Workforce Adjustment
June 21, 2012
PSAC and PIPSC take action to make alternation process work
The two largest federal public service unions are charging Treasury Board and a number of departments with failing to set up the system that will assist employees whose jobs are disappearing to stay in the public service.
The workforce adjustment process negotiated by both the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada provides for an alternation system across the public service that allows affected employees who want to remain to swap jobs, under certain conditions, with those who want to leave.
“Some departments have refused to participate in cross-departmental alternation. Others have refused alternations altogether or have failed to set up the process,”
says PSAC national president Robyn Benson. “Treasury Board has failed to force these departments to participate and to set up an effective public service-wide alternation system.”
“The alternation process was designed to help our members but with so many departments not living up to their obligations it just cannot work,” says PIPSC president Gary Corbett. “That is why both PIPSC and PSAC have filed policy grievances.”
The unions are asking that an alternation process across all departments be set up immediately. They're also asking that the 120-day time limit on employees who are eligible to alternate only start once the system is actually in place.
The unions are also recommending that members whose alternation requests are denied without a good reason file individual grievances.
In addition to Treasury Board, the departments named in the unions' grievances include:
- Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada
- Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
- Canada Border Services Agency
- Canadian International Development Agency
- Canadian School of the Public Service
- Citizenship and Immigration
- Correctional Service of Canada
- Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
- Department of National Defence
- Department of Veteran's Affairs
- Health Canada
- HRSDC
- Industry Canada
- Natural Resources Canada
- Public Health Agency of Canada
- RCMP
- Shared Services Canada
Date Modified : 2012/06/26
