Tag Archives: négo

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

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.

EB bargaining: No movement in PIC and mediation

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.

PA bargaining: Government rejects key improvements to contracts

During the Public Interest Commission (PIC) hearings held between December 4 and 7, the government presented a slew of negative proposals affecting members in the Program and Administrative Services (PA) group. An overview of regressive proposals affecting PSAC’s core public service bargaining units is available here, while PA-specific proposals are highlighted below.

PSAC is committed to rejecting concessionary proposals and to keep pushing for improvements in the PA 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 full PIC submission in English and French and access the government’s English submission here.

Delays to new classification system and rejection of damages

PSAC wants to negotiate pay rates for the five new groups deriving from the much delayed modernization and restructuring of the PA unit. Despite numerous missed deadlines, the government says it needs an additional two years to map existing positions to the new classifications and refuses to negotiate these associated pay rates.

PSAC members are still waiting to be paid fairly, in accordance with an up-to-date and accurate gender-neutral evaluation of their work. In recognition of this, PSAC has proposed that the government pay each employee in the PA unit $333 per month in damages until the new classification system is established. The government has dismissed this proposal.

No incentives for recruitment and retention of compensation and benefits employees

Due to Phoenix, workers at the Pay Centre and its satellite offices are operating in a high-pressure environment with a massive workload. To help ensure employee recruitment and retention, the government had agreed to provide an incentive allowance, but refused to continue the practice in the summer of 2019. PSAC has proposed to re-introduce these incentives (i.e., a one-time payment of $4,000 to Compensation Advisors and a provision that all overtime is to be paid at double-time).

With over 200,000 Phoenix cases in the backlog, it is shocking that the government rejected this proposal.

Rejection of workload concerns for Parole Officers (WP) workers

PSAC’s members working as Parole Officers (WP) at the Correctional Service of Canada have been struggling with excessive workload issues for more than two decades. In a 2019 survey, more than 93% of Parole Officers said their case load was too heavy, characterized by an increasingly complex offender population due to substance abuse, gang violence and mental health issues. To address this, the union has made a series of proposals to ensure a safe and manageable caseload ratio.

The government rejected all proposals and has argued that workload concerns should not be addressed at the bargaining table.

No paid breastfeeding breaks for new mothers

PSAC has proposed two paid periods available to nursing mothers for breastfeeding or pumping milk in a safe and private location. The benefits of breastfeeding are well-established by numerous Canadian and international health organizations and PSAC believes employers should facilitate nursing for women who choose to do so.

The employer has dismissed this proposal as “unreasonable and impractical”, a remarkable position for a government that brands itself as advancing women’s interests.

No allowance for Indigenous languages at work

PSAC is proposing that employees who are required to speak or write in an Indigenous language as part of their duties be provided with an annual allowance of $1,015. The union believes this proposal is consistent with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, which seek greater recognition and support for Indigenous languages.

The government has dismissed this proposal.

No additional training and support for call centre workers

The federal government employs approximately 7,000 employees in call centre operations that serve Canadians seeking a wide range of services, such as Employment Insurance, the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security. This work is challenging and involves speaking with clients who may be distressed or in crisis. To better support call centre workers, PSAC has proposed additional training to reinforce coping skills as well as crisis intervention.

The government has rejected these proposals and is instead proposing to deploy call monitoring—currently used for improving performance and providing feedback—for disciplinary purposes.

Reduced notice of shift change

The government wants to reduce the notice for changes to scheduled shifts from seven days to just 48 hours. Currently, a change imposed with less than seven days’ notice requires the worker to be paid at the rate of time-and-a-half. Under the government’s proposals, this higher rate of pay would only be triggered if changes to shifts are made with less than two days’ notice.

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

The CIU National Board of Directors supports our bargaining teams!

Today, in Ottawa, members (and observers) of the CIU National Board of Directors sent a clear message of support to our PSAC-CIU FB and Treasury Board bargaining teams. Despite the bargaining process being at a stand still due to the federal elections, we are proud of the work accomplished by our Brothers and Sisters who sit at the bargaining tables. We know that they’ll continue to hold the employer’s feet to the fire and push for a fair deal!

FB team denounces disgraceful CBSA discipline video during negotiations

Our FB bargaining team called on Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) management to retract a disgraceful video that threatens surveillance of members and harsh disciplinary measures.

The video, warning FB members that “discipline in the workplace happens” and “the consequences may surprise you,” reinforces the need for better protections against harassment and abuse of authority in the FB collective agreement.

Our Public Service Alliance of Canada-Customs and Immigration Union (PSAC-CIU) bargaining team also addressed issues around wages, medical notes, firearms and dog handlers and other key issues during negotiations with Treasury Board/CBSA September 17 to 19.

Discipline

With respect to discipline, our team denounced the recent video released by CBSA management on Atlas. We stated clearly to the employer that CBSA’s obsession with punishment and surveillance – as reflected in the video – is a serious problem, and that such tactics on the part of CBSA only serves to strengthen our union’s resolve to achieve better contract protections against harassment and abuse of authority in CBSA workplaces.

Medical notes and medical/dental appointments

In bargaining we reiterated our demands to protect against excessive management requests for medical notes and pushed for management to pay for medical notes. We also raised issues related to CBSA management’s intrusive questioning when employees take leave for medical and dental appointments.

Firearms and dog handlers

It came to light recently that CBSA has provided paid leave for clerks who volunteer to receive training for the handling of firearms. We pointed out the absurdity of not providing paid time for firearm practice for officers who are required to carry firearms when paid time is being provided for employees who volunteer for certain training. Our position in bargaining is that all officers required to carry a firearm should receive paid firearm practice time. We also again raised issues concerning compensation for dog handlers.

Name tags, telework

We provided additional evidence of the risks associated with requiring officers to wear name tags and explained our position that officers should not be required to provide their names. We also pointed out that the telework policy that has been implemented does not address the issues we’ve raised in bargaining and that we need language in our contract on the issue.

Wages

In light of recent analytical data that has come to light concerning members of the Inland, Intelligence and Investigations community, our team did not table wages this week as more time is needed to conduct our survey of the broader law enforcement community.

We are in the process of setting additional dates. We’ll be sure to update you when we have more information.

To review the package of proposals that we tabled and those of the employer, go to: psacunion.ca/fb-group.

We stand tall for law enforcement

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.