Five months into pandemic life, UNE continues to ensure members are well represented. Though staff are working from home, it’s union business as usual – as much as possible. Staff have access to electronic resources from their home offices and continue to make progress on important work. The UNE office remains closed to visitors at this time.
Convention has been tentatively rescheduled for July 2021. Announcements regarding delegate registration will go out in January as the landscape becomes more clear. A Convention call-out will be re-issued.
Locals are encouraged to hold general meetings virtually or in a physical location where distancing protocols are sufficient. Meeting minutes and election results should be forwarded to our membership section.
The UNE National Executive has been meeting by teleconference regularly throughout the last five months. The next step will be a full virtual meeting to be held October 6-7. The group will have a full agenda including reports from standing committees.
Last but not least, PSAC has reached tentative agreements for all Treasury Board groups and ratification votes will take place between August 24 and September 29. The Parks Canada bargaining team heads back to the table August 24, 2020. Other separate employer groups have continued with their bargaining schedules.
If you are unsure which bargaining unit under Treasury Board you belong in, you can look it up here.
In order to be eligible to vote you must:
have received your personal identification number (PIN)
ensure you are a member in good standing (MIGS), and
attend a 15 minute webinar session.
The voting period will be held between August 24 and September 29. Please follow the steps below to ensure you can vote.
1. Receive your Personal Identification Number (PIN)
For those PSAC members for whom we have no personal email, we will send a letter in the mail containing your PIN to your home address two weeks before the beginning of the voting period. If we have a non-employer, personal e-mail address on file, we will instead send you an email with your PIN two days before the start of the voting period.
Please take a moment to update your contact information and provide us with your personal, non-work email address. You can update your contact information online by logging into the PSAC member portal or create an account if you don’t already have one.
If you have not received your PIN after the voting period begins, please check your junk e-mail folder and if it is not found there contact your PSAC Regional Office.
2. Ensure you are a member in good standing (MIGS)
In some situations, PSAC members cease being members in good standing (MIGS) and lose the right to participate in ratification votes.
If you are on extended leave
If you are on extended leave (e.g., long term disability, maternity or parental leave) and therefore not a member in good standing (MIGS), you can make a request to remain in good standing to the National President via this online form. This will allow you to participate in the ratification vote.
If you have not signed a union card or are unsure that it has been processed
If you are unsure that you have previously signed a card or are unsure that it has been processed, simply fill out a new card online.
Even if you are already a member in good standing, please take a moment to give us your personal, non-work email address. You can update your contact information online right now.
In order to ensure that members are fully informed prior to casting their ballot, the PSAC Constitution requires all members to attend an information session before they vote for a new collective agreement. These 15 minute presentations will be held via online webinar and will allow members to cast their ballot once the presentation is over. Members will also have the opportunity to stay online after the presentation should they want to ask questions regarding the content of the tentative agreement. The dates and times of the webinars will be listed on your PSAC regional website, and you will have to register in advance.
Attendance will be tracked so participation must be done as an individual (i.e. if there are multiple members in the household you must each register separately and log in separately). Only those who registered and attend the full presentation will have their member profile updated on the electronic voting system, enabling them to vote. Voting will then be done online or via telephone.
PSAC is still in the process of organizing webinars. We will email you and update our website once registration is open.
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If you have additional questions about voting, or the tentative settlement for your bargaining group, please call your PSAC regional office using the info below.
Multiculturalism, the very idea in itself speaks to an ideology, a policy enacted by Canada’s government that gave birth to the perception that people of different cultures could co-exist within the wider framework of society. For the most part, Multiculturalism can be defined as the co-existence of diverse cultures, where cultures includes racial, religious, or cultural groups and is manifested in customary behaviours, cultural assumptions and values patterns of thinking and communicative styles. Canadians refer to the cultural mélange as its very own Multicultural mosaic.
As you read this article, you may ask yourself what exactly does multiculturalism entail? Well, here in Canada, at the core of Multiculturalism was immigration placing it in a position of social importance. Historically speaking, in Canada, during the 1970s and 1980s, the government officially adopted Multiculturalism and this is reflected in law through the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988; as well as it being mirrored in section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The policy itself is administered by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
On June 27, 2003, Canada celebrated its first Multiculturalism Day, an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the uniqueness of Canada’s multicultural mosaic as it relates to the contributions of Canada’s immigrant populations, cultural communities and the values that we all share.
One can say that the diversity displayed by Canada has shaped the wider society and subsequently our way of life. Through Canada’s immigration, people from around the world have made Canada their home with the expectation of having, dare I say, the same opportunities and experiences as all “Canadians”.
As a black Trini-Canadian woman and one of the immigrant populous, I’d like to bring into focus the reality, irrespective of the misnomer that is multiculturalism. In recent weeks, we have had a rude re-awakening as present day events have only served to deconstruct the notion that Canada is immune to racism. The belief, fuelled by the sentiment that Canada, unlike the US, has exercised racial tolerance can be traced back to the country’s role in the Underground Railroad and Canada being a safe haven for runaway slaves. “Stories” like these have added to Canada’s perception of itself and even contributed to how Canada is viewed on the worldwide stage. This kind of persona has provided its inhabitants with a false sense of security that denies the existence of racism as a tangible reality as black Canadians face systemic racism on all fronts.
Multiculturalism has in no way made us as a country, a society immune to the depravity of a life challenged by inequality and racial injustice. We each should be reminded that a truly multicultural society is one that we have not yet attained and is but a work in progress.
Canada’s strength lies in its diversity and now is not the time to turn a blind eye and miss the opportunity to eradicate the inherent racist policies and practices that litter Canada’s multicultural landscape and institutions while sullying Canada’s vision for a society that genuinely values diversity and richness along with the contributions of all its citizenry.
I would be remiss to not mention how Multiculturalism and inclusivity seems a distant goal as it remains lost and elusive to the people native to this land whose past and present struggles continue to be dis-regarded, dis-respected and dismissed.
These concepts should be a given to all that call this land, whether by birthright, by birth or through immigration, home.
In Solidarity, I ask you to stand up, speak out, become an ally and align yourself with your fellow citizens who continue to live their daily lives plagued by the pestilence of racism and discrimination for a multicultural society reflects the true meaning of inclusivity, and not simply for the reasons of celebrating another’s culture or sampling their fare. It requires each individual’s commitment and attention. The events of the recent past demand it.
Hayley Millington is the UNE National Equity Representative for Racially Visible People.
Following the successful conclusion of bargaining for several Treasury Board bargaining groups, the Parks Canada bargaining team will be returning to the table to negotiate with agency representatives from August 24 to 28.
The union is committed to making progress on the following:
parity with the core public service;
a competitive wage increase;
fair compensation for Park Wardens;
work life balance initiatives, such as improved maternity and parental leave;
fairness for seasonal and term workers.
Stay tuned for updates
PSAC will provide updates on talks as appropriate. Please ensure that you have either updated your contact information on PSAC’s member portal, or that you create an account if you have not done so already.
PSAC is advocating to roll back changes that the government made to its reporting of federal pension costs because they make the cost of the plan volatile.
Pension accounting decisions can profoundly impact the path that governments take when determining the affordability and viability of workers’ pensions. The accounting changes in question, made in 2018, valued pre-2000 pension liabilities in a way that falsely assumed all these liabilities would have to be paid off that year. In a recent submission to the federal government, PSAC suggests a fair accounting method to better reflect the pension plan’s real cost.
PSAC members are the primary beneficiaries of both the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) and of the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP). Combined, these two plans represent the largest proportion of employee pension and other future benefit costs reported by the federal government. As a result they are frequently targeted by fiscal conservatives who constantly clamour for public service spending cuts.
The union’s submission to the Department of Finance argues that pensions are in fact deferred wages that members earn throughout their careers. The pension and benefits that government workers receive when they retire are not a tax-payers’ gift, but rather an earned employment right. Pensions must be treated as a long-term obligation by the employer, however, the government’s chosen accounting methods make the pension plan appear more costly than it truly is based on short-term market fluctuations. PSAC is calling on the government to choose valuation and reporting methods that are both transparent and fair.
Your union will always push to ensure that your pension is safe, secure and well-funded.
Read our submission to the federal government here.
On July 23, PSAC’s EB bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with Treasury Board. The bargaining team unanimously recommends ratification of the new agreement.
The ratification kit which includes the full text of the tentative agreement is now available for download.
Members will soon be invited to participate in an online ratification process. Details will be shared as soon as they are available.
The report is the culmination of a thorough analysis of new forms of privatization, in particular social impact bonds (SIBs), pension fund and investor participation in privatized infrastructure, and new federal agencies that motivate and support privatization of services and infrastructure. Which by any measure, should be fully within the public sector in order to serve the public interest. These agencies – The Canada Infrastructure Bank, FinDev Canada, and the Social Finance Fund, along with more traditional forms of privatization, all contribute to the growing instability in public services, at a time when we, more than ever, need a robust public service to ensure competent and effective services for Canadians.
While largely written prior to the COVID19 pandemic, the report does raise the critical role that public services have had in Canada’s response to the crisis. Public sector workers – PSAC members – have been doing this critical work across the country – at the control hub of the response at the Public Health Agency of Canada, in food plants ensuring our food is safe, at our borders and our airports, delivering emergency benefits to workers and to businesses, developing and testing vaccines and treatments.
In some sectors, privatization has resulted in devastating loss of life. We only need to look at the privatized Long-Term Care homes to see the very real, and very tragic results when profit comes before people.
The report outlines a hopeful path forward, bringing public services back in house, and furthering best practices for publicly funded, built and maintained infrastructure that will be critical to not only the recovery from the economic crisis stemming from the COVID19 pandemic, but will also be instrumental in better weathering future crises, whether pandemics, climate change or other.
In recent months, everyone has been overwhelmed by the changes in their work and home life because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, thousands of public service workers are still faced with old and new Phoenix pay problems.
We want to remind all PSAC members of the resources they have available from their employer as well as from their union – and their ability to claim expenses they are owed.
Follow this step-by-step guide if you are experiencing pay issues.
1. Speak to your manager (current employees)
Once you are certain that a pay issue has occurred, the first step is to contact your section 34 manager. Explain to your manager when the problem happened and the nature of the issue.
You may expect your manager to guide you through your department’s human resource (HR) process and identify the best options available for your issue. Three courses of action are possible:
Proactively follow-up with your manager to ensure they have completed all critical tasks to advance your casefile with the Public Service Pay Centre. Once your pay action request is received by the pay centre, you can track its progress by using the Track myCASE web application.
2. Contact your union (current and former employees)
If you are experiencing delays processing your Phoenix pay issues, the Public Service Alliance of Canada will escalate issues with the PSPC Client Service Bureau on your behalf.
Review the suggested courses of action for each pay issue scenario or get in touch with our pay issue specialists through our general inquiries form. Select Phoenix pay issue from the What is your inquiry about? drop down menu. A member of our team will contact you with updates as soon as they become available.
3. Claim out-of-pocket expenses
You may be eligible to make a claim if you have incurred out-of-pocket expenses because of Phoenix pay problems. Eligible expenses include banking fees for non-sufficient funds (NSF), financial penalty charges, interest payments, tax expenses, and more. Submit an expense claim online or contact your departmental claims officer for help with this process.
After months of pressure from PSAC and its members, the federal government has agreed to return to the bargaining table. Negotiations for 70,000 federal public service workers in the PA group – PSAC’s largest bargaining unit – will resume with Treasury Board June 23 to July 3. It will include Treasury Board common issues and Phoenix damages.
Bargaining will also resume for nearly 30,000 PSAC-UTE members at Canada Revenue Agency the week of July 6.
“Elsewhere in Canada, the need to provide stability and fair compensation to public service workers during this pandemic was recognized months ago – provinces, municipalities and large employers across the country have been negotiating and settling contracts,” said PSAC National President Chris Aylward. “It’s high time the federal government did the same for their employees.”
Throughout the pandemic, PSAC members have been on the front lines battling the virus and delivering emergency financial support to millions of Canadians. They continue to provide critical services despite not having a new contract or wage increases in up to four years.
They also continue to endure Phoenix pay issues and have yet to be fairly compensated for their financial hardships.
“The government has clearly listened to the more than 15,000 PSAC members who wrote to them in recent weeks urging Treasury Board to get back to the table,” said Aylward. “It shouldn’t take that kind of pressure to get back to negotiations, but I’m grateful to our members for supporting our bargaining teams in such large numbers.”
“And it’s a welcome change to see the government – during National Public Service Week no less – move from kind words about our members, to action,” added Aylward. “Now they have to show up with a mandate to reach a fair settlement without any more delays.”
Updates for other Treasury Board bargaining units will be coming soon.
