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Update on SSO pay equity settlement

It has recently come to the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s attention that Statistical Survey Operation (SSO)’s pay equity settlement calculations fail to include paid leaves, overtime rates, full compensation for designated paid holidays and other forms of compensation. Rest assured, PSAC will be challenging SSO’s application of the Memorandum of Agreement, as we do not believe it is in keeping with the pay equity agreement reached between the PSAC and SSO.

We recommend that members and former members affected file an appeal as soon as possible in order to adhere to the 120-day timeline specified in the settlement. PSAC is not able to file these appeals on your behalf. Each member or former member must file an individual appeal.

PSAC’s legal counsel has recommended using the following template language for appeals:

“I believe there has been an error in the calculation of my payment pursuant to the settlement agreement between PSAC and SSO. In particular, the calculation fails to include paid leave, overtime rates, full compensation for designated paid holidays, and other forms of compensation during the relevant period of time.”

PSAC recommends that members and former members affected adhere to the timelines and process specified in the appeals process outlined in the attached letter. Please pass this message along to members and former members who could be affected.

Your appeal should be sent to statcan.ssopayequityoesequitesalariale.statcan@canada.ca, with a copy to classification@psac-afpc.com

If you have questions please contact classification@psac-afpc.com.

 

Source: http://psacunion.ca/revised-update-sso-pay-equity-settlement

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National Aboriginal Day

June 21 is the day set aside to celebrate the Indigenous peoples of Canada. This year, 2017, marks the country’s 150th birthday. The birthday celebration conversation has non-Indigenous celebrants voicing pride in good fortune gained through hard work. This Indigenous non-celebrant voices sorrow that generations of my ancestors have been brutalized for 150 years by this country’s laws. Today. Still. Many Indigenous communities have no safe water to drink nor bathe in. Our Indigenous schools are not funded to the same level as provincial schools. Our families are still being destroyed and our children are still living in poverty. Facts. Many self-medicate to manage the painful legacy inflicted upon them. I am not celebrating 150 years of this.

It hurts to learn the facts and the history and how it impacts us and our children. We need to find the way forward, in a good way. Do you know the facts and history and impacts? Do you want this country to be celebrated, for its equality, honour, human rights? Would you learn and share your knowledge? Would you change laws? Would you create better laws? Would you change attitudes? Would you support making National Aboriginal Day a national holiday? It would be one amazing step to honouring the original inhabitants of this land.

 

All my relations,

Ruby Langan

National Equity Representative for Aboriginal Peoples

 

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PSAC and Treasury Board sign collective agreements for PA, EB, TC and SV

After much delay on the part of the employer, Treasury Board and PSAC have finally signed collective agreements for the PA, EB, TC and SV bargaining units on June 14, 2017. This is the result of significant pressure from our union.

These agreements, which cover over 85,000 workers in the federal public service, were ratified by the membership in April. Since then, PSAC had been pushing the employer to sign the agreements.

Letter sent to Trudeau; ULP complaint threatened

Last week, due to the excessive delay, PSAC National President Robyn Benson sent a letter to the Prime Minister. She expressed her disappointment and urged him to compel Treasury Board to set a date for signing.

PSAC also told Treasury Board that further delays would result in an unfair labour practice (ULP) complaint being filed with the labour board.

 

Source: www.psacunion.ca

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PSAC takes Treasury Board collective agreement signing delays to the Prime Minister

Robyn Benson, National President of PSAC, has written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, asking him to address the delay on the government’s part in signing four collective agreements.

“I believe that your promise to treat public servants with respect must be demonstrated beyond simple words,” said Benson in her letter to the Prime Minister. “I urge you to compel Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat to set a fixed date for the signing of all the ratified agreements within the coming weeks.”

These agreements cover the working conditions of over 85,000 PSAC members who work in the federal public services.

The complete text of the letter can be found here.

 

Source: http://psacunion.ca/psac-takes-treasury-board-collective-agreement

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Federal Court Upholds UNE Members’ Salary Protection Grievance Win

On May 24, 2017, a judicial review of the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board’s (PSLREB)  decision  on salary protection was rejected before a Federal Court of Appeal.  The decision of the adjudicator stands and affected employees are officially entitled to full salary protection under the PSAC and Treasury board collective agreements.

A long-awaited decision was handed down by the PSLREB on July 4, 2016. It upheld the right to salary protection for members who transferred to the Department of Canadian Heritage from the National Capital Commission (NCC) in September 2013.

“We are very pleased that the Federal Court of Appeal has decided in favour of our members,” said UNE national president Doug Marshall. “Our members waited a long time for the PSLREB’s decision and now that the appeal is out of the way, employees have closure on this grievance.”

The policy grievance, filed by the PSAC on December 12, 2013, involved 44 members who were transferred by government order.  Although the collective agreement provided that their wage rates would be protected upon transfer, the employer instituted a pay system that froze wages for up to three years, capped at $12,000 over the reclassified salary. After the three years, all employees faced a drop in salary.

For more information, you can read our previous articles on the grievance.

 

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Government delaying signing of new collective agreements

PSAC has been pushing the government to sign four collective agreements by the end of May, but the employer is insisting they won’t be ready until mid-June at the earliest.  These agreements, covering over 100,000 workers, were ratified by the membership in votes that concluded in April.

PSAC still waiting for drafts of agreements

At this time, the final drafts of the agreement for the Program and Administrative Services (PA) Group and the agreement for the Education and Library Science (EB) Group are just about finalized.

PSAC has yet to receive the draft agreements covering the Technical Services (TC) and Operational Services (SV) Groups, even though the employer has had months to get the drafts ready.

We are committed to reviewing the draft agreements and replying to the employer in less than three days.

Members have waited long enough

These agreements, which took over two and a half years to negotiate, do not go into effect until they are signed. PSAC believes our members, who have also spent the last year dealing with the Phoenix pay system debacle, have waited long enough.

We are continuing to pressure the employer to make this a priority and sign these agreements signed as soon as possible.

Source: psacunion.ca

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Bargaining session with SSO in June cancelled

At the request of the employer, the SSO bargaining session scheduled from June 13 to 15, 2017, has been cancelled due to changes on the employer’s bargaining team. The next bargaining session will be scheduled for the fall. In the meantime, we will continue to organize actions and hold events to remind our employer that we are Federal Public Servants and we deserve respect. Please join us. Your support helps us all to achieve gains at the bargaining table!

We want to keep you up-to-date on negotiations with SSO. Please sign up for email updates from PSAC. Make sure you check the box for Statistical Survey Operations.

You can also visit the UNE SSO news section at http://www.une-sen.org/press/?cat=18 and the PSAC website at psacunion.ca/sso-oes. 

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May 17 is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

May 17, 2017 is a day to reflect on what makes us unique, what makes us proud, and where there is still work to be done. On international day against homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, we remember the successes we have had in achieving human rights for LGBT people, as well as the struggles that remain.

The International Day Against Homophobia on May 17th is a reminder to challenge the stigma when we see it. This action helps to build solidarity with our LGBT clients, but also with coworkers, family, and friends who deserve a safe space. In an international climate of conservatism and right-wing extremism, it is now more important than ever to support those most marginalized within our communities. As employees of the federal public service, we are uniquely poised to serve as an example of inclusivity and tolerance. By fostering an environment that is accepting of sexual and gender diversity, we can demonstrate the value that a diverse population has for our Canadian heritage.

Despite inclusion in workplace protections and human rights legislation, homophobia still persists. As public servants, we must represent Canadian values in the work that we do. By serving as an example of tolerance, and refusing to be silent in the face of stigma and injustice, we can do our part to ensure that Canada continues to be a beacon of diversity for the LGBT and all communities.

For more information, visit http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/

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SSO Bargaining Update

Our bargaining team met with SSO during the week of May 1. The team started the week in caucus, where we had planned to review SSO’s proposals, but unfortunately the documents provided by our employer contained many errors and lacked clarity. This made it impossible for us to do our work of analyzing their proposals.

Tuesday, we were pleased to meet all members of the employer’s bargaining team. We communicated the problems with their proposals and the lack of professionalism this demonstrated. In response they requested the rest of the day to review their proposals, but first, SSO’s Director General Geoff Bowlby presented us with an overview of SSO operations.

Employer proposes concessions

The rest of the week, we heard from our employer about the changes proposed during this round of negotiations. The union is concerned about some of these proposals. SSO wants to restrict union leave and the participation of union representatives in solving problems in the workplace. SSO has proposed eliminating the requirement for management to provide operational justification when denying leave requests, a right we won in the last arbitration. There are also proposals to limit protections against harassment and discrimination, maternity-related job modification and leave, bereavement leave and family related leave. We have been clear with the employer that we will not negotiate concessions. We are at the table to negotiate improvements for our members.

Status as federal public servants

We need to tell you we encountered a serious underlying problem in meetings with our employer this week. During the last round of bargaining, our arbitral awards clearly stated that SSO employees are federal public servants, but throughout the week our employer repeatedly said that it does not acknowledge our status as public servants. The employer uses this argument to deny us working conditions comparable to other public servants, including those we work alongside at Statistics Canada.

Your local representatives will be contacting you soon about participating in our union’s activities to make it clear to SSO that we will not stand for this.

Source: http://psacunion.ca/

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Phoenix: Information about claiming for reimbursement of tax services costs

After pressure from PSAC, the government agreed to compensate federal public service employees, with tax problems caused by the Phoenix pay system, for up to $200 per year of tax advisory services.

The claim and release form is strictly restricted to tax advisory services for the tax years 2016 and 2017.

Where an employee has tax filing expenses related to Phoenix which have a total cost equal to, or less than, $200 per year, this claim process is the best way to claim these expenses. There need be no concern about signing the release.

Where an employee has tax filing expenses related to Phoenix which have a total cost greater than $200 in either tax year, signing the release will prevent them from seeking further reimbursement for those tax advisory services through any other means. This includes a grievance or the Phoenix general claims process.

PSAC is advising its Members with tax filing expenses related to Phoenix having a total cost greater than $200 in either tax year that they may wish to use the general claims process instead, in order to demonstrate that those expenses were justified and necessary because of Phoenix.