Author Archives: Pierre St-Jacques

SV members ratify new tentative agreement

PSAC members in the Operational Services (SV) bargaining unit have voted in favour of their tentative agreement.

The unit represents nearly 10,000 federal public service workers who have gone above and beyond to support Canadians during this pandemic.

The new collective agreement covers the 2018-2021 period and provides fair wages, no concessions and improved working conditions.

“I am proud of the elected members of our bargaining teams for their unwavering dedication during this round of talks,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC National President. “Thanks to their hard work and the solidarity shown by thousands of members across the country, we were able to negotiate a fair deal. We’re now in a strong position to build on these improvements in the next round of bargaining.”

Next Steps

In the coming weeks, PSAC will meet with Treasury Board representatives to sign the new collective agreement. With the exception of monetary provisions, which are retroactive, new contract terms come into effect on the date of signing.

The employer has 180 days from the signing of the contract to implement wage increases, wage adjustments and allowances. As explained in the ratification kits, in view of this extended implementation timeline, PSAC negotiated a $500 lump sum payment into all contracts.

PSAC will update members when the contract is signed. Please keep your contact information up to date via the PSAC member portal.

Parks, CFIA and FB group

Members in the Parks and CFIA units vote between October 5 and November 4.

Members in the Border Services (FB) unit are still in talks.

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

PA, TC, and EB members ratify new agreements with Treasury Board

A majority of PSAC members in the Program and Administrative (PA), Technical Services (TC), Education and Library Science (EB), and PSAC-UTE (CRA) bargaining units have voted in favour of their respective tentative agreements. The four units represent nearly 110,000 federal public service workers who have gone above and beyond to support Canadians during this pandemic.

The new collective agreements for the PA, TC and EB groups cover the 2018-2021 period, while the new PSAC-UTE collective agreement covers the 2016-2021 period. All agreements provide for fair wages, no concessions and improved working conditions.

Next Steps

In the coming weeks, PSAC will meet with Treasury Board and CRA representatives to sign the new collective agreements. With the exception of monetary provisions, which are retroactive, new contract terms come into effect on the date of signing.

Both employers have 180 days from the signing of the contracts to implement wage increases, wage adjustments and allowances. As explained in the ratification kits, in view of this extended implementation timeline, PSAC negotiated a $500 lump sum payment into all contracts.

PSAC will update members when contracts are signed. Please keep your contact information up to date via the PSAC member portal.

SV group, Parks, CFIA and FB group

Members in the Operational Services (SV) group have until October 5 to vote on their new contract while those in the Parks and CFIA units will vote between October 5 and November 4.

Members in the Border Services (FB) unit are still in talks.

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

EB group reaches tentative agreement

PSAC has reached a tentative agreement that provides increases to wages, no concessions, and improved working conditions for nearly 1,000 members of the Education and Library Science (EB) group under Treasury Board.

In addition to these successful talks, EB members will also be awarded a Phoenix damages settlement to compensate members for the pain and suffering caused by the broken pay system. Please read the update which provides greater detail on the general Phoenix compensation portion of the settlement, as well as the expansion of the claims process for out-of-pocket expenses and for those who suffered major losses because of Phoenix.

EB Group settlement

The PSAC bargaining team successfully secured fair wage increases averaging at 2.11% per year. EB group members would receive the following wage increases:

2018	2019	2020
2.8%	2.2%	1.35%

In addition to these wage increases, the following group-specific wage adjustments and allowances were also secured: 

Implementation of a new, national pay grid for 12-month teachers and instructors.

Other improvements to the EB collective agreement include: 

Increase in maternity related reassignment or leave qualification from 52 to 78 weeks following the birth of a child
A new leave provision for members elected to union leadership
An increase in meal allowance for overtime from $9 to $12
Set timelines for receiving a response to vacation leave requests
Improvements to travel time to pay for up to five hours of compensation for any stop-overs
Language that emphasizes the importance of professional development activities, such as conferences and workshops, for LS members
Commitment from the Employer to consult with the Union in the next review of Treasury Board’s policy on indemnification
Commitment from the Employer to prepare informational material on employees’ injury on duty rights and benefits.
Ability for ED-EST ten-month teachers to use their personal leave in 7.5 or 3.75 segments (Article 60)
An MOU for a Joint Committee to address the issues related to teaching time and preparation time for Language Teachers (ED-LAT)
An MOU for a Joint Committee to address the teaching of indigenous languages for 10-month teachers at INAC
Increases to funding for the Joint Learning Program, including a pilot study on health and safety training

Common issues settlement

Two weeks ago, when we obtained a settlement for the PA group, PSAC also reached a settlement for Treasury Board issues common to all groups. Some of the key improvements include:

A one-time payment of $500 in recognition of the extended collective agreement implementation deadline and an additional $50 for every subsequent 90-day delay
Ten days of paid Domestic Violence Leave
Better language on return to work following a Maternity or Parental Leave, giving more flexibility to parents who wish to change positions within the federal public service.
Improvements to Parental Leave pay
Updated language to match the new legislation including a new extended leave option and the sharing of Parental Leave
Expanded supplementary allowance for every week an employee is on extended or shared Parental Leave
Additional weeks for parents covered under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, when both parents work in the public service.
New Memorandum of Understanding to explore the issues related to childcare in the public service
Updated and improved language to match the new legislation on Compassionate Care and Caregiving Leave
Better language to allow the use of employer facilities for union activities
New Memorandum of Understanding to protect certain working conditions of civilian members of the RCMP
New Memorandum of Understanding on mental health in the workplace to support the work of the Centre for Expertise on Mental Health
In the event of workforce adjustment, the education allowance has increased to $17,000.
Deletion of Memorandum of Understanding on Supporting Employee Wellness. As a result, Sick Leave will remain untouched.

Full text and next steps

We will share the final text and full details of the EB group tentative agreement, and common issues agreement, as soon as it becomes available. Shortly thereafter, EB members will be invited to participate in online ratification votes. Details about the votes will be shared as soon as possible.

The PSAC bargaining team unanimously recommends the ratification of the tentative agreement.

To ensure that you receive all updates and can participate in the ratification process, please ensure that you have either updated your contact information on PSAC’s member portal, or that you create an account if you have not done so already.

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

FB team begins talks on economic proposals with Treasury Board/CBSA

Our PSAC/CIU FB bargaining team addressed a number of economic proposals with the employer during bargaining the week of September 21. In addition to reiterating our position concerning the need for pension reform, we raised the following:

A paid meal period;
A much-needed increase in shift and weekend premiums;
A fitness allowance;
Two shifts of paid firearm practice time per year;
A plain clothes allowance for EIOD staff and Hearings Officers.

We also discussed our proposals to ensure better access to leave with income averaging as well as telework.

On the issue of telework, during the pandemic, we once again asked the employer if T2200 tax forms – which certify that an employee is required to work from home and lets them claim certain expenses on their tax return – would be provided to staff working at remote locations. The employer indicated that this had to be done in consultation with Canada Revenue Agency, and Treasury Board made a commitment to provide the forms before the end of the tax year.

Lastly, the parties spent time discussing our proposals regarding the grievance procedure. The current grievance process is dysfunctional and takes far too long. In this round of negotiations, we are pushing to streamline the grievance process with CBSA, and have made it clear that it is a priority for our team.

Calgary Airport Border Officers wearing orange epaulets in solidarity

Solidarity with our Sisters and Brothers at Calgary Air (and across the country) wearing their union epaulets in support of a fair contract! We will keep up the fight for the agreement that we deserve.

To review the package of proposals that we tabled as well as those of the employer, visit the FB group page. We’ll announce new bargaining dates when they’re available and continue to provide updates throughout the bargaining process.

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

FB bargaining update

Yesterday afternoon, PSAC contacted Treasury Board to demand an update with respect to the assigning of a new employer negotiator for the FB group.

Our bargaining team is looking to confirm dates with the employer so that we might get back to the bargaining table and get our issues addressed by CBSA and the Treasury Board.

We will be sure to update as things progress.