Author Archives: Pierre St-Jacques

PSAC Members Ratify New Agreements (PA, TC, EB and SV)

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada working for Treasury Board have accepted new collective agreements that contain no concessions for four bargaining units representing more than 100,000 workers.

The majority of members in the Program and Administrative (PA), Technical Services (TC), Operational Services (SV), and Education and Library Science (EB) bargaining units voted in favour of the new agreements.

“I am proud of our negotiating teams for standing strong during these two long, difficult years at the table,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President. “It is through the hard work and commitment of the members of our bargaining teams, along with the support and solidarity from the bargaining unit members, that we were able to reach these agreements.”

Significant Breakthroughs

With these agreements, PSAC achieved some significant breakthroughs:

Sick leave: The sick leave articles of our collective agreements will remain unchanged. The parties have negotiated a Memorandum of Agreement to establish a Task Force to develop recommendations on measures to improve employee wellness.
Workforce adjustment: the most significant improvements to the Workforce Adjustment agreement since it was first signed as an appendix into PSAC collective agreements in 1998.
Helping workers meet family demands: It has been agreed that a committee will be established to look at childcare needs. Better family leave, including provisions for extended family, have also been negotiated.
Mental health task force: the memorandum that established the task force is also contained in this agreement. The MOU was agreed to earlier in the bargaining process, in 2015, and the task force has already been hard at work ever since

Monetary Gains

The four-year collective agreements, which expire in 2018, provide for across-the-board annual wage increases of 1.25 per cent for each year, plus other wage adjustments made for specific bargaining units and classifications.

FB Group

The Border Services (FB) group was unable to conclude a tentative agreement and is proceeding to a Public Interest Commission.

More Information

For more information on the agreements:

What’s Next

FAQ on collective agreement implementation and retroactivity

Convention Call – CIU’s 18th National Convention

The 2017 National Convention of the Customs and Immigration Union will be held September 29, 30 and October 1, 2017 at the Ottawa Marriott Hotel, 100 Kent Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5R7. Convention Committees will meet on September 26 and 27, 2017 and the National Board of Directors will meet on September 28, 2017.

Deadlines

May 29, 2017 – Election of Delegates and Alternates (By-Law 8, Section 5)
May 29, 2017 – Resolutions (By-Law 8, Section 17)
June 29, 2017 – Appointment of Committees (By-Law 8, Section 8)
July 28, 2017 – Delegate Certificate (By-Law 8, Section 6)
July 28, 2017 – Instructions for Committee Members (By-Law 8, Section 12)
July 28, 2017 – General Information Booklet (By-Law 8, Section 13)

May 29, 2017 – A Date to Remember

1. Election of Convention Delegates and Alternates

Convention Delegates are elected by each Branch from amongst its members.
The only qualification required to run for election as a Delegate is that you be a member in good standing.
If you are interested in attending the Convention, ask your Branch President for information regarding the election of Delegates.
Election of Convention Delegates must be completed by May 29, 2017.

2. Resolutions

All resolutions must comply with By-Law 8, Section 17.
The Resolution Form can be downloaded here as a PDF. Additional Resolution Forms may also be obtained from your Branch President or the National Office.
Resolutions will not be accepted unless they bear the appropriate signatures.
Resolutions to the CIU National Convention that deal with Collective Bargaining can only address the collective bargaining process itself. Submitting Collective Bargaining Resolutions should not be confused with submitting Bargaining Demands, as these are handled through another process and at another time.
Resolutions are to be sent by facsimile to 613-723-7895 or mailed to the CIU National Office, 1741 Woodward Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K2C 0P9, and if mailed, must be postmarked no later than May 29, 2017.

Please see the full Convention Call page for an overview of the CIU By-Laws that cover convention. You can also download the PDF version of the Convention Call.

18th CIU National Convention – Sept. 29 to Oct. 1st, 2017

We are fast approaching our 18^th National Convention. 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 of the Union, 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.

The Convention Call applies to all Union members in good standing and should be considered as an invitation to participate in the future of this Union.

Also available is the Convention Resolution Form. It should be noted that Convention Resolutions pertaining to collective bargaining must refer only to the procedure of bargaining and not actual bargaining demands. Bargaining demands are sought through a different forum and are referred, through the Component Collective Bargaining Committee, to the Public Service Alliance of Canada. Bargaining demands will not be dealt with at the CIU National Convention.

We look forward to your participation and input and expect to greet some of you in September 2017. Any questions or clarification regarding the foregoing should be directed through your Branch Executive.

FAQ Regarding TC, SV, EB & PA Tentative Agreements and Retro Pay

Questions about the various tentative agreements for the TC, SV, EB and PA Groups? Click on the following links to get answers to frequently asked questions, or see below for a general FAQ on retro pay.

TC Group tentative agreement FAQ
SV Group tentative agreement FAQ
EB Group tentative agreement FAQ
PA Group tentative agreement FAQ

FAQ on Retroactive Pay for TC, SV, EB and PA Groups

When will the deal come into effect?

If a majority of members vote “yes” in the ratification vote, PSAC will meet with the employer to sign your new collective agreement. With the exception of wages, which are retroactive, the new negotiated provisions come into effect on date of signing, unless otherwise specified.

Who will get back pay (retroactive pay) for the negotiated economic increases?

PA: The new collective agreement is retroactive to June 21, 2014, expiring June 20, 2018. This means that you are entitled to back pay for the period of time you were employed and a PA member from June 21, 2014.
EB: The new collective agreement is retroactive to July 1st, 2014, expiring June 30, 2018. This means that you are entitled to back pay for the period of time you were employed and a EB member from July 1st, 2014.
TC: The new collective agreement is retroactive to June 22, 2014, expiring June 21, 2018. This means that you are entitled to back pay for the period of time you were employed and a TC member from June 22, 2014.
SV: The new collective agreement is retroactive to August 5, 2014, expiring August 4, 2018. This means that you are entitled to back pay for the period of time you were employed and an SV member from August 5, 2014.

When can I expect the employer to pay the retroactive pay?

The employer has 150 days from the date of signing to implement the provisions of the new collective agreement, including adjusting rates of pay and issuing retroactive pay.

Are increases to allowances retroactive?

Increases to allowances are not retroactive. The employer has 150 days after the date of signing to implement the changes and issue payment of the allowances.

Parts of this article was originally published on the PSAC website.

Online Actions Call on Minister Morneau to Abandon Bill C-27

Bill C-27, An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act, is an attack on the retirement security of Canadians.

This bill will allow employers in the federal private sector and Crown Corporations to shift from good, defined benefit plans that provide secure and predictable pension benefits, into the much less secure form of target benefits. If passed, this bill would open the door to a disturbing trend of shifting all the risk of pension plans onto workers and retirees.

In 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that defined benefit pension plans that workers and retirees have already paid into should not be retroactively changed into target benefit plans. Yet, this is exactly what Bill C-27 will do.

Take action

PSAC has always stood for retirement security and opposed any move to eliminate defined benefit (DB) pension plans. We urge our members to send a letter to Finance Minister Bill Morneau to tell him and the Liberal government to abandon Bill C-27.

House of Commons petition: e-695 (Pension system)
Form letter to Finance Minister Bill Morneau

This message was originally published on the PSAC website.