PSAC and OLG set to go to binding arbitration

Since 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.

2016/05/262016/06/20

Bill C4, division 17 to be repealed

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.

2016/05/162016/05/30

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

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.

2016/05/12

June 8: Support your bargaining teams!

PSAC and other federal public service unions are calling on all members to help send a message to the new Liberal government by participating in a national action on June 8^th.

The new Liberal government promised respect for federal public service employees. It said it would do things differently than the former Conservative government. Yet, it has been more than six months since the Liberals were elected and there has been no meaningful progress at any of the federal bargaining tables.
Treasury Board negotiators are still pushing the Conservative’s proposal to replace our sick leave with a short term disability plan.
They have proposed the same 0.5% per-year wage increase as the Conservative government. This does not reflect the cost of living and fair wage increases.

The Liberals have also failed to restore fair collective bargaining by refusing to repeal the unfair labour laws passed by the Conservatives.

Why is action needed?

PSAC’s bargaining teams have been at the bargaining table with Treasury Board three times since the new government came into power. We are also in bargaining with Parks Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and an important vote is underway at CRA. We need to tell the government to come to the table with new proposals – not recycled Conservative messages. A new government should give itself a new mandate.

The outcome of Treasury Board bargaining will set a pattern for others. We need to send a message to the Liberal government before bargaining resumes in June that we expect a fair contract.

It’s time for members to send a message!

Contact your local union right away to find out what is planned for your workplace on June 8th.
Join together with members of all federal unions and show the Liberal government you expect it to live up to its promise of respect.
Go to psacunion.ca and sign up to receive more information about June 8th

2016/04/132016/04/20

Important Notice to UNE Members at OLG Rideau Carleton

PSAC will be holding a ratification vote on the OLG’s contract offer.

When: Thursday April 14 2016, 12pm – 4pm

Please plan to arrive at noon. You will be required to take part in a 30 minute information session prior to voting. At this session, you will be provided with a ratification kit, and you will also have the opportunity to ask any questions you have about the contract offer. Votes will be counted at 4pm sharp.

If you cannot make it on Thursday afternoon, please contact Stephanie Penwarden immediately at 613-447-1364 or by e-mail at PenwarS@psac.com. Please copy Tobie Castonguay as well at CastonT@psac.com.

2016/04/04

Bargaining Team Tables Demands with Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Parties exchange proposals, additional bargaining dates scheduled for next month.

On Wednesday and Thursday our Negotiating Team met with representatives of the Museum to exchange bargaining proposals. The parties’ proposals focused primarily on non-economic matters. We will be tabling wage and other economic proposals later in the process once we receive payroll data from the employer. Our team tabled demands covering key priorities, and made clear to management that a number of issues need to be addressed in this round of negotiations, including:

Protecting our Jobs: Protections against layoff, and additional protections against the contracting out of our work.

Improved Income Security: We have tabled proposals that would provide more stable, permanent employment and protect against precarious work.

Hours of Work: Enhanced rights for workers in context of scheduling, particularly for shift workers and front-line staff.

Staffing: Staffing processes that would ensure fairness and provide preference for internal, qualified candidates for the filing of vacancies.

Parity with Other Museum and Arts-Related Employers: Proposals that would ensure that rights and protections found in other PSAC collective agreements in the federal museum and arts-related sector would apply to workers at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Management also tabled the Museum’s proposals. We are next scheduled to meet the last week of May. If you have questions, or wish to see a copy of our proposals or those of the Museum, contact a member of our Negotiating Team: Travis Tomchuk (Research and Curation), Kendall McLean (Visitor Experience) and Isabelle Masson (Research and Curation). There will be regular updates as things progress.

2016/03/212016/04/06

OLG Rideau Carleton Rally to Queen’s Park Results in a Return to the Bargaining Table

Following the recent rally to Queen’s Park by locked-out workers from OLG Rideau Carleton Raceway, the employer has agreed to come back to the bargaining table.

Since the event at Queen’s Park, the union has learned that a return to the bargaining table with a conciliator is scheduled for March 30, 2016.

Doug Marshall, president of the Union of National Employees, is cautiously optimistic about the next meeting between the union and the OLG.

“Let’s hope that, unlike last time, the employer comes to the table with a mandate to settle and not to repeat the same ultimatum that it has made since December 16^th,” said Marshall. “We are hopeful that the increased involvement of the Ministry of Labour for Ontario signals an improved chance of reaching a collective agreement. It is time that the OLG end the lockout and reach a fair settlement so that these hard-working employees can return to work.”

The workers were locked out on December 16^th, 2016 and have been left out in the cold for over thirteen weeks.

2016/03/212016/04/20

Locked-out Slots Workers take the fight to Queen’s Park

Last Wednesday, locked-out workers from OLG Rideau Carleton Raceway piled into a bus at 2:30am to make the lengthy trek to the Ontario Legislature at Queen’s Park in Toronto. The group and its allies, which included representatives from Unifor and the Ontario Federation of Labour, participated in a press conference and rallied enthusiastically outside both the legislature and OLG headquarters.

“This was a very successful event,” said Doug Marshall, president of the Union of National Employees. “It was great to see members energized by the trip and take their fight where Kathleen Wynne could no longer ignore their message.”

The 124 employees have been locked out since December 16^th, 2009 and their employer, backed by Wynne’s Ontario Liberals, has refused to withdraw its ultimatum that it would not bargain unless we accept a continued wage freeze and the removal of the pension plan from the collective agreement. More recently, OLG also began the process of hiring scab workers instead of bargaining in good faith.

The locked-out workers continue to work hard while on the picket line. Their website http://www.psacrideaucarleton.com/ contains a great collection of videos and photos from last week’s trip.

You can also check out photos on the PSAC-NCR and Ontario Federation of Labour FlickR feeds here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/psacontario/albums/72157663397672473

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ontariofedlabour/albums/72157665506118162

2016/02/172016/03/21

OLG Rideau-Carleton Raceway Slots Lockout Enters 3rd Month; workers vow to bring struggle to Queen’s Park

16 February 2016 — Workers at the Rideau-Carleton Raceway Slots in Ottawa are today entering the third month of being locked out from their workplace. The 124 workers were first locked out by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) on December 16, 2015, after they overwhelmingly refused to accept a contract that would keep their wages frozen for two out of three years, and also force them to give up existing pension language from their current collective agreement.

To mark the beginning of the lockout, workers will be holding a barbecue in front of the Slots on February 18 to celebrate their collective strength over the last two months.

BBQ will be held between 3pm and 5pm on Thursday February 18 at 4837 Albion Rd.
Workers and union representatives will be available for interviews.
Photo opportunities will be available.

“When OLG locked out these workers back in December, management thought they wouldn’t last more than a couple of weeks,” said Doug Marshall, President of the Union of National Employees, a component union of PSAC. “But the workers stood up for themselves and refused to be pushed around. They weathered the blistering cold and snow, maintained a strong picket line every day of the week, and met with provincial and municipal politicians to put pressure on OLG to end the lockout.”

The beginning of the third month of the lockout also coincides with the return of the Ontario Legislative Assembly from its winter adjournment, and locked-out workers are now determined to bring their situation to Queen’s Park and pressure the Liberal government to end the lockout fairly.

“We will make sure that Premier Kathleen Wynne and Finance Minister Charles Sousa hear from us,” said Larry Rousseau, Regional Executive Vice President of the National Capital Region for the PSAC. “And we will also let them know that our much larger unit at the OLG Woodbine Slots in Toronto will commence bargaining in the coming weeks, and they too will not accept attempts by OLG to take away pension language from their contract—we will stand united!”

2016/02/08

Treasury Board bargaining: new government, old mandate

Treasury Board bargaining teams met this week for the first time since the election of the new Liberal government.

We brought forward proposals addressing the needs that were identified by the membership and continue to work toward achieving a fair collective agreement.

Given the Liberals’ election promises, we expected this government to bring forward a new bargaining mandate. In fact there was little indication of a change in approach.

We will not trade away sick leave

Treasury Board negotiators tabled a proposal similar to that of the previous Conservative government, that would replace our existing sick leave plan. It takes away existing rights and leaves members worse off. The proposed short term disability plan would fall outside of the collective agreement and allow the government to make unilateral changes any time.

We remain open to improvements on sick leave but we will not negotiate concessions or agree to any proposal that forces members to choose between losing pay or going to work sick.

Fair bargaining and Bill C4

We are pleased to see the government move to repeal Bill C59 (division 20), but there is still another unfair labour law on the books. The unconstitutional changes to labour laws governing the collective bargaining process under C4 remain a key issue.

It is a mystery why the government is not repealing this legislation in light of the clear pronouncements made by the Supreme Court in the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour case. We will continue to move forward with our litigation and take all necessary steps to ensure that there is free and fair collective bargaining for the federal public service.

At the bargaining table, PSAC will continue to focus on measures to improve the delivery and quality of public services and make the federal public service an efficient and healthy place to work. This benefits all Canadians.

EB: Our team focused on the issue of class sizes and making sure that our recommendations about the pay study are recognized and followed. For more info: psacunion.ca/eb.
FB: We put forward proposals to protect against the elimination of officer positions due to the introduction of technological change. The team also sought to protect compressed work weeks and prevent management from making unilateral changes to schedules. For more info: psacunion.ca/fb.

PA: We focused on working conditions in contact centres and the need to implement minimum standards in these workplaces. Our team also emphasized the importance of implementing shift scheduling by seniority. For more info: psacunion.ca/pa.
SV: Our ship’s crew subcommittee finalized the proposals that we will bring to the next round of bargaining. For more info:psacunion.ca/sv.

TC: Discussions focused on the need to better protect health and safety and to expand the definition of “family,” to remove discriminatory language. The team discussed hours of work, and the need to provide more allowances that recognize the unique and difficult nature of TC members’ work. For more info: psacunion.ca/tc.

Source: psacunion.com