The UNE 2022 Local Presidents’ Conference is just a few short months away! This event will bring presidents from every UNE Local to Gatineau, QC, August 11-14 for our first in-person event in over two years. Participants will attend educational sessions, hear from guest speakers and network with other union activists.
While this conference is geared toward Local President training, there will be a secondary theme of health and safety as our members have had to navigate both mental and physical challenges in workplaces and at home during the pandemic.
Your Local’s participation is very important. If you are unable to attend, we encourage you to designate another member of your Local Executive to attend the Conference, with preference given to your Local’s Health & Safety Representative.
Locals may also send observers at the Local’s expense.
If you are unable to register, please contact Suzanne Boucher at 613-560-4359 or at events@une-sen.org.
We look forward to meeting once again, in person, for the first time in over two years. But times have changed, and provincial health regulations have been extremely fluid. Participants will be expected to follow regulations put in place at the event venue and public travel hubs such as airports and railway stations.
As per PSAC’s current COVID-19 Vaccination Policy Guidelines, participants must attest to being fully vaccinated during online registration and have their proof of vaccination verified at the Conference.
Again, this is our first in-person event in over two years. The state of the pandemic is constantly evolving and regulations could change. We appreciate your understanding and patience while we navigate this together.
There will be more information circulated as the Conference date approaches, but don’t hesitate to check the UNE website for the latest updates.
In Solidarity,
Kevin King National President Union of National Employees
Amethyst Women’s Addiction Centre Best Theratronics Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Canada Council for the Arts Canadian Museum for Human Rights Canadian Museum of History Canadian Museum of Nature Canada Science and Technology Corporation CMHC Granville Island, B.C. House of Commons Jeunesse j’écoute Library of Parliament Kids Help Phone Mohawk Council of Akwesasne National Battlefields Commission Nordion (Canada) Inc. Office of the Auditor General Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp c.o.b OLGG Slots at Rideau Carleton Raceway Parks Canada SeedChange (formerly known as Unitarian Service Committee of Canada) Senate of Canada – Operational Group SSHRC Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Treasury Board
Why is it important that you sign your card? Click here to view and print 10 reasons. You’ll make our union stronger and have more voice in how we fight for your rights.
If you are a UNE member whose workplace is not on the list above, you can still contact us and we’ll send you a physical membership card.
When Tristan Drozdiak received $15,000 in lump sum payments in 2018 compensating him for two years of underpayments, he assumed he could leave his Phoenix nightmare behind him. But four years later, his future is anything but certain after receiving a letter claiming he now owes $3,000 in overpayments.
“Receiving a bill was a massive surprise for me,” said Tristan. “I thought my situation had been resolved for four years. Then I find out, out of the blue, that it’s not resolved and it’s as complicated as ever.”
The ongoing pay issues forced Tristan and his now fiancée, Teri, to put off buying a home back in 2016. Now, as they plan their future together, Tristan has an uneasy feeling that his Phoenix issues may never be resolved.
“We already waited to buy a house, and now we’re planning for a wedding and maybe kids. But who’s to say I’m not going to get contacted in another four years? It feels like there’s a sword hanging over my head and I shouldn’t have to deal with that stress.”
“It feels like there’s a sword hanging over my head and I shouldn’t have to deal with that stress.”
Tristan began his public service career in 2013 and moved into his current role as an interpreter with Parks Canada in Edmonton in 2015. For two years between 2016 and 2018, the PSAC-UNE member was underpaid by $7 per hour on each pay, and at one point was overpaid $3,000 in one month.
Although his field unit tried to support him, they didn’t have answers, and it took more than a year of back and forth with the Pay Centre before he got confirmation that the system had been updated to indicate there was a problem. Meanwhile, Tristan created a spreadsheet to try to keep track of what was happening but found it too frustrating and complicated to manage.
“It was very difficult to track what the heck happened between 2016 and 2018,” said Tristan. “In addition to everything else, there were little mistakes that happened constantly on my paycheques that to this day I’m not sure how to untangle.”
In the summer of 2018, two lump sum payments appeared in his bank account. However, he never received an explanation or breakdown of the payments and couldn’t understand how the numbers were determined. To complicate matters, he also received the retroactive pay he was owed after the new Parks Canada collective agreement went into effect on May 31, 2018.
“I appreciate the constant advocacy from PSAC — it makes me feel like someone’s actually in our corner.”
When he received a letter from the government earlier this year claiming he owed $3,000 in overpayments, he turned to PSAC for support to escalate his case and get to the bottom of his pay issues. PSAC has helped more than 10,000 members fix their Phoenix issues, whether it was with their pay, pension, health care benefits, or severance.
“I appreciate the constant advocacy from PSAC,” said Tristan. “Just the fact that you are pushing and not letting things slide makes me feel like someone’s actually in our corner.”
If you have a pay issue you haven’t been able to resolve with the Pay Centre and would like our Phoenix team to escalate your case, reach out to us and select the Phoenix problem you’re experiencing from the dropdown menu.
February is the month to celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians and their communities who, throughout history, have done so much to make Canada the culturally diverse, compassionate, and prosperous nation it is today. Please let’s take that opportunity to learn and educate ourselves with one story at a time.
Hogan’s Alley
Do you see the viaduct in that picture? This is where Vancouver’s Black Community used to live in the 1900s.
History has shown that institutional racism often targets marginalized communities. Hogan’s Alley, in Vancouver, is one such example. The first Black immigrants (of African Descent) arrived in British Columbia from California in 1858.
They settled in Vancouver Islands but began migrating to Vancouver in the early 1900s. Hogan’s Alley was ethnically diverse but had a large cluster of Black businesses and residents (reaching over 800) that formed the nucleus of Vancouver’s first concentrated African Canadian community.
Along with the resident population, the area was a destination spot for Black train porters on layover, Black vaudeville circuits coming through via California and popular Black musicians of the time. However, the vision of urban renewal gradually displaced and eventually demolished most of Hogan’s Alley in 1972, making way for the Georgia Viaduct.
So, what was once a vibrant cultural hub for great food and jazz music in the 1960s was quickly transformed into the noise of vehicles as they passed by on the new viaduct. Like the destruction of Africville in Nova Scotia, another Black community in Vancouver was demolished. The question now is which marginalized community will be next?
The Audit Services Group has voted to give their bargaining team a strong strike mandate after talks collapsed at the bargaining table between PSAC and the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.
PSAC members at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada support the audit work the OAG conducts to ensure that Canada’s federal and territorial governments are accountable and productive. These members perform a wide range of technical, professional, administrative and clerical duties in support of the Office of the Auditor General.
But members of Union of National Employees Local 70153 at OAG have been without a contract since September 2018.
Among the key outstanding issues are achieving a pay grid like almost every other group in the federal public sector, fair economic increases, and maintaining pay parity for certain classifications with non-union workers at OAG who received significant increases.
“PSAC members at the Office of the Auditor General have looked at the numbers and the employer’s latest offer doesn’t add up,” said Alex Silas, Regional Executive Vice-President of PSAC’s National Capital Region.
At the end of June, both the union and the employer presented their proposals before a Public Interest Commission hearing. The PIC report was released on August 25th and the Commission sided with the union’s proposals.
“These workers just want fairness and to get what even the non-union workers at the OAG have received. The Public Interest Commission agrees with what we’re saying, but there’s been no movement from the employer on these key issues,” said Silas.
Despite the recommendations from the Public Interest Commission hearing, management at the OAG has not brought any significant changes to their offer, instead returning to the bargaining table with the same proposals.
“It’s time for OAG management to return to the table and respect the findings of the Public Interest Commission and respect these members and the important work they do,” said Kevin King, President of UNE.
“It’s not an easy thing to vote to strike and this is a first for these members at the Office of the Auditor General. I want to assure these members that PSAC has their back and will support their fight for a fair contract,” added Silas.
The federal government released its mandatory vaccination policy for federal public service workers on October 6, mandating vaccinations for all employees in federally regulated workplaces, including more than 160,000 PSAC members.
We have compiled frequently asked questions to provide PSAC members with as much information as possible on vaccinations in the workplace. This page will be regularly updated to reflect the changing circumstances.
The 2021 UNE Triennial Convention has been rescheduled to September 13-17, 2021.
We are accepting late delegate registrations until August 13, 2021.
If you have already registered, you will be contacted with updated information as it becomes available. Please note the new deadlines below if your Local has not yet elected delegates, alternates or observers.
Current PSAC members working for the federal public service received general damages as part of their March 3 pay. However, several issues remain outstanding:
former PSAC members — including retirees — are still waiting for their general damages payments
current and former members who experienced out-of-pocket expenses or severe losses due to Phoenix are still waiting for the launch of a new claims process
the Canada Revenue Agency’s decision to tax the general damages payment
General damages for former and retired PSAC members
Despite requests to accelerate the delivery of general damages payments for former and retired members, the government has set out to make the process available by the fall of 2021. We are disappointed by this lengthy implementation period. However, following pressure by the union, the government has indicated that eligible former members will be provided a more precise timeline for when they will be able to apply for damages payments by the end of July. We will update you at that time.
The government has also updated its general damages webpage so that former members can access forms and resources specific to PSAC members. Previously, former members reported receiving incorrect information, intended for members of other unions, via the government’s website.
Out-of-pocket expenses and severe losses
As part of the Phoenix damages settlement, the government must provide a new claims process for current and former members who experienced out-of-pocket expenses and severe personal and financial impacts due to Phoenix. The government has also targeted fall 2021 as the deadline to finalize the process and make it available to members. At PSAC’s urging for more clarity on timelines, the employer has agreed to provide a more detailed timeline by the end of July. We will update you at that time.
Taxability of Phoenix general damages
PSAC maintains that general damages paid to all employees for “stress, aggravation, and pain and suffering” and for the late implementation of collective agreements are non-taxable. We continue to explore all legal avenues to reverse CRA’s decision to tax general damages paid to members and will provide updates as they become available.
Please be sure to keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive all the latest updates on PSAC’s Phoenix settlement.
Passion and commitment were on the agenda at the Parks Canada Agency’s National Virtual Bargaining Conference, held from May 31 to June 2. Delegates from the Union of National Employees (UNE) and the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE) came out of the conference more united than ever after electing their bargaining team and setting priorities for the new round of talks starting this summer.
Meet the Parks Canada Agency bargaining team:
Nicolas Angers
Alisha Campbell
Angela Decker
Birch Howard
Kassandra McKinnon
Omar Murray
Daniel Toutant
Jaison Van Tine
Alternates
Réginald Bernatchez
André Miller
Denis St-Onge
The bargaining team will be supported by the following PSAC staff:
John Eustace, negotiator
Djimy Theodore, researcher
Parks Canada Agency members proudly work to offer Canadians the best outdoor experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected their work, but they stepped up to guarantee safe access to green spaces across the country. Their essential work in these uncertain times ensured that everyone could keep connecting with Canada’s rich natural and cultural heritage.
At the bargaining conference, members outlined the impact of the pandemic on their work and proposed solutions to improve their working conditions, all of which must be addressed with the agency.
Here is an overview of the key issues discussed at the conference:
Job security
In an agency where seasonal and student jobs are common, achieving job security is a top priority. Under the current system, precarious employment creates a lot of stress and is detrimental to mental health.
PSAC is committed to opposing all forms of precarious employment and ensure that all members have access to indeterminate employment.
Fair wages
We must secure wage increases that reflect the rising cost of living as well as our members’ skills, professionalism and dedication.
Many members have also experienced a widening wage gap compared to their private-sector counterparts. We need wage adjustments that keep up with the wages of those doing similar work both within and outside the federal public service.
Remote work
We believe that provisions governing remote work will be most effective if negotiated into collective agreements.
We must also ensure that remote work is free from remote surveillance and unreasonable performance expectations, that employers cover associated expenses and that concerns relating to accommodations, ergonomics and health and safety are addressed.
Contracting out and privatization
Contracting out and privatization of public services increase costs and risk to taxpayers, reduce the quality of services, erode the internal capacity of the public service, create precarious work, and undermine initiatives that address pay equity and systemic racism.
We must tackle the alarming increase in contracting out of government work, including through temporary staffing agencies.
Work-life balance
We must also expand leave provisions (e.g. 699 leave, family-responsibilities leave and sick leave) to improve work-life balance, which is especially critical for women, caregivers and those with disabilities.
We also need to negotiate flexible work options that allow members to shape their workday to match their personal and family responsibilities.
Violence and harassment
Workplace violence and harassment are a health and safety issue that can have severe physical and psychological consequences for members.
We need to build robust mechanisms to tackle these issues, such as mandatory training and support for members.
Languages rights
Our membership at Parks Canada includes many Indigenous members and several parks are located on traditional Indigenous territories.
In recognition of this, it’s necessary to decolonize our collective agreement. We want the agency to formally recognize Indigenous languages and provide an allowance to members who work in their Indigenous language.
Next steps
Over the next few months, the Parks Canada Agency bargaining team will meet to discuss the bargaining issues prioritized at the National Bargaining Conference and work on a final package of bargaining demands that will be exchanged with the employer.
Make sure to keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive all the latest updates as we prepare to negotiate your next contract.
