May 20, 2021
Friends of the Union Family,
UNE has endured a long-standing internal Union matter with respect to the representation of Passport Program Employees employed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and operationally administered by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
A ruling by current PSAC President Chris Aylward in April 2021 has upheld a previous ruling by former PSAC President Robyn Benson in 2015.
UNE has relied on Sections 8,9 and 27 of the PSAC Constitution with respect to past and current jurisdictional matters associated with Component allocation of membership.
From the PSAC Constitution Section 8, sub-section 3 (a) under “Components”:
“The members of the Components listed in Sub-Section (2) of this Section may continue to enjoy the right of membership in their respective Components regardless of whatever employer reorganization takes place.”
Passport Program used to belong to the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) (now Global Affairs Canada) before a government reorganization by the Harper Conservatives in 2013. Passport Program employees performed – and continue to perform – a well-defined function within distinct directorates of IRCC and the operations of Passport Program client services through ESDC.
UNE is proud to represent its 2000 plus Passport members that give Canadians the opportunity to obtain passports for business and personal reasons, along with consular services for diplomatic missions outside of Canada.
Should issues arise with allocation of PSAC membership within IRCC or ESDC, UNE will ensure that all represented PSAC incorrectly assigned members to our Component will be reassigned to the correct PSAC Component with minimal delay; the same arrangement applies with other Components that share membership with other departments and agencies that have unionized employees under the same bargaining certificate.
You will find the recent decision by PSAC National President Chris Aylward with respect to Passport Program members below.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kevin King
UNE National President, PSAC