Author Archives: Admin Staff

Our new elected National Representatives

The new elected CIU National Representatives have taken the oath of office at the 17th National Convention.

National President
Brother Jean-Pierre Fortin, Eastern Township Branch
Re-elected by acclamation

First National Vice-President
Brother Mark Weber, Toronto Branch
Elected

Second National Vice-President
Sister Brea Lewis, Saskatchewan Branch
Elected in second round

Third National Vice-President
Brother André Beaulieu, New Brunswick Branch
Elected

Fourth National Vice-President
Sister Chantal Rajotte, Headquarters Branch
Elected in second round

Equal Opportunity Representative
Brother Murray Star, Toronto Branch
Elected

Alternate Equal Opportunity Representative
Brother Insa Fall, Headquarters Branch
Elected by acclamation

Youth Representative
Sister Lauren Baert, Sarnia Branch
Elected

Alternate Youth Representative
Brother Craig Steinhauser, Vancouver Branch
Elected by acclamation

One day before National Convention

Our Seventeenth National Convention starts tomorrow in Ottawa, ON. The National Convention, which is the supreme governing body of our Union, is held once every three years and provides an opportunity for all CIU members to become involved in the operation and future of their Union.

As the supreme governing body, the National Convention provides a forum for delegates, elected by their peers and on a per capita basis according to District Branch membership, to represent their Sisters and Brothers in making decisions that govern both the administration and the policies of this Union for the ensuing three-year period. The National Convention is also the forum where the Union’s National Executive is elected for its three-year term. The CIU By-Laws (By-Law 8, Section 17) provide an opportunity for all members to submit resolutions, within the prescribed format, dealing with all aspects of the Union.

Follow us on Twitter during the Convention (@ciusdi_en), or interact using the hashtag (#BeTheUnion).

CIU takes part in a demo at the St. Armand border

On Friday September 19th, in the context of the solidarity campaign sponsored by PSAC-Quebec during which a demonstration takes place on  on the 19th day of each month, members of the Customs and Immigration Union joined their Sisters and Brothers of PSAC-Quebec in St. Armand, Quebec to denounce the conservative government’s policies and budget cuts at the border. Members of the Union of National Defence Employees (UNDE) were also present in support to their Sisters and Brothers.

“Without the necessary staff to ensure an effective front line and intelligence capability, it will be difficult to prevent firearms, drugs, terrorists, sexual predators and hardened criminals from entering our country” said Jean-Pierre Fortin, National President, CIU.

For more pictures of the event, check out our Facebook page.

PA team defends sick leave and other workplace rights

The PA bargaining team met with our Treasury Board counterparts for three days during the week of September 8, 2014.

The government presented the same proposal to gut sick leave to all of the Treasury Board bargaining tables. Among other things, the government’s proposal calls for a short-term disability plan, the elimination of sick leave banks and a maximum of 37.5 hours of sick leave a year. All of the PSAC bargaining teams rejected this proposal.

We delivered the following message at the table:

We come to the bargaining table every three years or so to improve wages and working conditions for our members. We are interested in negotiating any provisions that will result in a healthier workplace and will improve the public service. We think your sick leave demands will create hardships for our members, so we are not interested.

After the TB team presented their sick leave proposal, our team stood up to prominently display t-shirts provided by PSAC Atlantic, stating “Give up Our Sick Leave? Hell NO!”

There is a special technical committee comprised of members of the five TB bargaining teams that is working on sick leave – a very important issue. Please feel free to contact your union representative with any feedback.

Fixing compensation

Also at the bargaining table, Treasury Board provided a presentation on the Occupational Group Structure-Classification Reform process that was first negotiated into the 2007 collective agreement. This is an important issue for so many PSAC members who are not being properly compensated because of our outdated classification standards. Our team expressed our outrage about Treasury Board’s lack of progress on classification reform. TB negotiators said the task was bigger and more complex than they originally anticipated.

Our team signed off on a change of mileage rates to kilometric rates, which is consistent with the National Joint Council directive. Additional topics discussed included:

  • The union’s proposals to add gender identity and expression to the “no discrimination” clause
  • Adding Treasury Board policies on pre-retirement, self-funded leave and leave with income averaging to the collective agreement
  • Improving the compassionate care language and moving it to a stand-alone article
  • Expanding the definition of family in the collective agreement

Our bargaining team will keep you informed throughout this process. Help support our efforts by speaking to your co-workers and participating in upcoming workplace information sessions.