After lengthy negotiations and an arbitration process, PSAC has won a major victory for the Public Service Dental Care Plan, which will result in substantial improvements for your coverage.

“The government dragged this process out by trying to get us to accept reduced coverage for our members,” said Chris Aylward, National President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. “But our position has always been that our members deserve better, and I’m very pleased that the arbitration panel agreed with us.”

The major highlight is a 47% increase to the annual maximum for routine and major services. The current maximum of $1,700 per year will gradually increase to $2,500 per year as follows:

• $2,000 per year starting on January 1, 2019;
• $2,250 per year starting on January 1, 2020; and
• $2,500 per year starting on January 1, 2021.

Additionally, as of January 1, 2019, the following changes will be made:

• Dental implants will be covered. Implants had been partially covered by deeming them to be another procedure (i.e. bridge or denture). This would often lead to gaps in (or problems with) coverage. They are now covered in their own right.
• Coverage for replacement fillings for children will be possible 12 months after the initial filling was done (instead of 24).
• Congenitally missing teeth will be covered until age 21 (up from 19).
• Coverage during suspensions is improved.
• An allowable break in service to become eligible for the plan is extended from 5 to 7 days. Ability to have coverage for extra scaling approved retroactively. Currently, this may only be approved going forward.

The full text of the new dental plan will be posted online in the near future.

The government made a large number of proposals to the arbitration panel that sought to weaken the dental plan. Very few of them were accepted and the ones that were accepted are small and have a very minor impact on plan members. These are:

• Charges for oral hygiene instructions will now be limited to once per lifetime per adult (and remain once per year for children).
• Coverage is eliminated for minor issues such as:
  • The assistance of a second oral surgeon.
  • Dental professional peer consultation.
  • Trauma control if done at the same time as treatment for caries or pain control.
  • Enlargement of the canal or pulp chamber as a part of dental treatment separate from doing a root canal.

Any other proposals that are not mentioned above will remain status quo without change.

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

After four years of Bargaining and a new collective agreement ratified, members of the FB group are understandably looking forward to having their pay adjusted and to receiving any retroactive amounts due to them. As you know, the agreement was signed on July 3, 2018 and the employer has 150 calendar days (i.e. to November 30, 2018) to do so.

On Thursday last week, the employer posted a message on Atlas advising that employees can expect to start receiving their pay rate adjustments and retroactive payments as of tomorrow, September 5, 2018. However, the employer also advises that because some retroactive pay adjustments need to be processed manually, “employees may receive payment and/or a rate of pay increase after this date”.

We have been informed that some FB members have called the employer to complain about the time it is taking to process payments. It is important to note that the individuals who are receiving these complaints and who are processing payments are our Sisters and Brothers who belong to the PA Group. For the past two and a half years, they have been under a great deal of stress because of Phoenix and, unfortunately, they must continue working with that flawed system. They are under a lot of pressure and are working hard to meet the deadline.

As indicated in the message posted on Atlas, employees who have not received any retroactive pay or the correct rate of pay increase by October 31, 2018 should contact their regional compensation office.

We thank CIU members in advance for complying with that request so that our Sisters and Brothers who are working overtime and on weekends can dedicate their time and efforts to the work ahead of them. They have a lot to do and they deserve our support!

PSAC-CIU has successfully challenged a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) decision that prevented Border Service Officers from showing solidarity with their bargaining team.

In the fall of 2017, the officers began wearing orange shoelaces at work to demonstrate support for their bargaining team. Tensions developed when employees started to wear them as hair ties and bracelets, as well as lanyards. CBSA responded by barring the officers from wearing the shoelaces anywhere but on their shoes.

The Federal Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLRB) recently issued a decision affirming union members’ rights to participate in legitimate union activity – including the wearing of orange shoelaces, whether laced up, as hair ties or as bracelets.

The decision concludes that the employer’s ban was an unfair labour practice and a violation of the collective agreement. The Board also found that there was no evidence “that anyone’s health or safety would in fact be at risk with this usage of the shoelaces.”

Employer can’t dictate how union members express solidarity

The FPSLREB stated that “the CBSA cannot dictate how employees may express their solidarity with their bargaining team.” Where an issue arises, the solution is not a blanket prohibition; nor can the employer use unverified health and safety concerns as a reason for denying the workers’ rights.

Our members are trusted to protect Canadians from terrorism, illegal goods and criminal activity. Therefore, the FPSLREB concluded there is no basis for the employer not to trust them to make common sense decisions when it comes to their safety and the wearing of the shoelaces.

The decision includes an order that the employer must “post this decision for 90 days on its intranet as well as at all BSO worksites.”

Read the full decision here.

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