remotely since the start of the pandemic. On top of that, more than 80 per cent of respondents were extremely or at least somewhat likely to want to continue working remotely.
PSAC’s proposal on remote work — submitted at the Common Issues table — aims to formalize the procedures outlined in Treasury Board’s Directive on Telework by including provisions for equipment and supplies and ensuring employees’ requests for remote work are not unreasonably denied.
More concessions for shift workers
During negotiations, Treasury Board also proposed to remove language that protects employees in the Information Services (IS) group from becoming shift workers.
In the next few weeks, the PA bargaining team will reach out to IS members for their input on the shift work proposal and how it could impact their work-life balance.
A new proposal was also tabled by the employer calling for enhanced flexibility for hours of work provisions. While the employer is selling this as increased flexibility for workers, the union views this as an opportunity to impose potentially unreasonable and demanding work schedules on employees.
Share your frustration
We need your support to send a clear message to Treasury Board before the PA bargaining team returns to the table again January 11–13, 2022.
Show the government that PA members who have faithfully served Canadians throughout the pandemic, while trying to balance work and life from home, deserve the opportunity to continue working remotely — without being penalized for it.
- Take action by using our PA video background for all your work meetings to support your bargaining team;
- Talk to your supervisors about how important flexible work arrangements are for you and your family and mention the concessions Treasury Board is proposing;
- Take the time to talk to your colleagues about the concessions on the table and how they’ll impact your team;
- Use our PA social media frame when you talk about bargaining online.
Common issues
PSAC’s Common Issues bargaining team also met with Treasury Board to discuss the key issues that impact members from every table – including wages, remote work, anti-racism, and the right to disconnect.
Check out the full common issues update for more information.
Stay in touch
Please be sure to keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive all the latest updates as we negotiate your next contract.
EB Group: Team proposes improvements to career development
The Education and Library Science (EB) bargaining team focused on improving education leave and career development opportunities for members during talks with Treasury Board, November 8-10, 2021.
PSAC’s common issues bargaining team also met with Treasury Board to discuss the major issues that impact members from every table – including wages, remote work, anti-racism and the right to disconnect. Check out the full common issues update for more information.
Career Development
The EB bargaining team’s proposal included several improvements to career development, including:
- education leave with an allowance equal to 100% of salary
- ability for employees to participate in professional development activities
- strong language around approval and denial of professional development requests to ensure requests cannot be unreasonably denied and all members can fairly access career development opportunities
- greater voice to employees in determining their professional development needs
Hours of work
Treasury Board came to the table with a proposal on hours of work supposedly meant to improve flexibility for employees. At first glance, the proposal raises alarm bells since it would increase the employer’s ability to propose work schedules that could be disruptive to employees such as split shifts and weekend work. However, the EB bargaining team will be thoroughly reviewing the proposed changes and preparing a response for when they return to the negotiation table in January.
Other improvements
Treasury Board refused to respond to most of the other proposals the EB bargaining team brought to the table, since they have monetary implications. The team plans on tabling an EB-specific wage proposal in January and expects the employer to engage in more meaningful discussions.
Show your support
Meet your bargaining team, learn why they got involved in this round of negotiations and show your support with our bargaining graphics:
- Video background for all your work meetings
- Social media frame for your social media profile picture
- Printable poster for your work area
Stay in touch
Please be sure to keep your contact information up to date with the member portal to receive all the latest updates as we negotiate your next contract.
SV bargaining: Team discusses leave, travel time and health and safety
The Operational Services (SV) team pushed for several improvements to health and safety and working conditions for ship’s crew and lightkeepers during talks with Treasury Board on October 26-28.
PSAC’s common issues bargaining team also met with Treasury Board to discuss the major issues that impact members from every table – including wages, remote work, anti-racism and the right to disconnect. Check out the full common issues update for more information.
For the SV group, the team proposed several improvements including:
Ship’s crew:
- Reimbursing parking costs paid by employees while performing their duties at sea;
- The expansion of paid leave for family-related responsibilities by making sure no more than eight hours are deducted from leave credits if a member has to take leave for their entire shift;
- On days where a crew change coincides with a designated paid holiday listed, both incoming and outgoing crews should be paid double time for all hours worked.
- Sailing time: a sailing lay-day on-cycle should be no longer than 28 days.
Lightkeepers:
- Two days of travel time with pay for the journey out from and returning to the light station;
- Clear timelines for when the employer must respond to an employee’s vacation leave request.
All members:
- Increase health and safety of members by providing access to immunization and prescription medication against diseases that employees may be exposed to in the workplace. This must be provided at no additional cost to the employee.
Remote work
Our bargaining team’s attention is focussed on issues that matter most to SV members, but it’s clear the employer doesn’t seem to fully understand the nature of the work performed by our members. At the table, Treasury Board is pushing for concessions in exchange for the opportunity for our members to work remotely, even though these work arrangements are simply impossible for many SV members. We’ve advised the employer to come to the next round prepared to address issues that are unique to the SV group.
The SV bargaining team returns to the table January 18-20, 2022.
Show your support
Meet your SV bargaining team and learn why they got involved in this round of negotiations. Show support by downloading and using the virtual background for all your work meetings and swap out your social media profile picture:
Stay tuned for updates
To ensure that you receive all the latest updates as we negotiate your next contract, verify that your contact information is up to date via the member portal.
Common issues bargaining: Wages must keep up with soaring inflation
PSAC put forward a wage proposal for more than 110,000 federal public service workers that reflects skyrocketing inflation rates across Canada.
The common issues bargaining team proposed a 4.5 per cent wage increase in each year of a three-year agreement during negotiations with Treasury Board in early November.
Inflation rates are at the highest levels seen in more than 18 years, and members deserve a wage increase that keeps up with the rising costs of food, housing, and child care — anything less is a pay cut for federal public service workers. This year, the consumer price index rose 4.7 per cent on a year-over-year basis in October, up from a 4.4 per cent increase in September.
Many employers are recognizing there is a labour shortage and are increasing salaries accordingly to recruit and retain skilled staff. As Canada’s largest employer, Treasury Board needs to take on a leadership role by providing fair wages that recognize the rising cost of living and set the bar for other Canadian employers to help Canadians recover from the pandemic.
Group specific market adjustments, allowances, and grid re-structure proposals were not part of this package and will be submitted separately by the group-specific tables.
Employer refuses to discuss remote work
Treasury Board refused PSAC’s proposal to include remote work provisions in the collective agreement because they feel the inclusion of remote work is unnecessary and language on the right to disconnect is redundant.
Members have flagged work-life balance and the ability to work remotely as key priorities for this round of bargaining. Employees should have a say in when and where they work, and we will continue to push Treasury Board to negotiate terms for remote work and the right to disconnect into our collective agreements where they will be most effective.
New proposals on bilingualism bonus, anti-oppression training, parental leave
PSAC tabled new and revised provisions within the discrimination and sexual harassment articles to ensure our members have access to a fair process. The proposal expands the definition of what is considered harassment to better protect members. It also calls for mandatory training for all employees on the topics of “anti-oppression and discrimination,” and “harassment, sexual harassment, and violence in the workplace.”
Our proposed new training provisions push the employer to appropriately recognize and promote bilingualism in the federal public service, while the proposed increase to the bilingualism bonus aims to improve what is currently offered under the National Joint Council’s Bilingualism Bonus Directive, which has been stagnant for decades.
We also proposed improvements to maternity leave without pay and parental leave without pay to increase the top-up available to employees. We hope this will allow single parents and lowerincome families to better utilize the extended parental benefits option.
Upcoming bargaining dates
The bargaining team meets with the employer again on December 14 and 15, 2021.
The Common Issues table covers members in the Programs and Administrative Services (PA), Technical Services (TC), Operational Services (SV) and Education and Library Science (EB) bargaining units.
This content has also been posted on the PSAC website: PA, EB, SV, Common Issues
