Today is April 28, a day set aside by an Act of Parliament we honour and remember all the people who died or were hurt from work related illness and injuries on this National Day of Mourning.
In light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we encourage organizations, communities, and individuals to consider holding or supporting a virtual event, or simply pause at 11:00 am on April 28 for a moment of silence. These acts of remembrance help to honour the lives lost or injured due to workplace tragedy, while also acknowledging the sacrifices of frontline and essential workers who have died or become ill serving during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We also demand that employers in federal and other jurisdictions to respect the rules on workplace health and safety committees and urge them to collaborate more with those committee members to ensure safe workplaces.
In 2020, over 1000 workers died in workplace related accidents in Canada, a similar statistic as in 2019; which is about 3 workers a day; 3 workers a day too many.
We join with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety in their messaging:
We remember workers who have died, became injured, or have suffered from occupational disease while being on the job.
We commit to remember workers and preventing further workplace tragedies.
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat announced that their planned implementation date for Program and Administrative Services (PA) group’s new job evaluation standards is October 2022. This target requires department and system readiness, so it is subject to change.
Although the mapping of actual positions to sub-groups has not yet taken place, we still believe that the PA group will be restructured to five new sub-groups as per our previous update.
Your current rights will be protected regardless of the outcome of this process. This means no one will suffer a reduction in salary due to their classification potentially being converted to a lower wage level. You will be guaranteed to remain at your current salary (this is enshrined in the collective agreement as Salary Protection Status). This protection will apply until the position is vacated. In addition, as wages for your new classification exceed your current salary, your pay will be increased to the new classification level.
As the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination begins to gain momentum, PSAC would like to remind all federal employees that they can request paid 698 leave to attend their vaccination appointment.
With the 698 leave, employees have access to up to a half-day of paid leave to attend a medical or dental appointment. This includes an appointment for vaccination, and time to travel to and from the vaccination site.
The paid leave is possible under a Treasury Board policy covering medical and dental appointments, but PSAC has been in discussions with Treasury Board to ensure that employees who are getting a vaccine that require a booster are also entitled to paid leave for the second vaccination.
However, since 698 leave is only available to employees of the federal government, we ask that provincial and territorial governments follow the federal Treasury Board example and not penalize employees by docking their pay when they protect themselves and their community by getting the COVID-19 vaccine. All workers, regardless of their jurisdiction, should be able to get vaccinated without worrying about their paycheques.
If you have any questions about your rights on the 698 leave, reach out to your local shop steward, your Component, or the PSAC regional office for help and support.
PSAC welcomes the measures in the 2021 budget that respond to the needs of Canadians hardest hit by the pandemic.
Our union is also very pleased to see the historic investment in universal child care, a commitment to finally establishing a federal $15 minimum wage, and resources to battle systemic racism in the federal public service and beyond.
“This historic investment in universal child care is a lifeline for parents who are struggling to afford rising child care fees,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president. “This is a major victory for our union and child care advocates who have been fighting for affordable, accessible and universal child care for decades.”
The program is key to ensuring parents, especially women who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, re-join the workforce and help drive Canada’s economic recovery.
The government’s increased pandemic support, including the new Canada Recovery Hiring Program, recognizes PSAC members’ success in delivering these critical services to Canadians and underscores the important role of a strong public service.
“Now more than ever, Canadians need to be reassured that they’ll still be able to pay their bills even if they can’t work because of COVID-19,” said Aylward. “Public service workers stepped up when Canadians needed them most, and they’ll continue to deliver the financial aid workers depend on.”
It remains disappointing that the government failed to act on its commitment to create a national, universal pharmacare program. Canadians need pharmacare now more than ever as workers continue to lose access to prescription drug coverage because of pandemic job losses.
The government also continues to fund important community infrastructure by putting the profits of private companies before the needs of Canadians through the Canada Infrastructure Bank and increased Social Financing.
“Privatization of public assets and services costs more, provides poorer service and increases safety and security risks, all while leaving the government – and Canadian taxpayers – on the hook to foot the larger bill,” said Aylward.
PSAC is pressing governments to prioritize vaccinations for critical front-line workers across Canada to limit the spread of COVID-19.
PSAC represents thousands of front-line workers doing critical work at Canada’s borders, in federal penitentiaries, day shelters and group homes, community parole officers, firefighters, Coast Guard staff and employees on military bases, meat-packing plant workers, food inspectors and many more.
Their close contact with the public and other employees while performing their work puts them at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 and contributing to outbreaks in their communities. That’s why it’s crucial that all provinces and territories provide access to vaccinations for front-line essential workers as soon as possible, as per Stage 2 of the Government of Canada’s vaccine schedule.
“The federal government has an obligation to safeguard the health and safety of all its employees during the pandemic,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president. “Federal ministers must step in and mandate provinces and territories to accelerate vaccinations for front-line essential workers as soon as possible, as recommended in the federal government’s own vaccination schedule.”
PSAC and components, including the Customs and Immigration Union and the Union of Safety and Justice Employees, have been lobbying both the federal and provincial governments, including Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, to prioritize vaccinations for our members.
“Canada Border Services Agency personnel have continued to perform critical work despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jean-Pierre Fortin, CIU national president, representing more than 11,000 CBSA officers and workers across the country. “With a third wave now well underway and the growing threat of COVID variants, it’s imperative for frontline Border Services officers to be prioritized for vaccinations equally across the country, alongside other first responders and law enforcement personnel.”
Some provinces have prioritized vaccinations for front-line workers early on, while others still refuse to consider many front-line workers essential under their vaccination plans, creating a patchwork system that puts workers and the Canadians they serve at risk. Two workers, doing the same job and facing the same risk of exposure to COVID-19, could be vaccinated months apart under the current provincial arrangement.
“By not quickly moving to vaccinate all front-line staff who work day in and day out with federal offenders, we put thousands of Canadians and employees at continued high risk of COVID-19 outbreaks,” said Stan Stapleton, national president of the Union of Safety and Justice Employees representing all federal employees working in rehabilitative, parole, maintenance, food service and related support roles in federal minimum, medium and maximum security penitentiaries, as well as Community Correctional Centres and parole offices across Canada.
PSAC will continue to pressure the federal government to work collaboratively with provincial public health authorities and ensure all front-line workers are equally prioritized as part of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
PSAC is launching a new round of negotiations with Treasury Board to update and strengthen the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP). The much-delayed talks are starting after PSAC, other federal public service unions, and the National Association of Federal Retirees threatened legal action earlier this year to compel the government to come to the table.
The health care plan, which covers most federal public service workers and retirees, has not been meaningfully updated since 2006 and needs significant updates to reflect recent medical advances, increases in the cost of health services, and emerging technologies. Supported by the results of a membership survey on the health care plan and other extensive research, PSAC is ready to advocate for a comprehensive set of proposals to improve the health care plan, including:
greater coverage for vision care (including laser eye surgery)
increased coverage for all paramedical services (such as physiotherapy, massage therapy, chiropractic care)
improved coverage for psychological services (including higher claimable maximum and access to a wider range of practitioners)
removal of prescription requirements for paramedical benefits claims
The Public Service Health Care Plan provides coverage for a wide variety of health-related products and services for a majority of federal public service workers. PSAC negotiates the health care plan directly with Treasury Board, together with other bargaining agents of the National Joint Council and the National Association of Federal Retirees, representing retired members. This is done outside of the regular bargaining process for collective agreements.
People with autism find aspects of everyday life challenging. Interaction and communication with people, even people that are closest, may be difficult. These situations can be confusing to others and stress inducing to the person with autism.
Restricted interests, repetitive behaviours and difficulty with interactions and communications all affect a person with autism’s ability to function effectively in everyday life.
World Autism Awareness Day was established in December of 2007 to bring awareness of Autism to the fore and to ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) in 2013.
Autism can be diagnosed at any age but is referred to as a “developmental disorder” because signs and symptoms typically appear before the age of two. Statistics show that autism is 4.3 times more prevalent in boys than girls.
Autism continues to be a focus of study, creating new developments in understanding aspects of the “disorder”.
Please take a few minutes to read or research about autism. Increase your knowledge. Develop your understanding. Discuss with friends and colleagues; some of whom may be living with autism or have family members that do.
Michael Freeman is the UNE National Equity Representative for People with Disabilities.
The Indigenous peoples in Canada have celebrated March 31st to honour the strength and endurance of our languages. There are thousands of Indigenous Language Champions creating and delivering Indigenous languages programs every day.
I celebrate the work of our Indigenous Language Champions who are revitalizing and are seeking ways to sustain the survival of our languages. I acknowledge the difficult burden they are carrying to reverse more than a century of attempts to erase our languages and identity, mostly through residential schools.
Our communities now have opportunities to live and learn our Mother tongues through Language Nests, Immersion Programs, Language and Cultural Camps, and to offer Master-Apprentice Programs as well as degree programs for our Teachers and those who want to become fluent speakers and Language Teachers. Across the country we have asserted greater determination to use our languages, our identities, and to seek equitable recognition and support to that which is provided to the official languages in this country.
At this time I wish to acknowledge the importance of language and culture for the well-being and resilience of Indigenous communities around the world. It’s also a day to lift up our hands to the many language champions working to address the language crisis facing Indigenous peoples.
Lenora Maracle UNE National Equity Representative for Aboriginal Peoples
