On October 21, 2022, the PSAC National Board of Directors (NBoD) placed UNE in trusteeship. As a result, a team was put in place including a Trustee, Administrators, and Deputy Trustees, who collaborated with assigned assistants in each region. Since then, this team and UNE staff have worked hard to ensure that UNE members continued to receive services from their Component and that a plan was put in place for the Component to regain its autonomy.

Today, the PSAC NBoD voted to transition UNE from trusteeship to administration, and the NBoD will review the administration of UNE at their next meeting in February 2024. What this means is the newly elected UNE leadership will immediately assume their responsibilities, work with the Administrators, and continue to receive guidance and resources from the PSAC National Office.

Sharon DeSousa, UNE Trustee and PSAC National Executive Vice-President, was satisfied with the progress achieved within UNE over the past year and presented the motion at the PSAC NBoD to move UNE from trusteeship to administration.

“Several accomplishments have been made over the past year as UNE worked towards the Triennial Convention. We held a successful Human Rights Conference last November, six Regional Seminars across the country, brought 85 Locals back into conformance, and continued to deliver the high service level that UNE members expect and deserve. Finally, we passed several important resolutions and elected new leadership at the Triennial Convention in August.”

The Deputy Trustees and their teams provided sound governance and strategic oversight over the past year. It’s now time to pass the baton to the UNE leaders elected at Convention to continue this work and advance the Component. This period of administration is important, to allow for this transition and collaboration to build a strong foundation for UNE’s future.

For more information, the UNE website has published a complete list of National Officers and Regional Teams.

PSAC has filed policy grievances challenging the government’s unilateral recovery of Phoenix overpayments without notice on behalf of PSAC members working for Treasury Board, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Parks Canada.  

The Public Service Pay Centre has been clawing back outstanding overpayments of $250 or less (less than 10% of gross bi-weekly pay) dating back to 2018 from PSAC members’ paycheques without notifying impacted members, without providing them with details of the alleged overpayment, and without an opportunity to contest the validity of the overpayment, or flexibility to repay.   

Nearly 1,000 federal public service workers were impacted by these overpayment recoveries. 

Automatically recovering overpayments in this manner is arbitrary, unreasonable, may constitute bad faith and violates members’ collective agreement rights. Members deserve to know when recoveries of outstanding overpayments may occur on their pay and have the right to verify and validate these amounts prior to recovery.   

It’s expected that the Pay Centre also plans to recover outstanding overpayments from 2019 and 2020 in the coming months.  

In summary, the PSAC’s policy grievance seeks several corrective actions, including: 

• Reimbursement for affected members for any amounts recovered by this process; 
• For the employer to be restricted from recovering any overpayments without prior notice to workers; 
• That all employees receive overpayment letters detailing the alleged outstanding overpayment(s) a minimum of 60 days prior to any planned recovery; 
• That the employer provide sufficient information to understand and calculate the overpayment recovery upon request; 
• That the employer pay damages to affected employees and to make them whole. 

Next steps 

While the grievances are processed, PSAC will continue to help members affected by Phoenix pay issues, including overpayment issues. If you received a Phoenix overpayment letter, please refer to our specific recommendations on how to proceed. 

If you have any concerns or require assistance, please contact PSAC’s Phoenix help team by selecting ”Phoenix – Overpayment” from the ”What is your inquiry about” dropdown menu. 

As part of changes to the revised Shelter Cost Differential methodology implemented August 1, homeowners working for the federal public service in five northern communities will no longer receive a housing cost subsidy to offset the high cost of living in the North. 

Take action – tell MPs that homeowners should continue to receive the subsidy. This financial support plays a key role in recruiting and retaining federal public service workers in northern communities. 

Click here to notify your representative.

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.  

As part of changes to the revised Shelter Cost Differential methodology implemented August 1, homeowners in five northern communities would no longer receive a housing cost subsidy to offset the high cost of living in the North. 

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.