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New federal pay equity law one step closer

A House of Commons Special Committee on Pay Equity is recommending a new proactive federal law for public and private sector workers.

“We are very pleased with the Committee’s report – It’s Time to Act  recommending the government accept the overall direction of the 2004 Federal Pay Equity Task Force report and adopt the majority of its recommendations,” said PSAC national president Robyn Benson.

The Committee recognized the current law isn’t working for either employees or employers. It also recognized the role of unions in the pay equity process.

In her presentation to the Special Committee, Benson highlighted PSAC’s almost 40-year history of successful pay equity complaints in spite of long delays and stubborn resistance by employers. The recent victory for members at Statistical Survey Operations took almost 15 years to achieve.

“We urge the government to move quickly to consult with unions and other stakeholders in order to introduce the new law before the 18-month period recommended by the committee has passed,” added Benson.

Key recommendations

The Committee recommends that a new federal pay equity law:

  • apply to all unionized, non-unionized, full-time, part-time, casual, seasonal and temporary employees
  • apply to federal public service, Crown corporations, all federal-regulated companies with 15 employees or more and companies participating in the Federal Contractors Program
  • set a deadline to have pay equity plans in place within three years of the law coming into force
  • include mandatory reviews to ensure pay equity is being maintained

Create a specialized Pay Equity Commission and Tribunal

The Committee also recommends the creation of a distinct Pay Equity Commission and a Pay Equity Tribunal with both bodies having the jurisdiction, authority, expertise and resources to carry out their responsibilities. The new Tribunal would be given clear and broad enforcement authority including the ability to award costs.

Equity groups

One Task Force report recommendation the Committee did not deal with is the inclusion of other equity groups in the legislation. The Committee has recommended Statistics Canada allocate additional resources to collecting better data and analysis to determine the factors of the gender wage gap.

Repeal the law that applies to the federal public service

The Committee recommends the government repeal the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act (PSECA).

“There is no need to wait to implement this recommendation. We urge the government to introduce legislation to repeal PSECA early in the fall session,” concluded Benson.

Introduced by the Conservatives in 2009, PSECA barred federal public sector employees and their unions from filing pay equity complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The committee report noted that none of the witnesses spoke in favour of keeping this law in place.

Source: PSAC

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Members at Museum of Nature ratify new collective agreement

MuseumNatureRatify

The members of PSAC Local 70395 recently voted in favour of the agreement negotiated with the Canadian Museum of Nature. The Local had been in negotiations for the last 2 years.

Highlights of the four-year contract, which expires June 14, 2018, include:

  • a 1% wage increase per year,
  • an increase in standby pay, and
  • a change in the definition of part-time employees.

Just as importantly, the Local was able to achieve its bargaining mandate of no concessions in the collective agreement / bargaining process.

“Reaching an agreement was a long process and the negotiation team worked hard to protect and improve our collective agreement,” said Local President Roger Bull. “We offer them sincere thanks for their efforts on behalf of all members.”

Local 70395 represents approximately 100 workers employed by the Canadian Museum of Nature in Gatineau and Ottawa. They work in the areas of administration, advancement, collections, experience and education, facilities, finance, human resources, IT, marketing and media relations protection services, research and visitor services.

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Ontario Regional Seminar

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Your regional seminar is fast approaching and it’s the best place to learn about our union and the many things we do.

This event is jam-packed with lectures and workshops to help you gain the knowledge and confidence you’ll need to help our members. It’s also a great place to meet active members just like you and forge long-lasting friendships.

For a sneak-peek at what else we have in store for you, check out the agenda.

Participants should arrive between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Friday, August 19, 2016 to register. You should select representatives from your Local to attend the seminar. The Union of National Employees will fund two delegates per Local as well as one youth:

  1. One delegate should be the local president or designate.
  2. The second delegate should be a member who has not previously attended a UNE conference or seminar.
  3. One delegate from each local should be a youth delegate. (A youth delegate is defined as a member who will be 35 years or younger on December 31, 2017.)

During the seminar, youth delegates will elect two of their peers to represent them as delegates to our 2017 convention.

You must register by Friday, July 8, 2016. Unfortunately, we cannot consider late registrations.

Should you have any questions, please contact Suzanne Boucher at: suzanne.boucher@une-sen.org.

In solidarity,

Your regional team:

Mary Anne Walker, Regional Vice-President, Ontario
Diane Levola, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Ontario
Andrew Shaver, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Ontario
Craig Reynolds, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Ontario
Sandy Bello, Regional Representative for Human Rights, Ontario

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PSAC and OLG set to go to binding arbitration

OLGArbitrationSince December 16, 2015, PSAC members employed by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (the OLG) have demonstrated tremendous and overwhelming solidarity in the face of a brutal five-month lock out imposed by the OLG.

Today, following the successful lobbying efforts of our members, including their direct conversations with the Premier of Ontario, the union and the employer agreed to a process of binding arbitration to resolve all outstanding issues between parties.

PSAC members at the OLG will return to work starting Thursday, June 2, 2016.

We congratulate our members for the tremendous courage and determination they brought to the picket line and the bargaining table.

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Bill C4, division 17 to be repealed

C4Repealed

The president of the Treasury Board, Minister Scott Brison today informed PSAC that the Liberals will be repealing the Harper government’s Bill C4, division 17 that restricted our members’ rights to collective bargaining.

“We recognize this as an attempt to correct some of the harm done by the Conservatives. We are looking forward to further discussions to ensure that this round of bargaining will be conducted in a fair manner,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President.

“PSAC has asserted that Bill C4 is an attack on our members’ fundamental charter rights and not consistent with a free and democratic society.”

“Our members worked tirelessly to lobby members of parliament about the injustices of this Bill. I want to thank them for their continued vigilance,” concluded Benson.

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May 17- International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

StopHomophobia

By Sebastian Westerlund

The international day against homophobia on May 17 highlights the impact of stigma on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals. Raising awareness about the difficult realities facing this population is an essential part of providing inclusive and open-minded customer service.

This day asks us to reflect on how certain policies and practices erase the existence of LGBTQ+ individuals. Our assumptions about gender and sexuality often unknowingly contribute to an institutional climate of heteronormativity that alienates this population.

The day against homophobia thus provides us with an opportunity to broaden our awareness and understanding of how workplace policies can affect LGBT people, knowledge that can help us to be inclusive and welcoming to them in our daily work.

On May 17, we encourage you to reflect on ways to challenge homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, in order to help build a more inclusive public service.

Sebastian Westerlund is a UNE member based in Montreal.

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Victory! PSAC and Statistical Survey Operations (SSO) reach pay equity settlement

 SSOVictory

PSAC has negotiated a settlement with Statistical Survey Operations (SSO) that will put outstanding pay equity money into the hands of our members.

The settlement will apply to thousands of eligible current and former Interviewers and Senior Interviewers who worked at Statistics Canada between March 8, 1985 and November 5, 1987 and for SSO between November 6, 1987 and November 30, 2013.

“This a huge victory for thousands of our members,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President. “PSAC has fought to reach a pay equity settlement with Statistical Survey Operations for years.”

“This is a long time coming. Our members have finally achieved pay equity. ”

“We achieved this victory because our members fought hard with us for many years and never gave up.”

“This struggle builds on the pay equity movement that continues today. We will continue urging the Liberal government to make proactive pay equity legislation a reality without further delay.”

“I’m very happy that PSAC has won this extremely long struggle. This will put between $40-$45 million in the pockets of our members, whose work has been undervalued and who have a long history of precarious employment. The settlement means a lot to them,” added Doug Marshall, National President, Union of National Employees.

Details to follow soon

Now that the settlement has been signed, PSAC and SSO representatives will work out the details as to the calculation and disbursement of the monies owed. SSO estimates the payments will average between $1500 and $2000 per worker.

As this settlement will apply to several thousand individuals and spans a period of over 30 years, the SSO will make best efforts to commence making payments to eligible employees early in 2017.

Settlement ends long legal process

In 2002, PSAC filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission on behalf of members employed with seven separate employers, including SSO.

After over a decade of legal wrangling, the SSO case was referred to the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board for a hearing in 2014 which eventually led to further discussions between PSAC and SSO, finally resulting in this settlement.