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National Indigenous Peoples Day

This should be a national holiday. The whole country should use June 21 to celebrate and honour the original peoples of this land. There is much to learn, whether historical or current events, and much to do. For many Canadians, the history of Indigenous peoples was not taught in school. I offer some suggestions.

Learn the history

  • Indigenous peoples as allies, treaty making
  • Indigenous peoples as wards of the state, Indian Act, apartheid, genocide, residential school barbarity, Metis scrip, Inuit relocation

Monitor current events

  • Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Inquiry
  • United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
  • Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
  • Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP)
  • 60’s Scoop
  • Pipelines and resources, duty to consult
  • Indigenous chapter in North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Activate

There is so much we need to accomplish. Learn. Feel. Heal. Eat bannock. Attend a pow wow. Read a book by an Indigenous author. Change laws and attitudes. Open eyes. Human rights equality in Canada depends on what we are willing to do.

All my relations,

Ruby Langan

UNE National Equity Representative for Aboriginal Peoples

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New financial losses covered by claims process: what you need to know

Employees who earned salary in 2016, but were not paid a portion of this salary until 2017, may have incurred financial losses due to:

  • Paying a higher rate of income tax
  • Reduced government benefits and credits

If you paid a higher rate of income tax due to receiving a portion of your 2016 salary in 2017, you can now submit a claim for the difference between what you paid, and what you should have paid had your salary been paid to you on time. Please make sure you have your correct 2017 notice of assessment before submitting the claim.

Receiving a portion of your 2016 salary in 2017 may have affected your eligibility for certain government benefits and credits. Starting in July 2018, employees will be able to submit claims related to their 2018 government benefits and credits, such as the Canada child benefit, GST/HST rebates, and daycare subsidies.

 

More information

Before preparing your claim, PSAC strongly urges members to review the following information from Treasury Board:

Departments and agencies have assigned claims officers to help you with this process. You can find the contact information for your department’s claims officer here.

 

Other eligible expenses

Don’t forget, you can still claim for out-of-pocket expenses, tax services (up to $200), and an advance on missing benefits.

If you have suffered a financial loss or incurred expenses due to Phoenix, but you do not find your particular situation described in the information provided at the above links, PSAC encourages you to still submit a claim. According to Treasury Board: “If you have incurred a permanent financial loss because of Phoenix, fill out a claim and add as much information as you can. Our goal is to correct each situation and we review each claim on a case-by-case basis.”

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Update: Union Leave Requests for PA, SV, TC and EB Members

Treasury Board did not update its leave system to include Union leave (Peoplesoft code 641) before January 1st. Treasury Board estimates it will have the necessary coding completed by February 15th.

Until the update to the leave system is completed, members will need to submit a paper request, including the union authorization letter, to their employer to claim Union leave. Code 641 should also be noted on any paper form submitted. The Employer will continue to invoice your Union for your salary expenses and your pay and benefits will continue uninterrupted.

All Union leave claimed during this time period will be entered into the leave system at a later date when the Employer completes its implementation of this new collective agreement provision.

Source: www.psacunion.ca

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PSAC Pins and Certificates for Years of Service

Greetings,

At the Union of National Employees, and at the Public Service Alliance of Canada, much of what we do would not be possible without the tireless work of our many volunteers. That is why I am proud to take this opportunity to extend a sincere thanks to those members who have made a significant contribution through union activism.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada has a tradition of honouring long-term officers of the PSAC with service pins and certificates. These pins and certificates can be awarded to those with 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service.

If your Local wishes to nominate a member, please complete the application form and enclose a complete service history of the individual. Please pay careful attention when completing the period of service section of the form. The eligibility criteria and application forms can be found on the PSAC website.

Nominations must arrive at the UNE office no later than January 31, 2018.

In solidarity,

 

Kevin A. King
National President
Union of National Employees, PSAC

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UNE Local Activist Award

Greetings,

At the Union of National Employees much of what we do would not be possible without the tireless work of our many volunteers. That is why I am proud to take this opportunity to extend a sincere thanks to those members who have made a significant contribution through union activism.

The Local Activist Award recognizes outstanding contributions made by a Local activist in their workplace to advance the interest of fellow members.

If your Local wishes to nominate a member, please refer to the criteria on the UNE website at http://en.une-sen.org/what_we_do/hea/LocalActivist_crit_e.pdf.  The application form can also be found on the UNE website at http://en.une-sen.org/what_we_do/hea/LocalActivist_app_e.pdf.   Please ensure that you follow the criteria carefully and complete the application form correctly.

Please ensure that you follow the criteria carefully and complete the application form correctly.

The deadline for receipt of application is  April 1, 2018.  Should the recipient wish to receive his or her award at a UNE National function, please indicate clearly.

In solidarity,

Kevin A. King
National President
Union of National Employees, PSAC

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PSAC Life Membership

Greetings,

At the Union of National Employees, and at the Public Service Alliance of Canada, much of what we do would not be possible without the tireless work of our many volunteers. That is why I am proud to take this opportunity to extend a sincere thanks to those members.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada Life Membership award is the highest recognition that can be given to a member for outstanding service to the members of the PSAC.

Nominations may be made by the National Executive of this component or by the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s National Board of Directors.  Please complete the application form and enclose a complete service history of the individual. Please pay careful attention when completing the work history, union activities and include dates on the application form. The eligibility criteria and application form can be found on the PSAC website at http://psacunion.ca/eform/submit/life-member-nomination-form

The deadline for the submission of applications  to be considered in any one calendar year is November 30th.

In solidarity,

Kevin A. King
National President
Union of National Employees, PSAC

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Mr. Brison, Passport Canada is NOT Amazon.

Dear Mr. Brison,

Recently you were a speaker at the 2017 Inaugural FWD50 Conference, to discuss digitization amongst all levels of government, the private sector, NGOs and academia. You spoke about making a difference and having an impact that provides “better” services to Canadians.

Notably, you stated that “Canadians don’t understand why they can’t receive the same level of service from their government when they renew a passport that they receive from Amazon when they buy something.”

The comparison of Amazon an online shopping website, to the Canadian Passport is concerning for multiple reasons.

First, Amazon currently has numerous allegations of unscrupulous working conditions and wages. It has been reported that employees are subjected to impossible targets, timed toilet breaks, and unsafe and filthy workplaces.

Secondly, Canadians may value convenience, but it is evident that they also value their security. They value workers’ legislated rights and they value our country’s excellent relations and reputation within the international community. They value having a universally accepted travel and identification document considered to be one of the most secure and most respected in the world.

Seeking accessibility of world-class government digital services may be the desired future. Before that can be done, the government must ensure that security is at the forefront. In terms of the Passport Program, it is necessary to explore the outstanding issues which have been under-reported since the Passport Services were transferred to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Service Canada in 2013.

Along the same lines of digital services, one of the arguments provided for dissolving Passport Canada was to modernize the issuance platform and replace the existing processing system which would improve the passport application process for Canadians. The immigration Global Case Management System (GCMS) was intended to be the basis for significant improvements to e-services for Canadians.

From 2013 to 2016, a great deal of time and tremendous resources were spent unsuccessfully trying to accomplish this GCMS goal. The GCMS system could not handle the volume and speed necessary to process the 5.1 million passports being produced annually, a quantity that has been steadily increasing. The program failed to take security precautions into consideration during live system implementation and as a result was suspended and audited.

Furthermore, in April 2017, the departments enabled the downgrading from Secret security clearances to the basic reliability for all employees across Canada. This was done without advising the public and without consultation with the Union of National Employees. This appears to contradict government security policies and agreements and an Auditor General report from 2005.

Passport Program employees take pride in creating the most valuable Canadian identification that serves as the proof of holder’s identity and nationality status outside Canada. Presumably, Canadians want to ensure their personal information is safeguarded and that issuance of Passports is not placed in the hands of adversary interests.

I ask for your attention to the issues raised in my letter. I also ask for a public apology and recognition of the tremendous work the Passport Program employees do in serving the Canadian Public each and every day.

Respectfully yours,

Kevin King
National President
Union of National Employees

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Discrimination in the federal public service; one member’s story.

A Union of National Employees member shares a personal experience of discrimination as a member of the LGBT community and its lasting impact.

Greetings,

In light of the Prime Minister of Canada’s apology on November 28th regarding the federal government’s discriminatory practices toward the LGBT community, I wish to share my own personal experience with you and encourage other federal government employees to get on board with the class action.

At the end of the 70s, I applied to a competition open to university graduates at Foreign Affairs for foreign assignments. During the ensuing RCMP security investigations, I declared, in good faith, that I was homosexual.  Following the investigation, they refused to add me to the list of candidates for a position in the department. Through the Access to Information Office, I put in a request to have access to the investigation report. The entire report was essentially positive, but certain portions were struck out.  I then communicated with people who had been contacted during the investigation only to realize that the struck-out information was linked to confirmation of my sexual orientation. I called upon the Human Rights Commission and it rendered a positive decision against this discriminatory situation. Thereafter, the Department of Foreign Affairs accepted to put me on the list of candidates, but a few months later the list was eliminated. I never got the chance to work there.

On the strength of my master’s degree in International Relations, I resolved to work with various community organizations — the only positions available to me at the time. It wasn’t until 2000, at the age of 45, that I finally attempted once again to enter the federal public service. I then obtained a position at Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Six years later, in 2006, I got the opportunity to transfer to the Canadian International Development Agency and, thereafter, to Global Affairs Canada during the amalgamation of the two departments.

Such a long road travelled… from the initial competitive process when I was discriminated against to my entry at Global Affairs Canada. Thirty-three years have gone by!  Due to the missed opportunity of getting into my department at the end of my university studies, here I am, in my early 60s, having to work until I’m 65 years old to obtain a decent pension and this despite my 24 years of seniority. I can’t complain as life has nonetheless been good to me. However, I simply wanted to state what impact these discriminatory decisions have had on my life’s course.

I am convinced that many of you have also had a career path made more difficult due to the prevalence in the past of discriminatory policies within the federal government. Therefore, I encourage you to do the same thing as me and take part in the class action.  This obviously will not be a solution to everything. However, it will provide some compensation for the difficulties we have encountered.

I thank you for hearing out my testimony!

 

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RALLY on Parliament Hill December 4, 2017

RALLY
Parliament Hill, Ottawa
December 4, 2017
12-1 PM

MP Romeo Saganash tabled Bill C-262 to ensure that the laws of Canada respect the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A second reading in the House of Commons is scheduled for December 5, 2017.

With your voice and collaboration, Canada will honour Indigenous human rights and pass Bill C-262.

For more information, visit www.adoptandimplement.com.

#UNDRIP #TRC #RECONCILIATION #WaterIsLife

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We’ve made a commitment to SSO; isn’t it time SSO made a commitment to us?

Our bargaining team held three days of bargaining with SSO during the week of November 20. We focused on our key bargaining issues: hours of work, job security and term employment. We did this with the support of our members across the country.

We thank regional office interviewers who wore stickers in the workplace and to field interviewers who sent us their stickers to highlight these problems. We posted the stickers in our bargaining room and the employer’s team had an opportunity to see the real magnitude of job precarity faced by our members.

We tabled proposals which seek to resolve the challenges faced by our members due to the precarious working conditions maintained by SSO.

Our proposals include:

  • Hours of work assigned by seniority: Seniority has long been recognized – in both the public and private sector – as the best way of ensuring hours are allocated in a fair and transparent manner. It shouldn’t depend on whether you are your supervisor’s favourite or whether you are a union activist. With seniority, everyone knows how hours are allocated and it is done objectively.
  • Maximizing work for existing employees: It is critical for our income security that SSO maximize hours of work for existing employees before hiring new employees. Our employer shouldn’t hire more employees when existing staff are interested and available to work. Some of our members don’t even have enough hours to make ends meet. Meanwhile SSO continues to hire more people. It doesn’t make sense and it’s not fair.
  • Limits to term employment: SSO hires most people as term employees. However, we know that term employees are not working for short periods. Most term employees have worked for SSO for many years, some as many as 15 years! Clearly this is not term employment. This is manufactured job insecurity.
    The full proposals we tabled are attached.

We are pleased that during the week we came to agreement with SSO on some issues. We have expanded the definition of family, added gender identity and gender expression as grounds for protection against discrimination, improved bereavement leave, and maintained existing maternity and parental leave benefits.

We will be back at the bargaining table December 12 to 14. More updates to follow.

Union Proposals for SSO RO Unit

Source: www.psacunion.ca