Author Archives: Pierre St-Jacques

Government must stop flawed hybrid work plan for federal public service workers

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Despite a week of denials, Treasury Board announced today it would unilaterally impose a restrictive hybrid work policy for all federal public service workers in the core administration.

This blanket policy mandates workers to come into the office 2-3 days per week, or 40-60% of their regular working hours; regardless of the operational requirements of their job.

The policy comes into effect January 16, 2023, and will be fully implemented by March 31. Agencies and separate employers have been urged to put in place similar policies.

The government’s decision doesn’t have the best interest of workers at heart and is completely at odds with the direction the government has been moving towards for remote work.

It’s unacceptable that right before the holidays, workers will be scrambling to make new arrangements for child care, transportation, and possibly relocating if they’ve been hired remotely and are now being asked to come into the office.

We demand that the government halt their plan. PSAC is reviewing all our options in response to this announcement, and will take the necessary steps to protect our members’ ability to work remotely.

Federal public service workers have proven they can deliver the services Canadians depend on, whether working remotely or in the office.

Remote work must be negotiated at the bargaining table 

Remote work is a key issue at the bargaining table for PSAC’s 165,000 federal workers this round of bargaining, and unilaterally changing the terms and conditions of our members’ employment during negotiations is an egregious violation of workers’ collective bargaining rights.

The lack of clarity around the policy raises more questions than answers, and PSAC does not have confidence the government can put in place the health and safety requirements and the necessary tools for all federal public service workers to return to the office in the new year.

Members who have already returned to the office have told us they’ve come into the office without desks or chairs available for them, or returned to empty buildings to spend the entire day on video calls with colleagues working elsewhere.

We will continue to provide updates to PSAC members as we fight to protect our members’ rights.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

Hire more border officers, solve border delays: PSAC and CIU launch national campaign

We count on border officers to keep us safe and secure but chronic understaffing and ineffective technology are making it impossible for workers at the border to do their jobs safely and effectively. Despite efforts to push the government to address staffing issues, this holiday season, travellers will encounter frustrating waits at airports and land crossings.

“Thousands more border officers are needed to keep our borders safe and keep travellers and trade moving efficiently” said CIU National President Mark Weber. “CBSA offices across the country are understaffed and overworked.”

This week, the Public Services Alliance of Canada and its component union, the Customs and Immigration Union, are launching a national campaign to inform Canadians of the reasons for the travel delays, and to encourage decision makers – Members of Parliament and officials at Canada Border Services Agency – to fix the problem by hiring more border officers.

“The federal Liberal government promised to protect our public services and support those who provide them. “said PSAC National President Chris Aylward “We’re ready to see the change they promised. It’s time to fix the problem.”

Take Action Now — Tell the Government of Canada to hire more border officers

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

Gender-based violence still a critical issue

On December 6, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, we remember the 14 women whose lives were stolen at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. And though it was 33 years ago, we still see a shocking lack of protection for the woman who is killed by her intimate partner every six days in Canada or the Indigenous women who are killed at a rate of nearly seven times that of non-Indigenous women.

The workplace is no exception when it comes to gender-based violence. A recent national survey by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) found that half of Canadian women experienced workplace sexual harassment, and almost one-third report having experienced non-consensual sexual touching (a type of sexual assault) in the workplace. Almost 90% of women in Canada use strategies to avoid unwanted sexual advances in the workplace, including avoiding specific people and altering the way that they dress.

Women, Two-Spirit, trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming workers are more likely to work in public-facing jobs and are often at the front-line of third-party violence. This reality is also true for PSAC members – the largest numbers of women employed by the federal public service can be found in Employment and Social Development Canada, where the management and delivery of social programs and services is often public-facing. That’s why PSAC is proud to join our labour allies across Canada in signing on to the Canadian Labour Congress’ call to end gender-based violence at work.

In a time of escalating gender-based violence, unions are united in preventing and addressing all forms of violence and harassment in the workplace, and we expect employers to step up.

Paid universal domestic violence leave

Unions have successfully won paid domestic violence leave for federal employees across several provinces and territories — including in our own collective agreements — but more needs to be done for survivors working in other vulnerable sectors like health care, education and the hotel and service industry. PSAC also continues to fight for 10 paid days of universal domestic violence leave, so that all working people can access the support they need from their employers when they are trying to leave an abusive situation.

Learn more and take action

In memory of 

Geneviève Bergeron 
Hélène Colgan 
Nathalie Croteau 
Barbara Daigneault 
Anne-Marie Edward 
Maud Haviernick 
Barbara Klucznik Widajewicz 
Maryse Laganière 
Maryse Leclair 
Anne-Marie Lemay 
Sonia Pelletier 
Michèle Richard 
Annie St-Arneault 
Annie Turcotte

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

Registration open for 2023 PSAC National Young Workers Conference

PSAC’s Young Workers Conference will be held in person April 21-23, 2023 in Montreal with the theme “Young Workers: Growing Union Power.” 

PSAC members in good standing who identify as young workers (aged 35 and under) are invited to apply to be a delegate to this conference. As a delegate, you will participate in workshops, attend plenary sessions, debate resolutions, and elect two young workers and one alternate to attend the PSAC National Triennial Convention in 2024.

See the PSAC website to apply.