2019 novel coronavirus: Safety measures

29 January 2020

CIU National President Jean-Pierre Fortin recently gave an in-depth interview to Radio-Canada (article in French) regarding what the union is expecting from the employer in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.

Our members are the first line of defence of the country and the ongoing outbreak is no different, as border services officers interact with potentially ill travellers every day. While the risks of being exposed to the 2019 novel coronavirus remain low for the moment, we are encouraging all border services personnel to remain vigilant. We recommend that eyewear, N95 face masks and gloves be worn with any prolonged exposure to potentially ill travellers (such as interviewing or escorting), and it is the union’s position that such protective equipment should be made mandatory at major airports. We also highlighted to the employer that primary inspection kiosks should be disinfected regularly to prevent illnesses from spreading.

Further to ensuring proper access to protective equipment, we also brought up to CBSA the need to put in place additional measures to slow down the flow of travellers arriving from regions where they could have been exposed to the disease. While implementing such measures can present challenges, it would allow our officers and relevant authorities to better identify and assist travellers who show signs of infection.

Ultimately, given their expertise, it would be highly beneficial for government public health officials to be deployed to the country’s main airports (Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver) to assist our officers.

It is worth noting that, so far, the employer has been quite forthcoming with the union regarding the outbreak, and the exchange of information has been well-received.

It is important to bear in mind that, as with any similar public health issue, the situation is evolving quickly, and new directives may be issued by the employer and other authorities in the coming days. We will make sure to keep you informed of any new development. If you have any questions, please reach out to your Branch President or your local Health and Safety representative.

Mental health matters – at work and at home

29 January 2020

a photo of three people with the words "mental health matters"

Today is January 29, and social media is filled with discussions and posts seeking to raise awareness about mental health issues and initiatives. It is a good time to reflect on the state of mental health support within the Canadian government and public service.

Forums for discussing mental health can play an important role in de-stigmatizing issues, and we need to ensure structures are put in place to provide everyone with access to proper support and care, including in the workplace. Indeed, the Mental Health Commission of Canada recently published a study showing that nearly 9 in 10 Canadians want increased funding for mental health. Beyond access to care, workplace culture also needs to foster mental well-being and not hinder it.

It is no secret that, as law enforcement officers and public servants, our members are sometimes confronted with difficult, stressful situations as part of their daily work. Within CBSA, past employee surveys have shown a high level of dissatisfaction due to a psychologically unhealthy workplace. As a union, we’ve been vocal about the need for CBSA to address the many problems that plague the Agency when it comes to abuse of authority and harassment by managers.

You are not alone

When facing a difficult situation at work or at home, remember that you are not alone. People around you can be a source of support, and your union is there to assist you and help you find the resources you need. As CBSA employees, you can also contact Homewood Health for confidential assistance – be it for advice, counselling or treatment (for more information about Homewood Health and other resources, see our Mental Health page).

Just like physical well-being, mental health matters, in any setting.

FB bargaining: No trust in CBSA; team rejects concessions to hours of work

23 January 2020

The FB bargaining team continued their push to make Canada Border Services Agency a better place to work during talks with Treasury Board/CBSA the week of January 20, but the employer still refuses to budge on any meaningful improvements.

Our team highlighted issues around:

Name tags

The employer still insists that officers must display their names on name tags. Our team reiterated that this practice puts officers at risk and is unacceptable.

Medical notes

Our bargaining team firmly opposes the need for medical notes when employees are sick. CBSA shouldn’t be asking employees to provide medical notes, and if the Agency wants one provided, they should reimburse members for it.

Paid meal period

The employer rejected our proposal for a paid meal period, but we’re maintaining our position. Officers have to tool-up and tool-down for lunch; otherwise they have to wear their tools during lunch. Given this reality, meal periods should be paid like other law enforcement agencies.
Paid time for firearm practice: Our team is seeking to have paid firearm practice time provided to officers under the collective agreement equivalent to two shifts per year.

Seniority and work location

There are significant problems with the way management assigns officers to new locations. Across Canada, there are officers who are looking to work in different parts of the country. But right now, management passes over senior officers for these assignments and even places new hires in locations where union members are looking to work. We are seeking a fair and transparent process where officers can exercise their seniority if they wish to change districts or regions.

Telework

We again raised the issue of telework for our non-uniformed members. Our team does not understand why CBSA chiefs and superintendents get their telework approved regularly, while non-frontline staff who require an accommodation are denied telework. This is yet another example of the double standard at CBSA, where management gets preferential treatment over employees. We want language in the contract to address this issue.

VSSAs

CBSA is proposing that VSSAs should no longer be negotiated, but rather run through a ‘consultation’ process with our union. All too often at CBSA, ‘consultation’ means ‘impose’. We told CBSA “No” and rejected their proposal. Our team doesn’t trust CBSA management with our hours of work.

We also discussed student issues, the dog hander allowance and reiterated our position concerning pension reform.

To review the package of proposals that we tabled as well as those of the employer, visit: psacunion.ca/fb-group. We’ll continue to provide updates during our next bargaining session the week of February 23. To see other updates on Treasury Board bargaining, check out psacunion.ca/treasury-board.

We stand for law enforcement

Together as FBs, we’ve achieved incredible victories over the years. PSAC is the largest union in the federal public service, and one of the largest public sector unions in the country. No other union has more experience in bargaining and representation within the federal public service than PSAC and CIU.

We successfully won the right for Border Services Officers to be armed in 2006.
Since 2007, PSAC-CIU successfully negotiated a 48% increase in compensation for frontline BSO, including a 17.5% raise in 2018.
We won significant new rights for shift workers, including protections in the context of VSSA negotiations and seniority rights.

Standing together, we will continue to work together and hold the CBSA’s feet to the fire to ensure we can continue to make groundbreaking gains for FB members.

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

TB bargaining – PA group and common issues: Government squanders mediation opportunity

22 January 2020

Last week, mediation between Treasury Board and PSAC ended without a tentative agreement as government representatives refused to make progress on PSAC’s key demands. The session covered both common issues as well as those specific to the PA unit – 90,000 federal public service workers in Program & Administrative Services.

After four years of Phoenix problems, the employer didn’t come to the table ready to get to a deal, instead they arrived with the same proposals PSAC has been rejecting for months.

PSAC is standing firm on our core demands, including fair wage increases, Phoenix-related demands, and the working conditions that make balancing family and work possible.

Unfair wages

The government is proposing wage increases of about 7% for the 2018-2021 period. This is below inflation, which is projected at about 8% for the same period. In order to meet inflation, the government wants us to forgo an additional 1% market adjustment meant to raise earnings for specific groups that are below industry averages, and instead use that 1% to increase the overall wage offer. It’s not fair for the Employer to ask all PSAC members to pay for market adjustments. It should be their responsibility.

To be clear, we won’t accept any offer that doesn’t keep up with the rising cost of living while also addressing group specific market adjustments.

Phoenix-related demands

The impact of the Phoenix pay system is a central issue on the bargaining table for each of PSAC’s federal public service bargaining units. To mitigate ongoing pay problems and avoid such debacle in the future, PSAC is asking for key provisions to be put into our collective agreements.

PSAC is demanding a penalty clause in the collective agreement so that members are properly compensated when they are not paid properly or on time. Also, we want an end to the recovery of overpayments before an employee’s pay issues are completely resolved. Although PSAC has secured a temporary agreement to halt this practice, we want this protection permanently included in our collective agreements.

PSAC is also seeking reimbursement for members who are forced to seek accounting and financial management counselling due to pay problems cause by the Employer.

Finally, to avoid future disasters, we are asking for more and proper consultation before any technological changes are put in place affecting our members.

Extended parental leave

PSAC has proposed that members choosing the newly extended 18-month parental leave option receive a 93% top-up for the entirety of the leave period (i.e., combined maternity and parental leave lasting 18 months). Currently, members opting for the extended parental leave option receive a 93% top-up for the first twelve months (i.e., combined and maternity and parental leave), followed by an Employment Insurance payment of 33% of their salary for the next six months of parental leave.

However, the government is insisting on a new formula that would provide members taking the extended parental leave with only a 55.8% top-up for the parental leave period. This is a major concession and a stunning proposal from a “feminist” government that claims to support improved work-life balance.

Workforce Adjustment

PSAC is proposing to recognize years of service in a WFA situation, so that those with seniority are prioritized for alternate positions. Besides, our proposal seeks to ensure that when an employee is deemed to be in surplus, a guaranteed reasonable job offer will be made within a 40-kilometer radius.

In contrast, the government wants to open the door wide to relocating workers in the event of a workforce adjustment. This would create situations where workers would have to either uproot and move their families or lose their jobs without access to the WFA options.

What’s next

PSAC’s answer to this latest insult by Treasury Board is simple: while the report from the Public Interest Commission should be tabled anytime soon, we’re moving forward towards workplace action and a strike mandate until a fair settlement is reached.

Keep an eye out in your workplaces for upcoming information sessions and strike training. And make sure you’re getting bargaining updates by email.

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

FB bargaining team returns to the table next week

15 January 2020

The CIU-PSAC FB bargaining team is returning to the table the week of January 20. With our members rallying in the last month to show their support, our team is keen to meet with the employer and continue pushing for a fair and equitable contract. Stay tuned – we’ll be sure to provide you with updates as the bargaining process continues!

TB bargaining: PSAC heads into mediation for PA group and common issues

14 January 2020

PSAC’s bargaining team representing 90,000 federal public service workers in the Program & Administrative Services (PA) unit has agreed to mediation on January 16 and 17.

The session is being convened by the Public Interest Commission (PIC) and will cover both common issues as well as those specific to the PA unit (information for the other Treasury Board units will be forthcoming).

PSAC and the government presented their respective bargaining positions at a PIC hearing on December 4-7.

PSAC will provide an update on the mediation session once it is complete.

What is a Public Interest Commission (PIC)?

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

The PIC is a panel of three people – a chairperson appointed by the Labour Board and nominees appointed by the union and management. The union and the employer submit briefs and explain their positions on the outstanding issues at a hearing with the PIC. The PIC chairperson also has the option of convening additional talks. The PIC then issues a report with recommendations for settlement. The recommendations are not binding.

Once the PIC releases its report, the union’s bargaining team will meet to discuss the recommendations. Traditionally, following this, PSAC and government representatives have returned to the table to resume negotiations. We expect the PIC reports to be issued in 2020.

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

Members rally in Saint John

9 January 2020

CIU members kicked off the New Year by rallying in Saint John, NB, in support of the FB bargaining team. The rally, which took place on January 7, 2020, followed a meeting with Wayne Long, MP for Saint John-Rothesay. The PSAC-CIU bargaining team representing FB (Border Services) personnel is returning to the bargaining table later this month.

Continuer

TC bargaining: Government unwilling to budge on 10-year-old wages and 40-year-old job standards

6 January 2020

The TC (Technical Services) bargaining team was in two days of hearings at the Public Interest Commission (PIC) followed by two days of mediation from December 17 to 19. Unfortunately, there has been no progress in negotiations, as the employer is deeply entrenched in its own positions. An overview of regressive proposals affecting all core public service bargaining units is available here, while TC-specific proposals are highlighted below.

PSAC is committed to continue pushing for improvements and resisting concessions in the TC collective agreement.

The union is also disappointed that the government, with all the resources at its disposal, refused to provide a PIC submission in both official languages. You can download PSAC’s TC PIC submission in English and French and access the government’s English only submission here.

Wage parity with comparable jobs

PSAC has proposed wage adjustments that keep up with the wages of other employees in comparable jobs both outside and inside the federal public service. In many cases, the wages of PSAC members in the TC group are lagging far behind those of other employees in similar positions. We have a pay study showing large wage gaps.

After more than a decade of frozen wages and rising inflation, the employer made an insulting counter-offer of wage adjustments totaling up to just 1% for these TC positions.

CFIA Comparability

We have an agreement with the employer that all EGs are equivalent to EGs who work at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). However, EGs at CFIA are paid 3.3% more than EGs in the TC group. We argued that all EG members should be paid that higher rate.

The employer has agreed that there is a gap, although they have stated the only movement they would make will come out of the 1%. That is to say that they won’t make up the entire gap, and that this amount will come out of the pockets of non-EG members.

Group Specific Allowances

Many smaller groups have huge wage gaps compared to their internal or their external comparators. PSAC is pushing to make up these gaps. This means we will push to:

expand some of the allowances to include more members
increase some allowances
introduce a number of new allowances for members

Again, the employer has agreed that there are a number of problems, although they reiterated the only movement they would make will come out of the 1%.

Fair Classification and the Occupational Group Structure

The classification system is broken and we are pushing for a commitment from the employer to get through the process of providing a new occupational group structure for the TC group, which is the first step in providing an updated and fair classification system so that members are all properly classified and paid fairly. For some of our members, their job standards are approaching 40 years old. We have waited long enough for this system to be implemented and are looking to negotiate a clear clause that would result in a concrete penalty for the employer if they miss any future deadlines.

The employer is trying to push off the date that they must complete this process. They have repeatedly been unable to meet any deadlines that have been set to fix the broken classification system. The employer has not been willing to make any commitments that will hold them accountable for completing this process.

Leaves and Other Common Issues

There is a large number of issues which are common to all of PSAC’s members in the federal government which are at the common-issues table. This list of issues includes improvements to vacation leave and other leaves, better protections for members in the event of layoffs, protections from discrimination and harassment, and new language on domestic violence leave.

These are not negotiated at our table, but there is still a long way to push the employer to respond to our issues.

PSAC will continue to mobilize its membership through increased workplace action, up to and including a strike, until a fair settlement is reached. Stay up to date with the latest on bargaining by signing up for PSAC email updates.

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

January 2020 Young Workers Conference Call

23 December 2019

If you are 35 years old or younger and want to get involved with your union, you are invited to participate in the next CIU Young Workers conference call, on January 22, 2020, 7-8 p.m. (ET). This is an opportunity to make your voice heard and discuss shared issues with your fellow young workers.

Continuer

EB bargaining: No movement in PIC and mediation

18 December 2019

The EB (Education and Library Science) bargaining team was in two days of hearings at the Public Interest Commission (PIC) followed by two days of mediation from Dec. 9 to Dec. 12. Unfortunately, there has been no progress in negotiations, as the employer is deeply entrenched in its own positions. An overview of regressive proposals affecting all core public service bargaining units is available here, while EB-specific proposals are highlighted below.

PSAC is committed to continue pushing for improvements and resisting concessions in the EB collective agreement.

The union is also disappointed that the government, with all the resources at its disposal, refused to provide a PIC submission in both official languages. You can download PSAC’s EB PIC submission in English and French and access the government’s English submission here.

Wage parity with comparable jobs

PSAC has proposed wage adjustments that keep up with the wages of other employees in comparable jobs both outside and inside the federal public service. In many cases, the wages of PSAC members in the EB group are lagging far behind those of other employees in similar positions. For example, elementary and secondary school teachers (ED-EST INAC) working in Indigenous reserves in Ontario are paid up to an average of 7.3% less than teachers working for the province’s school boards. And EB vice-principals are paid up to 22% less than those in Ontario school boards, while EB principals are paid up to 20% less than their counterparts in Ontario school boards.

The employer made an insulting counter-offer of wage adjustments totaling up to just 1% for these EB positions.

New national rate of pay for teachers who work for 12 months (ED-EST)

ED-EST 12-month teachers’ wages differ province-to-province, and the transition to a new national rate of pay has been a long-standing issue. PSAC has proposed a new national rate of pay for these teachers, and a joint committee composed of both employer and union representatives had previously reached an agreement to recommend a national rate of pay that would become the basis for negotiations.

However, the employer simply dismissed the union’s demand and the joint committee’s recommendations and is again offering monetary measures totaling just 1%.

Allowance for union members who teach Indigenous languages

PSAC tabled this proposal in recognition of the need to preserve and promote Indigenous languages. Both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls call on the Federal government to invest in the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages. The Federal government itself has shown commitment to Indigenous languages when it passed the Indigenous Languages Act. The union believes that an allowance for Indigenous language teachers is a step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the employer has refused to discuss this demand at the negotiating table.

Access to professional development

Currently, the employer is obligated to provide allowances in lieu of salary to employees taking education leave—at a minimum of 50% and up to a maximum of 100% of basic salary. The employer is demanding a concession that allows the employer the option to pay or not pay an allowance and that would bring the minimum allowances down to 0%.

PSAC is pushing back on this concession, arguing that the change will limit access to professional development given the possibility of the employee receiving no allowances in lieu of salary. The union further demands that professional development days be used primarily for academic initiatives rather than departmental training purposes.

Pedagogical break for 12-month teachers (ED-EST)

Recognizing that the workload of 12-month teachers can be very intense, PSAC has proposed that these teachers be given a break with pay annually from July 1 to July 9, including one designated paid holiday. Unlike 10-month teachers, these 12-month teachers do not have a spring break. The union is simply seeking the same benefit for 12-month teachers.

The employer has responded that this would be cost prohibitive, since they would have to hire replacement teachers.

Leave benefits and alternative work arrangements

PSAC is seeking improvements to leave benefits, including for family-related responsibilities, injury-on-duty, and education and career development. The union has also proposed that employees’ requests to work away from the employer’s premises not be unreasonably denied. It is the union’s position that these demands will help address the issue of work-life balance.

The employer has rejected all these demands and has offered no provisions that address work-life balance.

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