PSAC has asked for a court order to stop the government from going ahead with their plans to remove sick leave provisions from collective agreements in the federal public service.
On August 10, the union filed a notice of motion with the Ontario Superior Court requesting an injunction against the sections of Bill C-59 (the 2015 budget implementation act) that allow Treasury Board to take sick leave provisions out of the collective bargaining process.
“Protecting our members’ rights is a top priority,” said PSAC national president Robyn Benson. “While the government is in a caretaker position until after the election, we are doing everything we can to ensure that they don’t proceed with their plans to gut our members’ sick leave protection.”
We have asked the Court to have our motion heard before the election takes place. The Professional Institute of the Public Service (PIPSC) has filed the same motion that also includes most of the other federal public service unions. We are working with them and asking the Court for a joint hearing.
PSAC is arguing that this is a serious issue and one that will cause irreparable harm because it involves substantial interference in our right to bargain collectively. C-59 not only gives Treasury Board the right to invalidate parts of existing collective agreements, it also undermines future bargaining.
In June, PSAC asked the Court to declare that the sick leave provisions of Bill C-59 are in direct violation of our members’ right to free collective bargaining under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and to declare them invalid. However, it is expected that the Court will not being to hear the case until mid-2016.
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