Access to basic human rights including water, food, and housing – is increasingly at risk or out of reach for many communities in Canada and countries around the world. As a union, our fight today and every day is to raise the standard of living for all workers, secure decent and safe working conditions, and help build equitable communities everywhere.
Bangladeshi garment workers are the lowest paid garment workers in the world – earning a minumum wage equivalent to 46 cents an hour, hardly enough to live on.
Under constant pressure to meet production targets, garment workers take on excessive hours while their wages barely allow them to meet their basic needs. Workers are also subjected to physical and mental abuse on the production line.
Today, we re-commit ourselves to the global fight for workers, human rights and access to basic needs for all.
PSAC is aware of the ongoing issue concerning the Shelter Cost Differential (SCD) for some homeowners in northern communities and we are actively working to resolve it.
However, it is our position that homeowners should continue to receive the subsidy because this financial support is crucial to members and plays a key role in recruiting and retaining federal public service workers in northern communities.
Treasury Board is aware of the issue and has agreed to review and discuss the potential impacts to homeowners at the upcoming Isolated Post and Government Housing Committee meeting on October 31.
PSAC has attended all four information sessions organized by the employer and heard the frustrations and concerns expressed by our members.
We will continue to defend the interests of our members to address the concerns for homeowners.
PSAC remains committed to securing the rights and benefits of our members, and we will keep you updated on any developments.
PSAC is pleased to see the federal government has committed funding to further study the feasibility of a search of the Prairie Green landfill for the remains of two First Nations women.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced $740,000 would be used to determine the feasibility of a study on how to store and transport the hazardous materials during the search and the construction costs related to this undertaking. An initial study showed that although the search is possible, toxic materials may be hazardous to workers. The new Premier of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, has said that he hopes to work with the federal government to search the landfill quickly, but safely.
While this is a step forward, a commitment is not action. Families deserve to mourn their loved ones with respect and dignity, and this country’s commitment towards Truth and Reconciliation is empty if we continue to perpetuate colonial violence towards Indigenous women. Continued inaction disregards the humanity of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran and their families.
“PSAC welcomes the government’s commitment to a study, but more must be done in support of a full search of the landfill to bring justice to Morgan, Marcedes and their families,” said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC National Executive Vice-President. “We need to ensure that missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and two-spirit people are treated with the utmost respect and dignity, and that all levels of government and the authorities are doing everything in their power to find them.”
PSAC continues to urge all levels of government and the city of Winnipeg to search the Prairie Green Landfill for these women and will continue to do so until they are found.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
