National Board of Directors meets in February, 2008
Public Sector Integrity Commissioner
Addresses National Board of Directors
Taking advantage of her first opportunity to address the leadership of a major union, newly-appointed Public Sector Integrity Commissioner Christiane Ouimet addressed the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s National Board of Directors on February 5.
PSAC Involvement in the Next Federal Election
Faced with the real prospect of a Federal election call within months – if not weeks – the PSAC is preparing to mobilize its membership with a view to helping to elect labour-friendly candidates in targeted ridings across the country. A resolution adopted by the National Board of Directors commits board members to mobilizing the membership to “Think Public, and Vote for Quality Public Services.”
The resolution was passed following discussions on political action and election readiness held by the PSAC’s National Board of Directors (NBoD) at its February meetings in Ottawa.
In view of its track record and the capacity of a Harper majority to inflict further damage to public services and erode worker and human rights, National President John Gordon characterized the outcome of the coming election as critical and said, “the best way to defend quality public services is to elect a government that supports them.”
“As a union with 165,000 members that is part of a labour movement with more than three million members, we can make a difference if we are prepared, focused and engaged,” Brother Gordon said.
The NBoD was also briefed on the status of current political action campaigns, including the “Against the Grain” campaign being waged by the Agriculture Union against Bill C-39 and the Union of Environment Workers’ ongoing “ourfish” campaign to alert Canadians about the threat to fish stocks and the federal government’s failure to provide sufficient funding for conservation and research. A summary of the achievements and the lessons learned arising from the PSAC campaign against the Harper government’s sale of federal buildings was also presented.
Resolution Calls for Action on Drug Cards
Frustrated by Treasury Board’s inability to supply members with Pay Direct Drug Cards within the agreed timeframe, the National Board of Directors passed a resolution committing the PSAC to taking whatever action necessary to obtain drug cards for the members as soon as possible with a priority access for members with high drug costs. Membership involvement will be essential to exert pressure on Treasury Board to live up to its commitments. The Card was the major priority flowing from the 2005 renegotiation of the Public Service Health Care Plan and Treasury Board originally committed to an implementation date of 2008. However, because the preliminary process of tendering the renewal of the contract with Sun Life for the ongoing administration of the Plan has become bogged down in the RFP (request for proposal) process, the cards will likely not be introduced until some time in 2009.
PSAC Calls for a Ban on the Use and Export of Asbestos
Standing up for the health and safety of workers in Canada and abroad, the PSAC has joined with other national unions and international labour and health and safety organizations and has passed a resolution calling on the government of Canada to ban the export of asbestos. The PSAC endorses the overwhelming evidence that asbestos presents a significant and often lethal hazard to worker health and safety. However, in recognition of the role that asbestos mining has played in the economic development of some communities, the PSAC urges stakeholders to come together to develop a just transition program to help asbestos miners and the communities that have relied on asbestos mining to adapt to a new asbestos-free future.
Resolution Adopted to Defend Freedom of Association
The National Board of Directors of the PSAC unanimously passed a resolution vowing to fight back against legislation that denies collective bargaining to groups of vulnerable workers in the public sector. Federal legislation denies access to the benefits of trade union membership and collective bargaining to groups of workers such as students, casuals, and short-term hires. Significant numbers of these workers belong to equity-seeking groups that have historically been denied fair treatment in the workplace and are subject to persistent and systemic discrimination.
Opposition to free trade with Colombia
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s pursuit of a free trade agreement with Colombia is an affront to the Canadian values of human rights, democracy, freedom and the rule of law. The Colombian government’s inaction in response to gross human rights violations, including politically motivated extra-judicial killings by security forces and the systematic killing of trade unionists is unacceptable and must not be seen to be countenanced or legitimized by our country’s pursuit of a free trade agreement with the Colombian regime of Alvara Uribe Velez. The PSAC’s National Board of Directors has unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the PSAC to stand with other unions and human rights groups and call on the Prime Minister to halt negotiations with Colombia until it can demonstrate compliance with appropriate standards for human rights and the rule of law.
Resolution Establishes Stand Alone Environment Committee
In recognition of the increasing national and international profile of environmental issues, the PSAC’s National Board of Directors passed a resolution to separate its existing Standing Committee on Health, Safety and Environment into two committees. The new Standing Environment Committee will advise the PSAC on environmental issues, establish priorities, develop coalitions and recommend ways to educate and engage the membership on environmental issues.
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Date Modified : 2008/02/26
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