Author Archives: Pierre St-Jacques

PSAC Anti-Racism Action Plan: National townhalls

National telephone townhalls for PSAC’s Anti-Racism Action Plan have been launched for Indigenous and racialized members. These national townhalls are the last part of the Anti-Racism Action Plan consultation process that began in 2021.
Members who have self-identified as Indigenous and/or racialized have been invited to share their lived experiences, expertise, and the psychological and physical impacts of racism, so the barriers that continue to prevent members from fully participating in our union can be identified and break down.

How to participate

Members who identify as Indigenous and/or racialized have received email invitations to register for townhalls, and reminders will follow. If you have not received an invitation and would like to attend a townhall, please complete this self-identification survey, and you will automatically receive an email to register for a townhall.

See the PSAC website for more information on how to participate.

PSAC working to implement remote work agreement, joint panels for federal public service workers

As part of the last round of negotiations for 155,000 federal public service workers, PSAC secured stronger remote work language that protects workers from arbitrary decisions from the employer.

The letter of agreement we negotiated alongside the collective agreements will ensure members have their remote work requests assessed individually and have access to review remote work arrangements and prevent “one-size-fits-all” mandates in the federal public service.

Since the collective agreements were signed, PSAC has been working with Treasury Board, Canada Revenue Agency, and federal departments to implement the letter of agreement and modernize the government’s outdated telework directive.

While we know this process will take time to fully implement, there are early indications that Treasury Board is pushing back on the letter of agreement, although it remains to be seen what their final position will be.

If the government fails to meaningfully collaborate on implementing the improvements in the letter of agreement within a reasonable timeframe, PSAC is prepared to take legal action to expedite the process and ensure members’ rights are protected.

Joint union-management panels on remote work

PSAC has been working with components and federal government departments to create joint panels that will review employee remote work grievances. The panels will provide recourse for members who are dissatisfied with a remote work decision.

Treasury Board developed draft guidance for departments to use when developing the panels and their terms of reference. PSAC’s key feedback on the draft guidance was to ensure that the scope of the panels focuses on the Directive on Telework, requests for telework are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and the employee is the one to refer their denied grievance to the departmental joint panel.

Modernizing the directive on telework

We are in discussions with Treasury Board to review and modernize the outdated Directive on Telework. The last version was developed in 2019/20, prior to the pandemic, and doesn’t reflect the evolution of remote work over the last three years. Our aim is to ensure the policy aligns with the needs of our members.

PSAC has established a reference committee of representatives from the components to coordinate the work underway to both set up the joint panels and guide the consultation of the Joint Consultation Committee (JCC) on telework.

We expect to see a serious commitment to meaningful consultation on our joint recommendations for modernizing the directive when we meet with Treasury Board this month.

Challenging remote work arrangements

Once fully implemented, the letter of agreement will grant more protection for workers around remote work agreements. The process to challenge decisions will be fully in place once the joint panels are established and the dispute process is finalized.

We will continue to keep members up to date as these panels are developed and the grievance process is established.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

Remembrance Day 2023

On November 11, we remember and honour the thousands of women and men who have laid down their lives for our country.

Remembrance Day presents us with an opportunity not only to recognize the dedication and sacrifices — past and present — of Canadians of all horizons, but also to reflect on how to build a better, fairer world where such sacrifices may no longer be necessary. To the women and men who have demonstrated courage and commitment in the face of adversity, we thank you.

In honour of all who have served, CIU will be half-masting the National Flag of Canada flying at the CIU National Office, in Ottawa.

National Indigenous Veterans Day

November 8 marks National Indigenous Veterans Day.

On this day, we honour the First Nations, Inuit and Métis men and women who serve and have served with distinction in the Canadian military for more than a century. Their contributions, both on the frontlines and at home, cannot be overstated, and Canada owes them a debt of gratitude. Their sacrifice is made all the more poignant by the discrimination many of these veterans experienced — and still experience — from Canadian society at large. As we continue to grow as a country, recognizing the contribution of Indigenous veterans and their role in our shared history is more important than ever.

In honour of First Nations, Inuit and Métis veterans, CIU is half-masting the National Flag of Canada flying at the CIU National Office in Ottawa.

FB group bargaining proceeding to Public Interest Commission to continue fight for a fair contract

The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) has appointed a Public Interest Commission (PIC) to advance negotiations for 8,500 members in the FB group.

The appointment of the PIC follows the bargaining team’s declaration of impasse after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) refused to budge on our key issues – including retirement benefits and wage parity with the broader law enforcement community, job protection, access to telework, and new rights around VSSAs and shift scheduling.

What’s more, CBSA continues to insist on concessions at the table. This includes clawbacks that would see short shift change notices go from 7 days to 48 hours, care and nurturing leave being subjected to operational requirements, and negotiated shift schedules heavily curtailed, negatively impacting our members.

Bargaining began in June 2022 – before the contract expired – and both parties have met almost every month since. Despite this, the employer asked the labour board to deny the declaration of impasse, asking that the bargaining process be further delayed.

We are determined to reach a fair contract that protects our hard-fought gains and provides new rights and protections for PSAC-CIU members.

How does the PIC work?

Under the law that governs contract negotiations in the federal public service, a PIC is established to help the parties reach an agreement once impasse is declared at the bargaining table.

The PIC is a panel of three people — a chairperson appointed by the Labour Board and nominees appointed by the union and the employer. Each side presents briefs to explain their positions on the outstanding issues at a hearing and the PIC issues a report with non-binding recommendations for reaching a settlement.

Once the PIC releases its report, the union will meet to discuss the recommendations at which point the parties typically return to the table to resume negotiations with the employer.

What are the next steps?

The union and employer will nominate their board members and the labour board will set hearing dates. The timeline is largely dependent on availability of all three parties. We will continue to provide updates as things progress. As always, membership support will be the key to getting a fair contract.

Get involved and support bargaining

Everything we do in the workplace to show CBSA we are paying attention to the issues and support our bargaining team – no matter how big or small – makes a difference as we push for a fair contract.

Members of the FB bargaining team are teaming up with Branch Executive members to visit worksites and hold membership meetings across the country.

This is your opportunity to meet the bargaining team, hear a bargaining update, and get materials so you can show your support during this round of bargaining.

Keep your contact information up to date to receive all the latest updates. If you have any questions, please contact your Customs and Immigration Union branch president or visit the CIU and PSAC websites.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.