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Special Edition - Winter 2008

Printable Version

In this issue:

• Bargaining with Treasury Board:  A message from the PSAC National President
• Your bargaining unit:  who, what, where, when
• Collective Bargaining under the new Public Service Labour Relations Act
• General Bargaining Demands
• Education and Library Science (EB) unit
• Frontière/Border Services (FB) unit
• Operational Services (SV) unit
• Program and Administrative Services (PA) unit
• Technical Services (TC) unit
• Key benefits at risk
• Essential Services Agreements stalling negotiations
• Treasury Board undercuts compensation study
• No more pay zones!
• Be the first to get the news

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Bargaining with Treasury Board

A message from the PSAC National President

Sisters and Brothers, this issue of Our Union Voice is being devoted to the negotiation of your next collective agreement with Treasury Board.

As you know, we served notice to bargain and have been in negotiations with Treasury Board before the expiry of your collective agreements. We wanted to get an early start to negotiations, in the hope of achieving new collective agreements as quickly as possible. While we remain committed to this goal, the same cannot be said for Treasury Board. We have faced some major roadblocks, especially in the areas of Essential Services Agreements (ESAs) and compensation studies.

More information on these two issues can be found in the following pages, but suffice to say, Treasury Board is not allowing this round to proceed very smoothly. Many of you have asked how our Union of Taxation Employees' sisters and brothers were able to achieve their new collective agreement so quickly with the Canada Revenue Agency. I believe it has much to do with political will. Both sides came to the table prepared to bargain, with their priorities clearly defined. While they certainly faced challenges, in the end both parties achieved a new collective agreement that meets the needs of the membership.

So how do we move Treasury Board to negotiate seriously? We need to take action! This means using every opportunity to promote the value of our work, and to put pressure on the employer to negotiate fairly and expeditiously. This includes lobbying and political action by the membership, getting involved in regional, Component and national campaigns to promote our demands and fight for their achievement. We cannot assume that someone else is going to do this for us. We all need to work together and support each other, in solidarity, so that all groups achieve their key demands.

It also requires Treasury Board to realize that they are no longer an employer of choice. Wage gaps with the broader public service and the use of pay zones do not make Treasury Board an attractive employer. We need to campaign for fair economic increases, solutions to classification and pay inequities, and an end to pay zones. We must promote investment in the federal public service; investment in the work of your sisters and brothers and in your collective agreements.

I urge you to get involved in mobilization activities taking place across the country. This is your collective agreement, and we all have a responsibility to ensure that it is the best possible contract we can achieve. This will require the commitment and solidarity of all members across all bargaining units, Component and regions.
As your National President, I am certainly taking every opportunity to promote the value of your work for Canadians with the federal government. We need to fight the Harper government's intention to reduce the scope of the federal government through contracting out, deregulation, and privatization. Not only do these actions result in lost jobs for PSAC members, they also mean fewer quality public services for Canadians. Our collective bargaining is an opportunity to challenge the Harper government, and encourage them to Think Public.

It will be up to all of us to prove that it is in the public's interest to ensure that public services are maintained and enhanced, and that the workers who deliver these services are fairly paid.  Promoting the message to Think Public is a job for all of us. I know that working together, we can make this happen!

In Solidarity,
John Gordon
National President

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Your bargaining unit:  who, what, where, when

Bargaining with Treasury Board is underway for approximately 100,000 PSAC members employed directly by the federal government.  Our members can be found in 26 different occupational groups and work in a wide variety of jobs ranging from welders to parole officers, librarians to aircraft inspectors, information clerks to hospital orderlies, policy analysts to customs officers, just to name a few.  Here are our five Treasury Board bargaining units. 

Education and Library Science (EB) bargaining unit (former Table 5)
1,100 members from the LS (Library Science), ED (Education) and EU (Educational Support) groups.
Expiry date of this agreement:  June 30, 2007
Dispute settlement route:  Arbitration

Frontière/Border Services (FB) bargaining unit
This is a new unit of about 7,000 members who carry out border services and related duties for the Canada Border Services Agency.  They are negotiating their first agreement.  These members are currently covered by the PA agreement.
Expiry date of the PA agreement:  June 20, 2007
Dispute settlement route:  Conciliation/Strike

Operational Services (SV) bargaining unit (former Table 2)
12,000 members from the FR (Firefighters), GL (General Labour and Trades), GS (General Services), HP (Heating, Power and Stationary Plan Operations), HS (Hospital Services), LI (Lightkeepers), PR(S) (Printing Operations –Supervisory) and SC (Ships' Crews) groups.
Expiry date of this agreement:  August 4, 2007
Dispute settlement route:  Conciliation/Strike

Program and Administrative Services (PA) bargaining unit (former Table 1)
82,000 members from the AS (Administrative Services), IS (Information Services), PM (Program Administration), WP (Welfare Programs), CM (Communications), DA (Data Processing), CR (Clerical and Regulatory), OE (Office Equipment) and ST (Secretarial, Stenographic and Typing) groups.
Expiry date of this agreement:  June 20, 2007
Dispute settlement route:  Conciliation/Strike

Technical Services (TC) bargaining unit (former Table 3)
10,500 members from the DD (Drafting and Illustration), EG (Engineering and Scientific Support), GT (General Technical), PY (Photography), PI (Primary Products Inspection) and TI (Technical Inspection) groups.
Expiry date of this agreement:  June 21, 2007
Dispute settlement route:  Arbitration

After the collective agreements reach their expiry date, the employer cannot arbitrarily change salaries or any other terms in the agreement until either a new agreement is signed or a unit is in a legal strike position.

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Collective Bargaining under the new Public Service Labour Relations Act

Introduction:

The Public Service Modernization Act has changed some parts of the collective bargaining process with Treasury Board and the major Agencies.  These changes are contained in the new Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA) which came into effect April 1, 2005.  The PSLRA replaces the old Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA). 

The old PSSRA put some limitations on bargaining and the new PSLRA does so as well.  Our union has always faced challenges in bargaining.  We're ready and able to meet the new changes.

The basic framework for collective bargaining remains largely unchanged but there are some critical differences. 

The same old things:

The union still serves notice to bargain in advance of the expiry date of each collective agreement.  The only difference now is that notice can be served four months in advance, instead of three months.

The parties are still obliged to bargain in good faith.

All the terms and conditions of the collective agreement remain in force after the expiry date until either a new agreement is signed or until a bargaining unit is in a legal strike position.

There are still two methods of resolving a dispute if the parties can't agree on a new agreement:  conciliation with the right to strike or arbitration.  Once the union has served notice to bargain, we can't change our choice of method.

The same old things with some new wrinkles:

The Conciliation/Strike process

The new legislation replaces the former Conciliation Boards with “Public Interest Commissions” or PICs.

The basic structure of the Public Interest Commission is very similar to the old Conciliation Boards.  They normally consist of a chairperson, and one nominee from both the union and the employer.  What's new is that the Chairperson is chosen from a list pre-established by the Public Service Labour Relations Board, following consultation with the parties.  Like the old Conciliation Boards, the PICs will make non-binding recommendations which the parties may or may not use to try and reach a deal.

Unlike the old Conciliation Boards, the PICs now must consider a set of factors when making their recommendations.  These are the same factors that arbitration boards have had to consider, as well as one new factor.  The factors include comparisons to outside employers, comparisons within the federal public service and “the state of the Canadian economy and the government of Canada's fiscal circumstances.”.  In fact, the union has always addressed these factors in its presentations to Conciliation Boards.

The PICs now have 30 days to complete their reports.  This is an increase from the 14 days given to the old Conciliation Boards.  The reality is that Conciliation Boards had difficulty in meeting the old deadline and often went beyond the 14-day period.

Legal strike action can only take place after seven days after the PIC report has been filed, which was the case in the past. 

The Arbitration process

The rules governing Arbitration Boards remain essentially unchanged under the new PSLRA.

Bargaining units on this dispute settlement route do not have the right to strike.

The report of the Arbitration Board is final and binding upon the parties.  There have been several minor changes to the factors that Arbitration Boards must take into account.  The biggest change is the inclusion of this factor…“the state of the Canadian economy and the government of Canada's fiscal circumstances”.However, the union has always addressed the employer's ability to pay in its submissions to these Arbitration Boards.

Some very new things:

Strike votes and strikes

Strike votes are now governed by the law.  In the past, the Public Service Staff Relations Act was silent on how they were to be conducted.  Because there were no legal rules about strike votes, the union generally held strike votes early in the bargaining process.  Now, like the Canada Labour Code, the new PSLRA has an impact on when we take our strike votes. 

The strike vote now has a “best before” date.  Strike action is only legal if it begins within 60 clear calendar days of the strike vote.  This means that we will hold strike votes much later in the process than has been our pratice in the last several rounds of Treasury Board negotiations.

Three conditions which must be met before a legal strike can take place.  A legal strike can only occur:

• seven days after a Public Interest Commission has filed its report, and
• thirty clear days after the Essential Agreements process has been completed, and
• within 60 clear days of the strike vote.   

The new PSLRA requires that a strike vote be conducted by secret ballot among all of the employees in the bargaining unit.  PSAC has always conducted its strike vote by secret ballot.  The difference now is that all employees in the unit are entitled to vote, even if they have not signed a union membership card.

Essential Services Agreements

Essential Services Agreements (ESAs) replace the old designation process.

PSAC's Components and Locals/Branches work on ESAs with their respective departments.

Unlike the old designation process in which the parties started from scratch in each round of bargaining, the ESAs that are put in place during this round of bargaining will remain in effect in subsequent rounds of bargaining unless they're amended.

Like the designation process, disputes are referred to a third party.  If the employer and the union can't agree on the ESAs, the dispute is referred to the Public Service Labour Relations Board.

Strike action can't take place until 30 clear days after an Essential Services Agreement is signed by the parties or ordered into effect by the Board.

Something old with a new name

The new Act contains an employer “free speech” clause.  This is a new provision that says that employers don't commit an unfair labour practice if they express their point of view “so long as they do not use coercion, intimidation, threats, promises or undue influence.” 

Employers have a right to communicate with their employees.  The new provision makes it clear that they cannot use coercion, intimidation, undue influence, etc. in the name of “free speech”.

During the bargaining process, PSAC members will find out what is happening during negotiations directly from the source - the members representing them at the bargaining table.  Regular bargaining bulletins will be issued and members will be able to ask questions and get answers through their Locals/Branches, PSAC regional offices and Components. 

The members of the bargaining teams are working to get the best possible settlement for you while the employer has a vested interest in selling you an agreement for as little cost as possible.  Where would you rather get your information?

Conciliation/Strike chart
Arbitration chart

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General Bargaining Demands

Work Force Adjustment Agreement (WFAA)
Strengthen the WFAA provisions regarding affected employees and requirements to consult with the union; revise the language so that all transfers between employers in the federal public service are treated as WFA situations; ensure that members transferred to other employers continue to receive equivalent wages and benefits.

No Contracting Out
Stop contracting out and privatization of bargaining unit work and bring sub-contracted work back into the bargaining unit.

Joint Learning Program (JLP)
Increase the employer's contribution to the JLP during the life of the agreements and provide bridge funding from the expiry date to the signing of a new agreement.

Rates of Pay
The union will table an economic package later in the bargaining process, so that it more accurately reflects current economic conditions.  Some of the elements that will go into developing the package include:  real economic increases reflecting the Canadian economy, protection against inflation, catching-up with comparable jobs and employers, restructuring of pay grids, changes in increments and retroactivity to the first day of the agreement.

Early retirement for enforcement and emergency workers
Amend the pension plan to allow for enforcement and emergency service workers to retire with 25 years of service without penalty.

Social Justice Fund
Propose that the employer contribute one cent per hour worked by each employee in each TB bargaining unit to the PSAC's Social Justice Fund to assist workers in Canada and around the globe.

No discrimination
Expand the article to prohibit discrimination by reason of gender identity or expression or by reason of political activity.

Maternity and Parental Leave
Stop forcing members to repay the maternity leave or parental leave allowance if their specified period of employment has expired and they have been hired by another employer in the federal public service.

Bereavement Leave
Increase the period of bereavement leave for a death in the immediate family from five consecutive days to five working days.

Vacation Leave
Change the accumulation of vacation leave to four weeks after one year of service, increasing by one-half day for every subsequent year of service to a maximum of seven weeks' leave after 30 years' service.

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Education and Library Science (EB) unit

Hours of work:  Increase preparation time for teachers by 25 minutes a week.  Remove the requirements for supervisory duties during two 15-minute rest periods, lunch periods and at the end of the school day.  Entitle teachers to one day per term for administrative duties only.

Early retirement (INAC):  Early retirement for employees in high stress work environments.

Pay study for ED-EST sub-group:  Ensure that 12-month teachers receive a wage adjustment to reflect the wage rates of comparable teachers.

Appendix F (professional qualifications and regional pay grids):  Ensure that there is a consistent and fair assessment of professional qualifications and a corresponding national pay grid.

Education and Library Science (EB) team

Byron Duguay is a teacher performing guidance counsellor duties in an adult education centre at the Bath Correctional Institution in Kingston.   “I have been involved in three previous rounds of bargaining and, while demanding, it is very rewarding.”  He has held many union positions over the years in his Local, Component and Area Council.

Michael Freeman wanted to take his union involvement to a higher level by participating on the EB bargaining team.  A 10-month grade six teacher located at Six Nations – Ohsweken, Ontario, he is actively involved in his National Component Local and is a member of the Members with Disabilities Access Committes in Toronto and Hamilton.

A member of PSAC negotiating teams for many years, Chris Rogers is a Librarian at Library and Archives Canada in Gatineau.  His union involvement has included stints at various times as President of his National Component Local.  His goal for this round of bargaining is to improve salary levels and benefits for all groups within the bargaining unit.

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Frontière/Border Services (FB) unit

Student employment:  Include new provisions that govern the employment of students, including work of the bargaining unit, wage rates and overtime, and adequate training and supervision.

Seniority rights:  Use seniority to schedule shifts and vacation leave.

Alternative work arrangements:  Allow employees to carry out their duties away from the employer's premises where operationally feasible.

Arming initiative:  Provide fulljob security and accommodation for all members affected by the arming initiative at the Border Service Agency.

Day is a day:  Restore the process whereby leave banks are calculated in days in order to ensure that those who work longer shifts are not penalized when they take leave.

Wage adjustments:  Wage adjustments to reflect comparable rates in similar occupations.

Frontière/Border Services (FB) team

“I'm a fighter who is proud to be participating in developing out first collective agreement”, says Sylvie Labrèche, an information officer with the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) in Montreal.  A former Branch President and now 1st Vice-President, her union work includes handling complaints, grievances and representation in a number of work locations.

A Border Services Officer who performs immigration, customs and food, plant and animal inspection work at Vancouver International Airport, Karim Lawji also holds the position of Chief Steward, Immigration in his CEUDA Branch.  “This is the first and historic contract for the FB group and I want to be involved in the creation of a solid stepping stone for future generations of FBs.”

Carolyn McGillivray, a senior trade officer in the Vancouver Trade Compliance Division of CBSA, wants “to do everything I can to get the best contract possible.”  In her capacity as the Equal Opportunities representative on CEUDA's national executive, she focuses on human rights and equity issues including duty to accommodate.

Fred Milligan, President of the CEUDA Niagara Falls District Branch is a Border Services Officer who clears people and goods entering Canada, intercepting dangerous goods and goods not permitted entry.  According to Fred, “this is one of the most important contracts for the new FB group is going to sign and I wanted to be part of the ground-breaking signing.”

CEUDA 2nd National Vice-President and Chair of the component's bargaining committee, Steve Pellerin-Fowlie works at Calgary International Airport.  “I want to be part of making the biggest improvement in working conditions and living standards for the members I represent since the achievement of maternity leave in the 1980s.”

Branch President in Newfoundland and Labrador and CEUDA board member Doug Tremblett believes he has a lot to offer on the bargaining team and is “very passionate about achieving the best possible contract that represents all our members.”  Doug works as a Border Services Officer at Gander International Airport.

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Operational Services (SV) unit

Zone Rates of Pay:  Eliminate all zones and raise wage rates to those in the highest paid zone.

Market Adjustment:  Adjust wage rates to close the gaps that were identified in the Table 2 study during the last round of bargaining.

Apprenticeship:  Establish rates of pay and agreement language to ensure that apprentices are treated fairly.

Maternity-related Reassignment or Leave:  Provide pregnant or nursing employees with leave with pay for the duration of the risk period if they cannot be reassigned or their job functions modified during the risk period.

Child/Family Care Fund:  Establish a child/family care fund, funded by the employer and administered by the union to establish child and/or family care facilities or to reach agreements with such facilities to provide child or family care.

Allowances:  Improve current allowances and introduce new allowances for Ammunition Technicians, hazardous materials, Canadian Wood Packaging Certification Program, EMS (Firefighters) and for the use of languages other than English or French as part of regular duties.

Shift and Weekend Premiums:  Increase these premiums to $5.00 per hour and ensure that these premiums are applied equitably.

Operational Services (SV) team

Melvin Dureen “wanted to be involved in the process of bargaining for a better agreement and to provide input and expertise for my members.”   He operates the heating plant at a federal institution in Matsqui, B.C. and responds to all off hours maintenance concerns.  A Union of Solicitor General Employees Local President, he is also on the executive of the Fraser Valley Area Council.

A dental assistanat who has worked at CFB Halifax for more than 20 years, Donna Gourley provides services to 7,000 military personnel.   An activist member of the Union of National Defence Employees and part of the SV team for the last two rounds, she “hopes to help achieve the elimination of the zones, close the gap on the pay study and help make the employer recognize the SV group for what we are – members who want recognition for their value, recognition in equality and monetary compensation.”

Union of National Defence Employees Local President Glenn Horman supervises the work and organizes the schedules of food service staff and cashiers at Valcartier, Quebec.  He wanted to be a member of the team “to further his union involvement and work toward the elimination of the pay zones.”

Randy Sanderson “wanted the opportunity to represent the members of my bargaining unit again.”  A Canadian Coast Guard boatswain in Sydney, B.C. who works on an offshore research vessel that conducts research in the summer and search and rescue in the winter, he is Union of Canadian Transportation Employees Local President and Co-chair of the Pacific region Fleet union management consultation committee.

Robert Spencer, who recently transferred from Toronto, works as a building systems technician operating and maintaining buildings in the Parliamentary precinct in Ottawa. A member of the Government Services Union, he is working on “obtaining the best contract possible for the membership.”

“I want to have input and bring a different perspective to the team,” says Steve Van Opstal, a seasonal field worker with Agriculture and Agrifood Canada's Shelterbelt Centre in Indian Head, Saskatchewan.   The shelterbelt programs grow trees for farmers that also help clean the environment.  Steve is an Agriculture Union Local President, Vice-Chair of the PSAC Regina Human Rights Committee and member of the union's committee to eliminate pay zones.

Blair Winger, a firefighter at the Canadian Forces Base in Suffield, Alberta, is a Union of National Defence Employees Local President and members of the FR Classification Review Committee who wants “to help make positive changes for our members.”

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Program and Administrative Services (PA) unit

Severance Pay:  Remove all caps on the payment of serverance pay.

Transit Pass:  Reimburse employees for the full cost of a public transit pass and, where public transit does not exist, pay the equivalent to employees who carpool to and from work.

Language Training:   Include a Memorandum of Understanding in the agreement with guidelines for the fair implementation of language training to ensure that the policy is being applied fairly and that there is equal access to training.

Program and Administrative Services (PA) team

Megan Adam is a Communications Advisor at Fisheries and Oceans Canada specializing in writing, project management and web development.  A community and anti-poverty activist in East Vancouver, she is active in her region and in the Union of Environment Workers.  Her aim is “to bring the day-to-day issues of our members in the field to the bargaining table and find collective solutions and improvements in both our social and economic conditions.

According to Parole Officer Ken Boone, “this may well be my last contract and I wanted to be part of a team to ensure it is the best possible contract.”  A member of the Union of Solicitor General Employees, Ken is also the alternate to the PSAC's Regional Executive Vice-President for Ontario and Labour Co-Chair of the Toronto Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign.

Michele Coe also wants “to represent the members of the PA group and do my utmost to achieve the best collective agreement possible.”  She works in financial administration at the Agriculture Canada research centre in Lethbridge and is currently a Regional Vice-President of the Agriculture Union.

As a Payment Delivery Agent in Toronto, Sharon DeSousa processes Canada Pension Plan benefit applications and maintains accounts.  In her union life, she represents PSAC on the Ontario Federation of Labour's Visible Minority Committee and represents racially visible members on the PSAC's Ontario Regional Council.   This National Health and Welfare Union member says she wants “to have the negotiating team reflect the membership and to ensure their interests are represented and voiced in the bargaining process.” 

“At long last, I have the opportunity to put my union education to use representing our membership in the most important role possible,” says Debbie Graham, a purchaser at CFB Gagetown in Oromocto, New Brunswick.  The Union of National Defence Employees' Vice-President for New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, she is also the alternate to the PSAC's Regional Executive Vice-President for the Atlantic.

Louiselle Laforest is on the PA team “to have an influence on the bargaining of the collective agreement and to improve it”.   An appeal agent dealing with  Employment Insurance at Service Canada in Montreal, she is a National Vice-President in the Canada Employment and Immigration Union.

Doug Marshall works in the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists in Ottawa helping ensure that both the legislation and the code of conduct regarding lobbying are being followed.  “I have spent most of my working life involved in collective bargaining and want to help PSAC members get the best possible terms and conditions of employment.”  He is a Local Vice-President, Assistant Vice-President (NCR) of the National Component and a member of the Regional Council executive. 
On leave from her job as a replacement and statistical officer in Nursing at the Veterans' hospital in Ste Anne de Bellevue, Sylvie Pinard is currently working full-time as the President of her Union of Veterans' Affairs Employees Local.  She wanted to be a negotiating team member “because I like to work as part of a team for the benefit of the whole membership.”

When not managing and writing funding agreements as a Funding Services Officer with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada in Iqaluit, Geoff Ryan, is a Regional Vice-President of the Northern Territorial Federation of Labour and Nunavut Territorial Director for PSAC North.  A member of the National Component, he has pledged “to be a two-way communication conduit for members in the North.”

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Technical Services (TC) unit

Travel Status Leave:  Remove all the restrictions and caps and provide for 0.5 hours off with pay for each night away from the employee's permanent residence including all travel time to all courses.

Training:  Ensure that our members receive the appropriate level of training on new technologies.

Classification:  The union is proposing a review of the Technical Inspection (TI) classification standard.
Compensation Study:  The Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB) has selected a consultant to conduct a compensation study for the TC group.  The study includes 31 positions such as Environmental Inspector, Engineering Technician, Life Sciences Laboratory Technician and Civil Aviation Safety Inspector and will compare wages in the TC group with those of others doing similar work in both the private and public sectors.

Technical Services (TC) team

Carol Casey is a research technician at the National Hydrology Research Centre in Saskatoon, performing collections, experiments and data analysis for research investigating water issues.  A Union of Environment Workers Local President and alternate Regional Vice-President, she is also President of the Saskatoon and District Area Council.  “I felt that the TC members in the Prairies deserved representation on the bargaining team.”

“I was a member of the bargaining team during last round and I felt as if we hadn't finished our work,” says Daniel Dubé, a technical services specialist with Environment Canada whose work takes him all around the province of Quebec handling installation, maintenance, calibration and inspection of meteorological equipment. He is also a Union of Environment Workers Local President.

Peter Holland enforces the acts and regulations that protect Canada's fish stocks and fish habitat for future generations as a Fishery Officer with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in St. George, New Brunswick.  A Union of Environment Workers Local President, a member of the PSAC's national enforcement rountable and a shift worker for the past 25 years, he is “committed to making improvements in our collective agreement.”

National Component Local President and Assistant Regional Vice-President for Ontario Garry Larouche is an auditor for Measurement Canada.  Located in Sudbury, he ensures that clients are in compliance with quality management standards and legal requirements.

Darrell-Lee McKenzie intends “to use my experience from previous rounds of bargaining to get the best possible deal for the members of the TC unit.”  She works as a research technican in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Apple and Cherry Tree Fruit breeding program in Summerland, B.C.  She is also the Agriculture Union's Regional Vice-President for eastern B.C. and Treasurer of the Area Council.

Phillip Robinson says that being on the TC bargaining team is “a natural progression of my union involvement over the past 15 years” and aims “to get the best contract possible.”  A regional vice-president with the Government Services Union, he contracts for the repair of ships and boats owned by the federal government.

A Senior Cadman Design Technologist whose work includes design and 3D modeling of mechanical systems and failure investigation of military equipment, Glen Whalley has 10 years' experience as a Union of National Defence Employees Local President.  Located at the National Printing Bureau building in Gatineau, he understands how the collective agreement affects workers every day on the job.  “I want to understand and participate in the process that defines our work environment.”

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Key benefits at risk

The union isn't the only player at the bargaining table that gets to submit bargaining demands.  Treasury Board has its demands too.  For instance, Treasury Board negotiators have indicated they want to discuss a new approach to pay.   Just what that approach may be is not known at this time as no discussions have yet taken place on monetary demands.

Treasury Board wants to:

• eliminate additional sick leave for shift workers,
• eliminate the right to have a complete and current job description,
• eliminate vacation advance payments

The employer also wants to:

• reduce the amount of vacation leave members can carry over,
• reduce the amount of overtime part time workers can claim,
• reduce call back and reporting pay entitlements,
• reduce the number of situations where double time for overtime work would apply,
• reduce the notice period for changes to shift schedules from 7 days to 48 hours.

The employer also wants to increase and/or adjust core working hours for some groups and have indicated they intend to table demands on severance pay and Work Force Adjustment.
 
While some Treasury Board demands are unclear at this point, one thing is perfectly clear.  Your bargaining teams are committed to saying NO to any demand calling for a roll-back in current terms and conditions of employment.

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Essential Services Agreements stalling negotiations

As outlined elsewhere in this publication, the PSAC is negotiating Essential Services Agreements (ESAs) for the first time under the Public Service Labour Relations Act.  This new scheme replaces the old designation process.

While the process may be new, the reaction from the departments is not.  In October, the union was forced to postpone scheduled negotiations with Treasury Board because various departments were not meeting their legal obligations to provide the most basic information required to negotiate the ESAs.

As a result, PSAC has filed complaints with the Public Service Labour Relations Board.  The initial complaint was filed against the Canada Border Service Agency.  A mediation hearing produced an agreement that the Agency would begin to provide the necessary information and meetings were scheduled between the Customs and Excise Union Douanes Accise component and CBSA.  Mediation hearings have also taken place for the Operational Services (SV) and the Program and Administrative Services units.

ESA negotiations are continuing with some 45 different departments for the PA, SV and Frontière/Border Service (FB) units.  In most cases, the departments have met with their respective Components and some ESAs have even been signed.  However, the union is still having problems obtaining even basic information in many cases. 

The negotiation of the ESAs has a direct impact on our ability to bargain new collective agreements because, under the new rules, no bargaining unit may conduct a legal strike until 30 clear days have passed after the applicable ESAs have been signed off.

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Treasury Board undercuts compensation study

The PSAC had been working with Treasury Board and the Public Service Labour Relations Board on a compensation study for our members in the Security and Enforcement community.  The study was expected to provide wage data that would be used in this round of bargaining. 

The plan was to compare our members' compensation with similar jobs in the broader federal public sector and in the private sector.  However, Treasury Board insisted on including jobs the union felt were inappropriate for comparison for a number of reasons, including significant differences in duties, education and training requirements and impact on public safety.  For example, Treasury Board wanted to include airport scanners, armoured vehicle guards and building security staff for comparison purposes, which the union vehemently opposed.

The delays in reaching an agreement on the study were also forcing the cancellation of bargaining sessions.  As a result, the union will be carrying out its own pay research in this instance for use in our current negotiations.  

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No more pay zones!

Would you want to be paid as much as 7.5% to 17% less than you are for the work you do, just because you live in Saskatoon, Halifax, Montreal or Hamilton?  It if doesn't make sense for 93% of the federal public service, why should there be zone rates for the remaining 7%.

Members of Parliament are all paid the same rate of pay for representing their constituents, right across the country.  Our members also serve Canadians in every part of the country.  They all deserve national rates of pay.

In this round of negotiations, PSAC members receiving regional rates of pay are fighting to put an end to this sytem once and for all.  We want and need your support.

Visit www.psac-afpc.com for more campaign information.

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Date Modified : 2008/03/10

Public Service Alliance of Canada | 233, Gilmour Street, Ottawa, ONTARIO CANADA, K2P 0P1, Tel.: 1 888 604-7722 (PSAC) Local: 613-560-4200