Author Archives: Pierre St-Jacques

Phoenix: New Training Must Be Accessible to All Employees

Fix Phoenix Pay System Logo

After almost two years after launching the disastrous Phoenix pay system, the government has finally rolled out basic training for all employees.

“This is the kind of training that should be provided before rolling out a new pay system, not two years after the fact,” said PSAC National President Robyn Benson. “Now that it is finally available, the employer must act to ensure all employees are given the time and resources to do the training.”

PSAC reminds our members that they are entitled to take the training during their work hours.

“While this comes two years too late, we nevertheless encourage all of our members to take the training,” said Benson. “But, the employer must ensure all employees timely access to the training and that they are given sufficient time to complete the training at work.”

Important information for everyone paid by Phoenix

Whatever your position, occupational group or employment status (for example, indeterminate, term or student), if you are paid through Phoenix, this training is for you.

These courses are intended to explain how human resources information that affects your pay (such as your work schedule, leave and overtime) is fed into Phoenix, and how to ensure you enter the correct information into the system.

Courses will be tailored for employees, managers, human resources staff, and compensation advisors.

The initial courses will be web-based and are available through GCpedia, on the government’s intranet. Additional courses will be delivered in person.

More information

All employees should be receiving a message with information about the training, including links to the online courses. Treasury Board has prepared a Frequently Asked Questions document with additional information.

If you have trouble gaining access to this training, or if you are not being given sufficient time during work hours to complete the training, please contact your local PSAC representative.

This article was first published on the PSAC website.

PSAC to File Complaint – Treasury Board Will Not Meet PA, SV, TC & EB Collective Agreements Deadline

Bargaining

PSAC is taking swift action in response to Treasury Board’s admission that it will not be meeting the implementation deadline for the PA, SV, TC and EB collective agreements. On behalf of the over 100,000 workers covered by these agreements, PSAC will file a complaint with the federal Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board.

“PSAC is seeking compensation for our members,” said PSAC National President Robyn Benson. “This government irresponsibly moved forward with the Phoenix rollout, despite our warnings. Our members continue to suffer because of that decision and it is unacceptable.”

In a meeting last week, Treasury Board officials confirmed that it would not meet the 150-day implementation deadline for all the workers covered by the four collective agreements. These agreements, which took over two and a half years to negotiate, were signed on June 14, 2017.

This admission confirmed PSAC’s suspicion that Phoenix would derail implementation. PSAC will ask the Board to order the Employer to pay damages to those affected, and to take all necessary steps to immediately comply with the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Act and implement the terms of the Collective Agreements.

Once the employer has responded to the complaint a hearing date will be set. PSAC will continue to keep its members updated on developments.

A version of this article was first published on the PSAC website.

Life Members Attend CIU 18th National Convention

Picture of CIU Life Members with National President at the 2017 National Convention

CIU is honoured to have had in attendance at the 2017 National Convention several Life Members, pictured here with the National President. From left to right, in front: Brother André Doyon, Brother Mansel Legacy, and Brother Serge Charette. Back: Brother Ron Moran, Brother Garth Brewer, Brother George Scott, National President Jean-Pierre Fortin, Sister Sheila Dunnachie, Sister Sue Neumann, and Brother Gaston Ethier.

Also attending was Brother Al Francis (not pictured). Brothers André Gougeon and Don Montgomery were unfortunately unable to attend.

It is also with great sadness that we announce that Brother André Doyon passed away just a few days after the end of Convention, on October 5, 2017. He was named Life Member in 1990, and we are thankful for his contribution to our Union throughout the years. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go to Brother Doyon’s family and friends.

FB Mediation Talks Break Down

FB Bargaining

Our PSAC/CIU bargaining team for the FB group filed for a Public Interest Commission (PIC) earlier this year when we reached impasse in negotiations with Treasury Board/CBSA.

At the end of May the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board (PSLREB) appointed a Chair of the PIC. Subsequently the Chair set dates for the PIC process – October 17th and 18th, November 2nd, 6th and 23rd.

Once the dates were set our bargaining team and the Treasury Board agreed, with the support of the Chair, to use the first two dates (October 17th and 18th) to engage in mediation in order to make progress on the issues outstanding. It is common during PIC or arbitration processes for there to be mediation at the outset.

Unfortunately we made no progress in mediation, with Treasury Board and the CBSA demonstrating no movement on the issues raised by our team in bargaining, including critical matters related to wages, hours of work, discipline, leave and protections for our jobs.

As a result, mediation talks have broken down and our team is now preparing to go to hearing at the Labour Board in two weeks.

Our union and our bargaining team remain committed to achieving a fair contract for PSAC/CIU members in the FB bargaining unit, one that addresses the issues we’ve raised with respect to achieving parity with other law enforcement agencies.

We’ll be sure to provide updates as things progress. If you have questions be sure to follow up with your CIU Branch President.

A version of this article was published on the PSAC website. You can also download the PDF version (bilingual document).