The Statistics Survey Operations (SSO) bargaining team made progress during negotiations in December, even though the employer did not bring outstanding proposals to the table. The team was disappointed that the employer did not table their monetary proposals, which would have enabled the parties to move through this round of bargaining more quickly and arrive at a long overdue agreement.
However, positive movement on several issues was an encouraging sign and the employer has committed to bringing all outstanding monetary items to the table in mid-February.
The SSO bargaining team continues to push for significant improvements in working conditions and work hours, including:
Wage parity with the core public service
An allowance to fully cover personal expenses when working remotely
Better job security, and a fair and transparent process around the assignment of work hours
Improved maternity and parental leave benefits
Improved shift premiums for evenings and weekends
Improvements to sick leave, family leave, vacation leave and compassionate care leave
A detailed update on the state of bargaining will be shared with PSAC members at upcoming info sessions. More information to come on the dates and times of these local meetings.
A decision is expected by late January 2022 on PSAC’s policy grievances defending the use of 699 leave for federal public service workers during the pandemic.
PSAC presented its case against Treasury Board for restricting the use of 699 leave for members who were unable to work because of child care, elder care, disability, or other issues brought on by COVID-19 at Federal Public Service Labour Relations Board hearings throughout the summer and fall.
Discriminatory leave policy
The grievances challenge the policy for forcing members to exhaust all other available paid leave—including vacation, sick, or family leave—before they can access 699 leave for COVID-19-related reasons.
At the hearing, PSAC argued that the employer’s 699 leave policy violates members’ collective agreements and could lead to discriminatory outcomes for groups who are disproportionally impacted by the pandemic.
Next steps and individual grievances
The Board chairperson intends to deliver a decision by the end of January 2022.
PSAC continues to fight to ensure all PSAC members – especially those most impacted by COVID-19 – have the support they need to get through the pandemic.
Temporary changes to 699 leave
As of December 20 2021, Treasury Board has put in place temporary changes to make it easier for federal public service workers with caregiving responsibilities to access 699 leave during the pandemic.
Treasury Board also clarified their language around the use of vacation leave in relation to 699 leave. These are key issues PSAC raised during policy grievance hearings, and it’s encouraging to see the government proactively implement these changes before a decision is delivered by the labour board.
If you need leave related to COVID-19, you should continue to request 699 leave. If your request is denied or you are forced to take other types of leave, reach out immediately to your PSAC regional office or your component labour relations officer to discuss whether you should file an individual or group grievance.
Members employed by Treasury Board and PSAC-UTE members are also eligible for paid 698 leave to attend COVID-19 vaccination appointments.
The Parks Canada bargaining team met to prioritize the bargaining issues that will drive the next round of bargaining with the employer November 29 to December 1.
Alongside growing concerns about job security and precarious work, the team discussed the importance of getting Parks Canada representation on the National Joint Council and the Joint Learning Program.
Many crucial issues, like harassment and discrimination, acting pay, Indigenous language allowances, vacation leave, parental leave, workplace accommodation and equity were also addressed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Parks Canada members redoubled their efforts to ensure that the public had safe access to the country’s national parks, canals, marine areas and national historic sites. The pandemic required unprecedented restrictions on indoor gatherings, making nature and protected places even more important for physical and mental health. Despite the crucial role that members have had throughout this pandemic, seasonal and term employees make up almost half of Parks Canada’s workforce.
The team is set to meet again in January to finalize the package of proposals they will present to the employer in early 2022.
Please be sure to keep your contact information up to date through our member login to receive all the latest updates about Parks Canada bargaining.
After months of waiting, retired and former PSAC members finally have access to Phoenix general damages.
Any former member, legal representative of a former member or estate of a deceased member who worked for the federal public service between 2016 and 2020, and is eligible, can now claim the maximum lump sum of $2,500. This includes compensation for the late implementation of collective agreements during those years due to the Phoenix pay system. Entitlement to compensation is as follows:
To be eligible to claim each year of the financial compensation, a worker must have been a PSAC member, had their pay processed by Phoenix, and been on strength for at least one day in the applicable fiscal year. To clarify, “on strength” means an employee who was actively working, on leave, on assignment, on long-term disability or otherwise not active, but remained employed.
To receive the amount you are entitled to, you must submit a claim, either online or by mail. Once the claim is evaluated, and you have agreed the government’s calculation of monies owed is correct, the amounts will be paid in one instalment. Please note that general damages payments are subject to overpayment recovery.
Federal court judge Jocelyne Gagné rejected the government’s earlier request for a delay. This hearing is a crucial step and will determine if the class action proceedings will continue.
The lawsuit continues to gain momentum, with 1,082 former and current Black federal public service employees seeking over $2.5 billion in damages. A large number of plaintiffs are past and present PSAC members.
If you identify as Black, Caribbean or of African descent and currently work or have worked for the federal government in the past 50 years, you are eligible to join the class action.
Background
The lawsuit reaches back 50 years, arguing the federal government perpetuated Black employee exclusion: the systemic practice of limiting skilled Black workers from career advancement opportunities, which has led to them being disproportionally underrepresented at the highest levels of the federal public service.
According to 2020 Treasury Board statistics, Black employees are one of the largest groups of racialized workers in the federal government at 3.5 per cent, yet only comprise 1.6 per cent of those at the executive level. Black workers also tend to be clustered in lower-level administrative categories.
PSAC and Treasury Board have reached an agreement to lift the moratorium on the automatic cash-out of vacation and compensatory leave for the PA, TC, EB, SV and FB groups.
In previous years, in order to address the shortcomings of the Phoenix pay system and allow compensation advisors to focus on fixing outstanding pay issues, PSAC and Treasury Board had agreed to suspend the automatic cash-out of vacation and compensatory leave permitted under PSAC’s collective agreement until March 31, 2022.
Under most of PSAC collective agreements, leave that is earned in a fiscal year and remains outstanding on September 30 of the following fiscal year is subject to an automatic cash-out provision.
Payment of outstanding vacation and compensatory leave credits will resume on March 31, 2022. However, in order to return to the carry-over levels allowed in the collective agreements, PSAC and Treasury Board have agreed on a transition process.
This means that each year, for a five-year period, 20 per cent of the vacation and compensatory leave balances above the annual carry-over limit will be cashed out.
Members with a balance above allowable limits remaining on March 31, 2026, will receive a cash-out for the portion in excess, in its entirety, with respect to the applicable collective agreement provisions.
PSAC acknowledges that many members prefer paid time off over a cash payment in lieu. Members will continue to be allowed to use their vacation and compensatory time or to request a cash-out of their vacation or compensatory leave balances during the year, in the amounts and manner described in their collective agreement.
If a member is having ongoing issues with their leave balance, for example in situations regarding a dispute about the balance due to the Phoenix pay system or a pending transfer situation, in consultation with the employee, the mandatory leave cash-out can be paused by the employer.
I have often wondered about the origin of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) on December 10, 1948 in Paris, at the Palais de Chaillot, by resolution 217 (III) A. It specifies the fundamental rights of humankind. Because of the horrors of the Second World War, the international community decided to draw up an international bill of rights to affirm the values put forward in the fight against fascism and Nazism.
But as I continued my research, I found that the origins go back even further to Antiquity:
In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle talks about the principle of dignity and the respect that the individual should have for others.
In Marcus Aurelius’ Thoughts and Cicero’s Tusculana (on the notion of jus hominum, “the right of men”), taking up Plato’s words.
In religious texts (such as the Ten Commandments, which command the right to life, to honor, etc.).
In Saint Paul, in the epistle to the Corinthians, who speaks about the interior man, totally virgin, by granting him an absolute dignity.
In literary texts, such as the play Antigone by Sophocles, or in philosophical texts, such as those of the Stoic school of thought.
Moreover, we find writings in several regions of the world like the Edict of Milan or Edict of Constantine I in the year 313; in the 13th century with the Charter of Manden in Africa; in the 15th and 16th centuries with the great Islamic jurisconsults of the Mali Empire.
Also, through the Great Texts (13th – 17th centuries), we can go back to the Middle Ages to find the first manifestations, concrete and with real effects in practice, of the idea of human rights, gathered under the name of human rights of the first generation:
The Magna Carta in 1215. This text is important but was only really used from the 17th century moving forward, as an instrument against the royal absolutism of the Stuarts.
The Twelve Articles in 1525.
The Petition of Rights in 1628.
The Habeas Corpus Act in 1679 (foundation of criminal law).
The Bill of Rights in 1689. It is considered in the English-speaking world to be the basis of current human rights concepts.
The first Declaration of Human Rights (June 12, 1776) was the one of the State of Virginia, written by George Mason, who was called “The Father of the Bill of Rights”. It was included in the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776, by Thomas Jefferson, and inspired the Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. A few years later, France, under the reign of Louis XVI, promulgated the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen on November 3, 1789. Unfortunately, this declaration excluded women and it was not until 1948 and the intervention of Eleanor Roosevelt that the notion of gender was explicitly included in an international convention, the famous Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the UN.
Human rights are based on respect for the individual. Their fundamental principle is that a person is a moral and rational being who deserves to be treated with dignity. They are called human rights because they are universal. Human rights are the fundamental rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth to death. These fundamental rights are based on common values such as dignity, fairness, equality, respect and independence.
In closing, I would like for this day to open up the discussion in your communities, your families, your workplaces because it is the basis for a better world and it is up to each of us to promote it by continuing to defend these rights. The UNE’s Human Rights Committee is proud of its leadership within PSAC and will continue to help members address the importance of respecting and defending those RIGHTS.
Daniel Toutant National Vice-President for Human Rights UNE-PSAC
PSAC-UNE members of the Audit Services Group, Office of the Auditor General (OAG) (Local 70153), began a job action against their employer on November 26, at midnight :
• 3 years without an economic increase of a patterned settlement with the core public administration • 3 years without the employer willing to give them a designed pay grid, that has the look, feel and application of all other employees at the OAG, and practically every federal public servant • 3 years of contract negotiations without an employer that has a mandate to bargain
A Public Interest Commission (PIC) report was received during the current contract impasse which was favourable to this workforce, 75% of whom are women. A request was made to move their dispute settlement route to binding arbitration. That was denied by their employer, knowing the PIC’s report would be a catalyst for the Audit Services Group to achieve a fair and just collective agreement.
Our request to meet with Karen Hogan, Auditor General of Canada, and Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board Secretariat, for the benefit of our members, was also unanswered.
OAG, get a mandate and return to the table.
UNE proudly represents our 160 PSAC members at the OAG.
On October 6, 2021, the federal government released its mandatory vaccination policy. The policy applies to employees in the core public service. Since that time, PSAC has released an FAQ that is regularly updated.
The following information is to be read as a guideline only. It will be subject to change as the policy is implemented and the jurisprudence develops. The federal government’s mandatory vaccination policy states that it will be subject to review in six months.
Duty of fair representation
While PSAC has a duty of fair representation in light of its status as the exclusive bargaining agent, this does not equate to an absolute right to representation on every issue that members raise to challenge. For example, members who choose not to be vaccinated and have no legitimate human rights grounds to request an exemption are unlikely to succeed with grievances that challenge the legality of this new employer policy.
The duty of fair representation simply requires that the Union turn its mind to the issue raised by the member, review and analyse it and provide a rationale or explanation.
PSAC has clearly stated that it supports a vaccine mandate within specific parameters to protect the health and safety of all employees in the workplace. PSAC is not advising or counselling members without legitimate medical conditions or religious beliefs to find ways to avoid the policy. Doing so would also be contrary to our obligations as parties to policy health and safety committees mandated under Part II of the Canada Labour Code.
Grievances involving financial loss
The employer has stated that members were to be placed on leave without pay (LWOP) as early as November 15 if they were unvaccinated or had not submitted their vaccination status and had no legitimate human rights reason.
Grievances challenging the fact that a member has been placed on LWOP because they simply chose not to be vaccinated are very unlikely to succeed or to be referred to arbitration as there are arbitral decisions which have deemed LWOP to be a reasonable consequence of an employee’s refusal to follow a mandatory vaccination policy. The policy is likely to be seen as serving a legitimate purpose, reasonable and a good balance between the workplace concern (i.e., spreading COVID-19) and the intrusion on employee’s privacy.
Grievances involving a refusal of duty to accommodate on human rights-related grounds
PSAC is beginning to hear that some managers have stated that medical accommodations will not be allowed even though the policy clearly allows for medical accommodations and exemptions pursuant to the collective agreement and the Canadian Human Rights Act(CHRA) if the required documentation is provided and it is approved by management. Any blanket decisions not to accommodate members with legitimate human rights reasons should be challenged with a grievance alleging a failure of the duty to accommodate and discrimination on the basis of disability and possibly other intersecting grounds.
Grievances that deny members with sincere religious beliefs from obtaining an accommodation may be more difficult to detect. However, the policy supports exemptions on the basis of sincere religious belief with a sworn affidavit signed by a commissioner of oaths that attests that the person chooses not to be vaccinated due to their sincere religious beliefs.
As in all normal circumstances, a member requesting an accommodation must collaborate with the employer by providing supporting documentation.
Grievances that attempt to get around the policy
There is nothing in the policy that indicates that managers will be authorized to replace LWOP with sick leave, vacation leave, or personal leave if the intent is to circumvent the mandatory vaccination policy.
Falsifying or providing inaccurate information regarding the vaccination status may result in severe consequences and will likely lead to disciplinary actions from the employer.
As a result, it would be extremely difficult for PSAC to support grievances that attempt to circumvent or delay mandatory vaccination without any legitimate human rights reason.
Grievances involving personal belief or political conviction
A personal belief or political conviction is not a ground covered under collective agreements or the CHRA.
Grievances challenging the requirement for teleworkers to be vaccinated
The vaccine policy requires all federal public service workers in the core public administration to be vaccinated even if the majority are still teleworking. There is no exception for people who are teleworking unless the request to telework is a specific human rights accommodation following an individualized assessment.
Therefore, PSAC will not be supporting grievances by members who choose not to be vaccinated and use the fact that they always telework as a justification for their decision.
Policy grievances
No policy grievances will be filed on the basis of a failure to meaningfully consult with bargaining agents as the remedies are limited and are unlikely to be effective or meaningful for individual members. In the event there is a widespread privacy breach in the bargaining unit regarding the use, disclosure or storage of members’ personal medical information, PSAC will analyze the option of filing a policy grievance or a privacy complaint.
Source: PSAC Representation and Legal Services Branch
As the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women approaches, I have a few thoughts that I would like to share with you. My first thought is WHY. Why is this still happening? Why as a society is this still okay? Why would anyone think this is okay? My next thought is, It’s NOT. It’s not Okay. It is not acceptable and it is not something that can continue.
As a society we should and do expect more. We need to protect our rights as Women, as Grandmothers, Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Aunties, as Nieces. We need to make sure that everyone regardless of gender, sex, race, or beliefs are protected. This is not to be tolerated any longer. If you see something, say something. Take a stand, help out your fellow human. Be that person. We all have a right to feel safe and be part of society.
On this International Day of Violence against Women, stand with me and for all those beautiful women and say, No More. We will not sit by as women are being hurt, abused, and made to feel less than men. Sisters, Brothers, and Friends stand with me on this day in Solidarity and commit to ending the vicious cycle of violence against Women.
Let every Woman know We are Strong; WE are Resilient; We are Worthy; We are Beautiful, and we are Warriors. Reach out to the programs and the education that are in place to help stop this crime against Women. It is in our workplaces, in our homes, and in our communities. Let us all do our part to educate each other and use these resources to reach the Women who so desperately need them.
We are always stronger together and together is the way we move forward. We are the Spirit; We are the Light. We are the cycle of Life. We are bigger then and we will rise. We hope that on this day, you will all rise with us. Together as we educate, learn, pool our resources that are available to us, we will all become better Humans.
Yours in Solidarity,
Ellen Cross UNE National Vice-President for Occupational Health and Safety
