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FAQ: Public Service Health Care Plan & Canada Life

Did PSAC negotiate this change to move to Canada Life?

This change was initiated and operationalized by the employer and was not part of PSAC and other unions’ negotiations on a new health care plan. It also does not impact the improvements PSAC secured. 
 
The employer transferred the Public Service Health Care Plan provider contract from Sun Life to Canada Life as part of a separate procurement process, resulting in changes for nearly 1.5 million federal public service workers, retirees, and their dependents. 
 
The Government of Canada made the decision to transition to Canada Life, and it is their responsibility to hold Canada Life accountable for the many problems that members are facing.

I can’t get in touch with Canada Life. What should I do?

Customer service wait times remain too long, and too many calls remain unanswered. This poorly managed transition prevents our members from fully taking advantage of their benefits 
Unfortunately, the only available option is to keep trying until you are connected to a Canada Life agent. 
 
Before the move to Canada Life, PSAC provided the government with recommendations for a smooth transition for plan members, including for Canada Life to hire additional staff and increase its call centre capacity.   
 
PSAC has also requested a meeting with Treasury Board President Anita Anand to discuss how the delivery of benefits can be improved for plan members as soon as possible.  
 
While the contract for administering benefits is held by the employer, PSAC will continue to push the employer and Canada Life to improve conditions. 
 
Members can add additional pressure on the Liberal government by contacting their MP directly to share their frustrations and call for accountability on the Canada Life rollout.

Why are wait times so long with Canada Life?

Canada Life has not been able to keep up with the influx of new members, retirees, and dependents that they now administer, and it is having a significant impact on people who depend on these benefits for their health and drug coverage.

What is PSAC doing to improve this situation?

Before the move to Canada Life, PSAC provided the government with recommendations for a smooth transition for plan members, including for Canada Life to hire additional staff and increase its call centre capacity.   
 
PSAC has also requested a meeting with Treasury Board President Anita Anand to discuss how the delivery of benefits can be improved for plan members as soon as possible.  
 
While the contract for administering benefits is held by the employer, PSAC will continue to pressure the employer and Canada Life to improve conditions.

One of my recent claims was denied by Canada Life, even though similar claims were granted under Sun Life. Has the plan changed?

The vast majority of benefits you previously received should be the same or improved after PSAC negotiated various improvements to the plan. If you feel your claim was wrongfully denied, please contact Canada Life or submit an appeal.

How can I appeal if my health care claim was denied?

Visit the Public Service Health Care Plan Administration Authority’s website for information on how to submit an appeal. 
 
Prior to submitting an appeal, you should make every effort to resolve the issue with Canada Life. Appeals related to denied claims must be submitted within 12 months of the date of your claim statement.

What about the dental plan?

The Public Service Dental Care Plan, which is currently being re-negotiated for over 185,000 federal public service workers, continues to be administered by the Canada Life Assurance Company.

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Parks Canada: Employer delays shortchange frontline workers, including wildfire firefighters

PSAC and the Parks Canada Agency have signed the new collective agreement eight weeks after it was ratified by members. However, the employer has backtracked on discussions to ensure that members in precarious positions—including firefighters—receive the one-time pensionable lump sum. 

Using wildfires as an excuse nothing less than shameful 

As the employer delayed signing, using fires in Canada’s North as an excuse, PSAC pushed for an agreement that would not leave our members, many of whom fought those same fires before their contracts ended, as victims of employer delays. 

“We pushed the employer to get this deal signed so that seasonal term workers would benefit,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president. “But now it’s clear. The Parks Canada Agency used wildfires as an excuse to delay, while it’s firefighters who they are shortchanging.” 

Based on information from the employer, there are roughly three hundred members who will not receive the lump sum payment due to the delay. This includes firefighters who have been on the frontlines of wildfires that have ravaged communities, members in seasonal term positions at Canada’s historical sites, and students in the midst of a national housing crisis. We negotiated a collective agreement to support term and seasonal workers, not leave them further behind. 
 
Take action 

PSAC and the Parks Canada Agency have signed the new collective agreement eight weeks after it was ratified by members. However, the employer has backtracked on discussions to ensure that members in precarious positions—including firefighters—receive the one-time pensionable lump sum. Tell the Ministers to make this right.

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Join UNE National Officers on the Hill for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Commemorative Event

We invite all UNE members in the area to join us on Saturday, September 30th, for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour children who never came home and survivors of Residential schools as well as their families and communities. 

Wear your orange shirt in solidarity as we remind our government that this is only part of the reconciliation process and there is still much work to do. 

Event details:

1:00 PM – Parliament Hill, Ottawa

 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Commemorative Event 

At 1:00 PM, we will gather on Parliament Hill to participate in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Commemorative Event. This solemn occasion offers an opportunity to acknowledge and honor the historical and ongoing impact of colonization on Indigenous communities. Together, we will stand in solidarity with Indigenous peoples in the pursuit of truth, healing, and reconciliation.

If you’re not in the Ottawa area, chances are there’s an event near you. Check out the website as well for daily online events and workshops – https://nctr.ca/education/coming-soon-truth-and-reconciliation-week-2023/

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National Day for Truth & Reconciliation Weekend Office Closure

Please note that the Union of National Employees office will be closed as of 4:30
p.m. (EST) on Friday, September 29, 2023 and will re-open on Tuesday, October
3, 2023, in acknowledgement of the statutory holiday commemorating the National
Day for Truth & Reconciliation.

In case of emergency, please leave a message at (613) 315-3026

In Solidarity,


John Gordon
Trusteeship Administrator
Union of National Employees-PSAC

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October 31 deadline for reporting Treasury Board and CRA strike pay errors or submissions

In May, PSAC introduced a system allowing members to report any discrepancies in their strike pay. Any outstanding issues are being investigated and resolved, and all PSAC members who took part in the strike action have now received their strike pay.

In August, PSAC also introduced a system to compensate members who incurred loss of salary on May 1st or May 4th as a result of delays in returning to work following the conclusion of the strike.

As the sixth month since the end of the strike approaches, PSAC has set October 31, 2023 as the deadline for both strike pay error reports and the May 1st / May 4th compensation requests to be received by PSAC.

Members who have not yet reported errors in their strike pay or who incurred a financial loss upon returning to work are requested to make a report prior to the deadline.

Please contact us at info@une-sen.org for further information regarding any strike pay top-ups, where applicable.

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Union Leadership Development Program

Develop your leadership skills to build union power! Apply for the Union Leadership Development Program. 

Deadline for applications: Friday, October 6, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline.

  • Are you an elected union leader or an informal leader who has the trust and respect of fellow union members?
  • Are you committed to fighting for workers’ rights, human rights and social justice? 
  • Do you want to develop a sustainable, collaborative leadership practice? 
  • Do you want to know how to lead from an anti-oppressive perspective?  
  • Do you want to learn skills that will help transform PSAC into a stronger, more effective, inclusive, better-organized, membership-based union?
  • Can you to commit to a year-long, intensive education program and to applying what you learn to your union leadership in the years to come?

The PSAC’s Union Leadership Development Program (ULDP) is an advanced, year-long leadership course for members who are ready to expand their leadership roles within the union.  

For more than 35 years, the ULDP has been recognized as among the best comprehensive union leadership training programs in Canada. Many current national and regional PSAC leaders are graduates of the ULDP and can attest to the learning opportunities the program provides.

This program provides training for both formal union leaders in elected positions as well as informal union leaders who are respected in the workplace. Ideal candidates for the ULDP are leaders who demonstrate that they are in a position to work with others in our union and make meaningful change, and those who have the respect and trust of members.

The ULDP provides leaders at PSAC with training, tools and shared space to develop their individual and collective capacity to transform PSAC into a stronger, more effective, inclusive, better-organized, membership-based union.

APPLY NOW

ULDP dates and location

The ULDP is delivered once every three years in each of the 7 PSAC Regions. Francophones from the NCR and Atlantic Regions will join the Quebec Region while Anglophones from the Quebec Region will join the NCR Region.  The program has six mandatory steps which include three face-to-face gatherings and three remote steps.

Here are the dates and locations of each step of ULDP in each region.

Atlantic

  • Step 1 – remote – January 3 to April 9, 2024 
  • Step 2 – in person – April 10 to April 15, 2024 
  • Step 3 – remote – April 16 to June 11, 2024 
  • Step 4 – in person – June 12 to June 16, 2024 
  • Step 5 – remote – June 17 to November 19, 2024 
  • Step 6 – in person – November 20 to November 24, 2024 

BC

  • Step 1 – remote – January 3 to April 11, 2024 
  • Step 2 – in person – April 12 to April 16, 2024 – Burnaby 
  • Step 3 – remote – April 17 to June 13, 2024 
  • Step 4 – in person – June 14 to June 18, 2024 – Burnaby 
  • Step 5 – remote – June 19 to October 31, 2024 
  • Step 6 – in person – November 1 to November 4, 2024 – Burnaby 

National Capital Region

  • Step 1 – remote – January 3 to March 1, 2024 
  • Step 2 – in person – March 2 to March 5, 2024 – Ottawa 
  • Step 3 – remote – March 6 to May 30, 2024 
  • Step 4 – in person – June 1 to June 4, 2024 – Ottawa 
  • Step 5 – remote – June 5 to October 25, 2024 
  • Step 6 – in person – October 26 to October 29,  2024 – Ottawa 

North

  • Step 1 – remote – January 3 to April 23, 2024 
  • Step 2 – in person – April 24 to April 28, 2024 – Yellowknife 
  • Step 3 – remote – April 29 to June 11, 2024 
  • Step 4 – in person – June 12 to June 16, 2024 – Iqualuit 
  • Step 5 – remote – June 17 to December 10,2024 
  • Step 6 – in person – December 11 to December 15, 2024 –Whitehorse 

Ontario

  • Step 1 – remote – January 3 to April 22, 2024 
  • Step 2 – in person – April 23 to April 28, 2024 
  • Step 3 – remote – April 29 to June 10, 2024 
  • Step 4 – in person – June 11 to 16, 2024 
  • Step 5 – remote – June 17 to November 4, 2024 
  • Step 6 – in person – November 5 to November 10, 2024 

Prairies

  • Step 1 – remote – January 3 to April 21, 2024 
  • Step 2 – in person – April 22 to April 26, 2024 
  • Step 3 – remote – April 27 to June 10, 2024 
  • Step 4 – in person – June 9 to June 13, 2024 
  • Step 5 – remote – June 14 to November 23, 2024 
  • Step 6 – in person – November 24 to November 28, 2024 


Québec

  • Step 1 – remote – January 3 to April 9, 2024 
  • Step 2 – in person – April 10 to April14, 2024 – Québec 
  • Step 3 – remote – April 15 to June 4, 2024 
  • Step 4 – in person – June 5 to June 9 2024 – Orford 
  • Step 5 – remote – June 10 to December 3 – 2024 
  • Step 6 – in person – December 4 to December 8 2024  –Brossard 

Course prerequisites

  • Talking Union Basics (TUB)
  • or Introduction to PSAC for Indigenous Members
  • or equivalent experience through activism within PSAC and/or their community

PSAC is committed to ensuring that participants in the ULDP represent the diversity of our union membership.  We encourage applications from members who are Indigenous, racially visible members, members with disabilities, women, 2SLGBTQIA+ members and members under the age of 36. 

APPLY NOW

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Union of National Employees elects first Black Women to National Executive

September 8, 2023

For the first time in its history, the Union of National Employees (UNE) – representing nearly 24,000 workers in workplaces across the country – has elected two Black women to its national leadership team.

Alisha Campbell, a Parks Canada member, was elected National President, and Hayley Millington, from Employment and Social Development Canada’s Learning Branch, was elected National Executive Vice-President at UNE’s National Triennial Convention, held August 21-25 in Toronto.

“This is the dawn of a new era for UNE members and the Labour movement at large,” said Campbell. “The future is bright, and our members led the charge. I am a Black and Cherokee francophone woman, and a proud member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. I am pansexual and a person with disabilities, and I’m here to represent all members.”

Campbell and Millington bring a lot of activist experience to their roles on the UNE’s National Executive. Millington was the National Equity Representative for Women, National Equity Representative for racialized persons, Assistant Human Rights Vice-President and held numerous terms in her Local as a Local Human Rights representative.

“What we have achieved here today is truly historic,” said Millington. “Members voted for this, and together, workers made history.”

“I am a black, single mother of a son, Malachi, and I know all too well that sense of being excluded, of not being able to have a voice in spaces where decisions are made. We are ready to place the needs of all our members at the centre of our decision-making.”

Campbell and Millington will connect with as many members as possible to build a strong base. As agents of change, we foresee new ways forward through a review of our structure as voted in by members. We have a clear mandate to invest in our young workers and all members, and this aligns with UNE’s core belief of unity in diversity.

****

Media inquiries:

UNE media relations team
613-298-7892

The Union of National Employees is a component union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, representing members working in 70 different workplaces in the public, private and non-profit sectors, in all corners of our great country and around the world.

We are teachers and mechanics, librarians and foreign service officers, plumbers and researchers, clerical workers and program administrators, passport officers and investigators —and more.

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Convention Day Three – Human Rights at the forefront on the Convention Floor!

August 24, 2023

After the first Credentials Committee report, delegates got right back to business with the Finance Committee. The following resolutions were presented, debated and voted on:

  • FIN 1 – Removal of UNE Local Financial Review or Audit for calendar year end
  • FIN 2 – Modification to Policy FIN 1

    Delegates listened to a fantastic panel monitored by the 2023 Convention Chair Sharon De Sousa on health and safety in the workplace with panelists Uppala Chandresekara, Director of Public Health at Toronto Public Health, Fatima Gardaad, National Coordinator on Anti-Racism and Human Rights at the Canadian Labour Congress, and Andrea Peart, National Health and Safety Officer with the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

It was back to Convention proceedings for the first part of the afternoon with the Bylaws & Constitution Resolutions Committee and the General Resolutions Committee. Four resolutions were debated and voted on:

  • CS 10 – Relocation of Full Time National President and Vice-President
  • CS 4 – Increase Number of Allotted Delegates to UNE Triennial Conventions
  • Amended CS 7 – Structural Review of UNE
  • GEN 17 – Search the Landfill

    GEN 17 was an emergency resolution about launching national Search the Landfill campaign by the UNE Human Rights Committee. As stated in the resolution’s rationale, “[i]ndigenous women and girls are not disposable and deserve dignity, and the families deserve closure.” The resolution passed unanimously.

The all-candidates debate took place in the second part of the afternoon to allow delegates to discover the respective candidates’ platforms for tomorrow’s national elections.

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Did you know? UNE Members Have Access to Compensation for Union Education

On day two of Convention, the delegates debated Resolution GEN 12. The committee recommended that members be compensated $75 per day on weekends or outside working hours when attending a PSAC or CLC sanctioned educational event.

What stood out during the discussion however, was that members didn’t realize they already had access to compensation of $50 per day, as per a resolution of record from 2021. The convention floor passed GEN 12 so now that amount has been increased to $75.

It’s important for activists to know about the opportunities they have available to them as members of UNE.

To claim the $75, simply fill out a UNE expense form and provide proof of participation. You can then submit your claim to Christine.Sanders@une-sen.org.

For more information on educational events, check out the courses available from your PSAC Regional Office and the Canadian Labour Congress.