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May is Asian Heritage Month

By Shirley Torres

Xie Xie ( see see) – Mandarin,  Gamsahabnida ( gam-samnda) – Korean , Domo  arigatou ( doh-mo-ah-ree-gah-toh – Japanese, Camanba (gahm-un-ban)- Vietnamese, Dhanyabad ( dhan-naii-bat) Nepali, these are only a few of the numerous ways of saying Thank you in Asia.

In  Filipino, we say Salamat. In whatever Asian language we say it, we express the same gratitude  for having  an  Asian Heritage Month, an opportune time to  acknowledge and recognize the contribution of Asians to Canadian Society and to celebrate and appreciate their  culture.

A large percentage of immigrants like me are from Asia and we have made Canada our home. When we came to Canada, we were determined to strive and work hard to achieve our goals and realize our dreams and in our own little ways, we believe that we contributing to the growth and development of our workplace, our community, the society and the country. We also brought along with us our rich culture which we will always be proud of but at the same time we are also learning and appreciating the many diverse cultures in Canada.

There are many Canadians of Asian descent who have excelled in the fields of politics, economics, science, arts and service . One of them is Senator Vivienne Poy, the first senator of Asian descent. She proposed the observance of Asian Heritage Month and it was adopted by the Senate in 2001. The government of Canada signed a declaration designating May as Asian Heritage Month in May, 2002.

This month of May, I invite everyone to celebrate with us, have a taste of our various cultures and enjoy an Asian experience. Check out the various activities and festivities that have been organized by Asian Heritage Societies in your communities. This is a great opportunity to learn more and appreciate Asian culture.

Happy Asian Heritage Month!

Shirley Torres is the UNE Human Rights Representative for the B.C. and Yukon region.

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UNE Honourary Membership 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.

Honourary memberships are awarded to individuals who would otherwise not be eligible for a membership in the Union of National Employees. This can include individuals outside the organization who have contributed outstanding service through devoted efforts in the affairs of our union or members who have retired.

If your Local wishes to nominate a member, please refer to the criteria on the UNE website at  The application form can also be found on the UNE website. Please ensure that you follow the criteria carefully and complete the application form correctly.

The deadline for receipt of application is July 31, 2017. Should the recipient wish to receive his or her award at a UNE National function, please indicate clearly.

In solidarity,

Doug Marshall
National President
Union of National Employees, PSAC

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Ratified Treasury Board agreements: What happens now?

Following the recent ratification of new agreements by the PA, SV, TC and EB Treasury Board groups, the following steps will be taken:

  • Signing of new collective agreements
  • Retro pay and implementation of wage and special monetary increases
  • Implementation of collective agreement provisions

Signing of new collective agreements

In the coming weeks, PSAC will meet with the employer to sign the new collective agreements. With the exception of wages, which are retroactive, the new negotiated provisions come into effect on date of signing, unless otherwise specified.

When will back pay (retroactive pay) be paid out to employees?

The employer has 150 days from the date of signing to adjust rates of pay and issue retroactive pay.

Who will get back pay for the negotiated economic increases?

PA: The new collective agreement is retroactive to June 21, 2014, expiring June 20, 2018. This means that you are entitled to back pay for the period of time you were employed and a PA member from June 21, 2014.

EB: The new collective agreement is retroactive to July 1st, 2014, expiring June 30, 2018. This means that you are entitled to back pay for the period of time you were employed and a EB member from July 1st, 2014.

TC: The new collective agreement is retroactive to June 22, 2014, expiring June 21, 2018. This means that you are entitled to back pay for the period of time you were employed and a TC member from June 22, 2014.

SV: The new collective agreement is retroactive to August 5, 2014, expiring August 4, 2018. This means that you are entitled to back pay for the period of time you were employed and an SV member from August 5, 2014.

Are increases to allowances retroactive?

Increases to allowances are not retroactive. The employer has 150 days after the date of signing to implement the changes and issue payment of the allowances.

When will the other provisions come into effect?

The employer has 150 days from the date of signing to implement the provisions of the new collective agreement.

Will the Phoenix pay system cause delays and problems with retro pay and wage adjustments?

Public Services and Procurement Canada has said they are prepared to implement retro pay and wage adjustments. Since the employer has 150 days from signing to pay out the retro, there should be time to address other Phoenix problems so that compensation staff can be freed up for this work. PSAC will also be working closely with government officials to help solve any problems that arise. We will keep you updated on any developments related to Phoenix and the implementation of wage increases.

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Phoenix: Union meets with Minister Brison, senior government officials; PSAC members rally in Quebec

On May 1, PSAC National President Robyn Benson and National Executive Vice President Chris Aylward, along with other union leaders, attended a meeting with senior government officials regarding Phoenix. Benson and Aylward have been attending these regular meetings for months, in order to address the problems caused by the Phoenix pay system.

The President of the Treasury Board, Minister Scott Brison, briefly attended the meeting to hear directly from PSAC and the other unions. Minister Brison spoke about the new Phoenix working group of MPs and Ministers.

“If the task force of Ministers and MPs can ensure there are more resources put in place to fix this broken system and support employees who’ve been hurt, we’ll know that the government’s commitment to a solution is real,” said Benson after the meeting. “This debacle has gone on far too long, and our members need to see concrete action.”

Action needed

This meeting provided another opportunity for PSAC to reiterate its demands that the government follow up last week’s announcement with concrete action.

To get closer to a permanent fix, PSAC demands that the government:

  • Hire more staff at the pay centre in Miramichi and make sure this is stable.
  • Hire permanent, not temporary, staff at the call centres who have the training and support to help our members.
  • Make a commitment to keep the satellite pay centres open permanently.

Members rally

This past weekend, thousands of PSAC members across Quebec rallied in front of MP offices to protest the on-going problems with the Phoenix pay system.

“I am proud of our members for continuing to keep the pressure on the federal government to fix Phoenix,” said Benson.

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Emergency pay available to employees on maternity, parental or disability leave and experiencing Phoenix pay problems

 

Following the court action taken by PSAC, along with 12 other unions, the court obliged the government to provide better access to help for Phoenix affected employees on disability, maternity, and parental leave.

As a result, federal public service workers who are transitioning to maternity, parental or disability leave, and are not receiving benefit payments due to Phoenix, are entitled to a priority payment if normal wait times for processing these payments have been exceeded.

These workers are entitled to 66% of the total income they would otherwise receive, not only the top up portion.

If you are in this situation, send the following letter with the appropriate information included in an email to your manager and copy us at info@psacunion.ca.

Template email
 Click here to email your manager

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Dental Care Plan Negotiations

After an extensive survey of all members covered by the PSAC Public Service Dental Plan, we are going to the table to negotiate improvements to our Dental Plan. We have tabled our initial proposals and will be back at the table in May.

We expect for the Plan to be improved and updated to reflect your needs going forward.

This is a separate negotiations process from the one that we are using for our collective agreement.  If we are unable to get to an agreement, we have access to binding arbitration.

Click here to see the complete list of improvements tabled

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PSAC Members Ratify New Agreement With Treasury Board

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada working for Treasury Board have accepted new collective agreements that contain no concessions for four bargaining units representing more than 100,000 workers.

The majority of members in the Program and Administrative (PA), Technical Services (TC), Operational Services (SV), and Education and Library Science (EB) bargaining units voted in favour of the new agreements.

“I am proud of our negotiating teams for standing strong during these two long, difficult years at the table,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President. “It is through the hard work and commitment of the members of our bargaining teams, along with the support and solidarity from the bargaining unit members, that we were able to reach these agreements.”

Significant breakthroughs

With these agreements, PSAC achieved some significant breakthroughs:

  • Sick leave: The sick leave articles of our collective agreements will remain unchanged. The parties have negotiated a Memorandum of Agreement to establish a Task Force to develop recommendations on measures to improve employee wellness.
  • Workforce adjustment: the most significant improvements to the Workforce Adjustment agreement since it was first signed as an appendix into PSAC collective agreements in 1998.
  • Helping workers meet family demands: It has been agreed that a committee will be established to look at childcare needs. Better family leave, including provisions for extended family, have also been negotiated.
  • Mental health task force: the memorandum that established the task force is also contained in this agreement. The MOU was agreed to earlier in the bargaining process, in 2015, and the task force has already been hard at work ever since

Monetary gains

The four-year collective agreements, which expire in 2018, provide for across-the-board annual wage increases of 1.25 per cent for each year, plus other wage adjustments made for specific bargaining units and classifications.

FB group

The Border Services (FB) group was unable to conclude a tentative agreement and is proceeding to a Public Interest Commission.

More information

For more information on the agreements:

For more information about what’s next:

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Managers who worked on Phoenix get bonuses while system is still broken

A recent media article noted that 340 executives at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), the department responsible for Phoenix, got performance pay. On April 5, the government gave another update on the troubled Phoenix system and had to deal with questions from the media on the bonus payments.

“Words don’t even describe how shocked we are. The government is basically saying to our members that it doesn’t matter if they get paid or not, they are not important,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President. “If you are a manager and you’re not doing your job, you should not get paid bonuses.”

While Deputy Minister Lemay said that only some of the mid-level executives who received the payments worked on Phoenix, PSAC maintains that any payments like this should be put on hold until the system is fixed.

Update on Phoenix progress

The government gave its latest monthly update on the Phoenix numbers. Although some progress has been made since the last update, the number of cases overall has not changed. The government said that 285,000 late transactions are still waiting to be dealt with.

The good news for some public service employees: Lemay says that the pay centre has reached “steady state” for maternity and parental leave cases and is on track to do so for disability leave cases by the end of the month. “Steady state” is when 95% of transactions are dealt with within the 20-day service standard.

Phoenix and taxes

The government has said that all T4s have been issued, but revised T4s may still be coming. Public service employees must still file their taxes by the deadline.

For public service employees whose 2016 taxes have been impacted by Phoenix and have questions, there is help available:

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UNE Members at the National Arts Centre Vote in Favour of Strike Action

After almost a year of negotiations, about 100 workers who provide usher and box office services at the National Arts Centre have voted in favour of strike action. These members have been trying to reach a contract since June 2016 and have made no progress.

“While the NAC spends $100 million on renovations just in time for Canada’s 150th celebrations, we had hoped the employer would be committed to negotiate a fair contract that suitably compensates hard-working employees for the important work they do,” said Doug Marshall, national president of the Union of National Employees. “We will continue to support our members through this difficult negotiation process.”

The strike vote was held on April 4. More information will follow as it becomes available.

 

 

 

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PSAC Award of Merit for Members

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’s Award of Merit for members was established as an acceptable method to recognize members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada who have rendered service of the greatest distinction and of singular excellence in any field of endeavour, benefiting the PSAC or its members.

Applications for the Award of Merit may be sponsored by a Local, a Component or a member of the National Board of Directors.  Please complete the application carefully. The eligibility criteria and application form can be found on the PSAC website at http://psacunion.ca/eform/submit/psac-award-of-merit-for-members

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

In solidarity,

Doug Marshall
National President
Union of National Employees, PSAC