Author Archives: Pierre St-Jacques

TC bargaining: Frustration mounts with Treasury Board

Treasury Board yet again failed to respond to PSAC’s proposals during the latest round of negotiations with the Technical Services bargaining team March 22-24.

Treasury Board’s stalling tactics are disrespectful, with representatives coming to the table empty-handed for months while also failing to respond to PSAC’s clear demands. This is unacceptable and an insult to TC members who continue to be on the frontlines of the pandemic serving Canadians.

If this were not enough, the few crumbs that Treasury Board has proposed amount to concessions under the guise of “flexible work arrangements.” Their proposals would allow managers to change people’s schedules on short notice or change day-workers into shift workers with little notice. The proposal would provide managers with more scheduling flexibility at your expense.

PSAC expects Treasury Board to put forward their wage proposal at the Common Issues table during negotiations March 29-31.

We put forward our wage offer of 4.5 per cent per year for all Treasury Board members at the Common Issues table last November.

See PSAC’s final wage proposal

The TC bargaining team is also proposing several other important gains for members, including protections for hours of work, improvements to overtime, and fixing the long-broken classification system through the Occupational Group Structure review.

The TC bargaining team will continue to push for fair wages, a better classification system, and reasonable working conditions for all TC members.

Take action and show your support

Your support is critical to our success at the table. As negotiations reach a pivotal moment, it is more important than ever to get involved and put pressure on the government to come to the table ready to negotiate fair wages and working conditions.

Join our April 12 national panel on fair wages with a strong lineup of speakers.

And register now for our April 14 day of action where PSAC members from across the country will be coming together to take action and flood the lines of MPs and cabinet ministers to urging them to come to the table ready to bargain.

Support your bargaining team with our digital backgrounds and talk to your coworkers about bargaining with the tools in our bargaining toolkit:

Please be sure to keep your contact information up to date to receive all the latest updates about bargaining.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

PA bargaining: Treasury Board stalls talks

Treasury Board continued to delay negotiations with the Program and Administrative Services bargaining team during negotiations March 22-24.

The PA team provided Treasury Board with a trimmed proposal package in February to try and move bargaining forward, but Treasury Board was unwilling to commit to any proposals.

PSAC expects Treasury Board to put forward their wage proposal at the Common Issues table during negotiations March 29-31.

We put forward our wage proposal of 4.5 per cent per year for all Treasury Board members at the Common Issues table last November. The PA pay proposal submitted in February builds on the Common Issues proposals, calling for additional adjustments and allowances for specific classifications within the PA group.

Common Issues

PSAC’s Common Issues bargaining team met with Treasury Board in February to discuss issues that impact members from every table, including work-life balance, wages, and new memorandums of understanding. Check out the full Common Issues update for more information.

Day of Action and stay in touch

Join our April 12 national panel on fair wages with a strong lineup of speakers.

And register now for our April 14 day of action where PSAC members from across the country will be coming together to take action and flood the lines of MPs and cabinet ministers, urging government to come to the table ready to bargain.

Stay informed and engaged during this round of negotiations using our bargaining toolkit.

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.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

PSAC celebrates 699 leave victory

In a major victory for federal public service workers hardest hit by the pandemic, an arbitration board ruled that Treasury Board cannot force employees to exhaust all their other leave before accessing 699 leave for COVID-19-related reasons.

This decision means that PSAC members who filed individual grievances related to 699 leave — where members were forced to use other available leave like sick leave, vacation leave or family leave before accessing 699 leave — can now request the leave be reimbursed to their leave banks.

Treasury Board’s heavy hand during the pandemic

The 699 leave provision is for “other leave with pay” and members can request it through their manager when they are unable to report to work for reasons beyond their control. This is different from sick leave and vacation time.

PSAC members relied on 699 leave to grapple with radical work-life changes during the pandemic. Parents were often left with no choice but to apply for 699 leave when schools and daycares were closed or went remote, but the government heavily restricted its use.

The restrictions disproportionately impact marginalized groups who have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, including women, Black, Indigenous and racialized employees, workers with disabilities, high-risk workers and workers with family obligations.

PSAC filed several policy grievances with Treasury Board, CFIA and other agencies for restricting the use of 699 leave. Two of these grievances were then brought before the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.

The Board found the 699 leave policy breached PSAC’s collective agreement by requiring employees to exhaust other leave before 699 leave could be granted. The Board ruled this posed an undue burden on employees and violated members’ collective agreements.

On parental leave specifically, the Board ruled that denial of 699 leave to parents who “chose” not to send their children to school or daycare is not discriminatory or a violation of the collective agreement. Although parents may have a right to choose to keep their children at home” this was a choice and not a right that is protected by human rights legislation, the Board ruled. PSAC is reviewing this aspect of the decision for potential grounds for judicial review given the evidence that parents had little to no choice regarding childcare during the pandemic as well as the state of human rights jurisprudence on the issue of sex and family status discrimination.

Requesting 699 leave

If you need leave related to COVID-19, you should continue to request 699 leave. If your request is denied or you are forced to take other types of leave, reach out immediately to your PSAC regional office or your component labour relations officer to discuss whether you should file an individual or group grievance, including a grievance citing discrimination on the grounds of sex, family status or disability.

Stay up to date about 699 leave and other important issues by updating your contact information and signing up for our latest updates.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

PSAC files policy grievances against federal vaccination policy

PSAC logo SCFP

PSAC continues to support vaccination as a critical public health measure to protect our workplaces and our communities. Yet as public health restrictions begin to lift across the country, it’s important to take a critical look at the federal government’s vaccination policy and how it is applied to PSAC members.

As the pandemic has evolved and the science has developed, we believe continuing to put unvaccinated employees on leave without pay is a harsh administrative measure that can be considered disciplinary and without just cause.

PSAC has filed policy grievances on behalf of all members in the federal public service – including Treasury Board, Canada Revenue Agency, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Parks Canada – who have been put on leave without pay because of their vaccination status.

As part of the remedy, we have requested compensation for members should they continue to be placed on leave without pay because of the government’s policy. PSAC’s grievances come as the government begins to review its vaccination policy six months after its implementation.

Throughout the pandemic, we have continued to support members who have had their human rights or workplace rights violated because of their vaccination status.

PSAC continues to consult with the federal government on its vaccination policy to ensure it reflects the latest public health guidelines while protecting the health and safety of our members and their rights in the workplace.

Policy grievance for remote workers remains active

Though all workers are included in this latest policy grievance, PSAC had previously submitted a different policy grievance covering only remote Treasury Board employees in December 2021, with a subsequent submission for remote CRA employees earlier this month.

PSAC argued at the time that the federal government’s mandatory vaccination policies to place remote workers on leave without pay constituted an abuse of management authority because remote workers, who had little to no prospect of returning to physical workplaces in the long term, posed no reasonable threat to the health and safety of their workplaces.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

International Women’s Day 2022

Stylized image representing women with the words "International Women's Day"

A woman’s place is in her union

March 8 marks International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate the historical, cultural and political achievements of women.

In honour of this, the CIU National Women’s Committee would like to celebrate all CIU members who identify as women and who have contributed to the union since its inception — members such as CIU Life Members Sue Neumann, Sheila Dunnachie and Diane Lacombe. Battling gender bias in a male dominated workplace and union, these women forged the way, signalling that there was a place for women in our union. As new women activists, seeing women in positions of leadership at CIU was key in inspiring us to become more involved in our union.

Break the bias in the workplace

We would also like to highlight the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, #breakthebias.

Studies have found that women face a greater number of microaggressions in the workplace than men, and this is amplified for women of colour, indigenous women, women with disabilities and women who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+. Women have their competence challenged, are interrupted or spoken over, and have their judgement questioned more often than men. Women also receive more negative feedback on how they present themselves or act, like being told they are argumentative or confrontational. Intersectional women also face the ‘only’ challenge — being the only woman in a meeting and being expected to speak for all people with whom they share an identity.

Today, our committee asks our Brothers, Sisters and friends to look closely at our biases towards women so that we can begin to confront them. One way bias is displayed is in the adjectives often used to describe women at work. Try challenging these adjectives to replace them with more positive ones.

Examples:

  • Knowledgeable vs. Know-it-all or argumentative
  • Passionate vs. Emotional, confrontational
  • Leadership vs. Bossy
  • Persistent vs. Nag
  • Driven vs. Ambitious
  • Detailed oriented vs. High maintenance

When we use negative adjectives to describe women, it undermines their talents and contributions. Women and men alike use this type of language. Confronting our biases together is one way we can help build a more positive space for women in the union, where their contributions are appreciated for their content. In this way, we can make sure that there is truly a place for women in their union.

In solidarity,

The CIU National Women’s Committee