Greg McNamara – Page 28

2016/09/022016/09/07

Hot Springs to Remain an Affordable National Treasure for All Canadians

Parks Canada has officially announced that it will no longer consider privatizing the operations of three of its most iconic attractions: The hot springs in areas around present town sites Banff, Jasper and Radium.

Parks employees and their union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Union of National Employees, campaigned and conducted town hall meetings in Jasper and Radium to bring awareness to both the public and the local business communities. Plans to continue those conversations – and expand them to Banff – were in the works prior to the announcement on September 2^nd by the federal minister responsible for Parks Canada, Catherine McKenna.

”After years of campaigning, this is a huge victory for the union, its members and the public,” said UNE National Vice-President Kevin King. “This government has made a very meaningful decision and should be commended for listening to the requests of the workers and the people who visit these very special attractions.”

Eddie Kennedy, National Advisor on Parks Canada, is also proud to share this great news with everyone:

“This decision was in no small part influenced by the countless union members who met with elected officials, the general public and with parks management in explaining why these iconic locations are better served by staying under the umbrella of Canada’s national parks network , within Parks Canada.”

More than 300,000 visitors soak up the heat from these pools each year. The cost is very affordable – less than $10 – to visit the springs. The threat of privatization meant that prices could have soared, leaving many Canadians unable to afford what has become a landmark destination.

This victory to end a third-party commercialization attempt was made possible by a team of dedicated workers and endless lobbying, most notably Eddie Kennedy, Jurgen Deagle, Jaison Van Tine and Michael Power, with support from UNE and the PSAC Prairies Region.

We only know of these places because of First Nations peoples. The Stoney Nakota, the Ktunaxa Kinbasket, the Shuswap Nations and the Mountain Metis were the original inhabitants of Banff, Radium and Jasper, prior to railroad construction and tourism.

These special places belong to the people of Canada and should be enjoyed by ongoing generations of all peoples, from Canada or elsewhere.

2016/09/01

Update: Employer Challenges PSAC and UNE Salary Protection Grievance Win

A long-awaited decision was handed down by the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board (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 now have confirmation that the employer has filed a judicial review of the decision before federal court. This is not an appeal, but rather the employer must prove that the PSLREB decision was unreasonable.

The PSAC will be fighting the judicial review and has retained the same legal counsel used to present the grievance. This win was especially important for defending the larger principle of salary protection for employees forced to change employer as a result of government restructuring.

In the meantime, the decision of the adjudicator stands, despite the review application. The PSAC will be working with UNE to ensure that affected members get answers to any questions they may have about the decision, the judicial review application and the implementation of salary protection.

The PSLREB decision gave affected employees entitlement to full salary protection under the PSAC and Treasury Board collective agreements effective from the date of transfer.

2016/09/01

UNE Welcomes New Members from Rouge National Urban Park

The Union of National Employees is proud to welcome members from the newly created Local 00420 at Rouge National Urban Park in the Greater Toronto Area (Scarborough). The park is Canada’s first urban national park, officially created in May 2015.

Mary Anne Walker, regional vice-president for the Ontario region, recently chaired the local’s first annual general meeting in December.

“This is a unique attraction,” commented Walker. “Visitors don’t have to travel to the park; the park experience has been brought to the city. In addition to common Parks Canada practices such as ecosystem restoration and preservation, there are guided walks, species and ecosystem preservation, educational and special events – all nestled within the city.”

For more information, visit the website at http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/on/rouge/index.aspx and be sure to check out their twitter page for some truly stunning photos.

Twitter @RougePark – http://twitter.com/rougepark

2016/09/012016/09/02

Phoenix taking its toll on workers at Miramichi pay centre

The Phoenix pay system debacle is being felt by public service workers across Canada, but nowhere more intensely than in the eye of the storm—the Miramichi pay centre.

That’s the message PSAC President Robyn Benson and Donna Lackie, President of the Government Services Union component, gave Minister Judy Foote at their August 19, meeting.

“Workers there, who are working long hours struggling to deliver pay, are carrying the weight of the entire public service on their shoulders,” says Lackie.

Pay centre workers tell their stories at a union town hall meeting

Members spoke about poor working conditions, lack of support resources, and problems with failing technology at a recent town hall meeting with Benson and Lackie. Compensation advisors are frustrated that they do not have the help they need to get all of the work done, while feeling a lot of stress because of the heavy workload and pressure to deal with more cases than they can handle.

“It’s heartbreaking to see someone at their wit’s end when they can’t do their job,” one worker said. “We used to be able to do our job and be confident in it and efficient.”

Another worker spoke about seeing “people crying at their desks, people calling in sick, and people crying in the bathrooms” because of the stress.

“You have a group of members that are working so hard to ensure that everybody gets paid and gets paid properly but they’re faced with a system that isn’t capable of doing it all,” said Benson.

The union is bringing the concerns voiced by the Miramichi workers directly to Deputy Minister Marie Lemay.

“Morale in Miramichi is at its absolute lowest,” said Lackie.

The union has asked the government to bring in mental health experts on site at the pay centre.

Miramichi workers’ messages to affected public service workers

Compensation advisors in Miramichi also had messages to share with other public service employees.

“Remember, the people that work at the pay centre are employees too. We also experience pay problems,” said one worker.

“Hang in there,” said another, “We are working as hard as we can. We are trying our best.”

PSAC tells Parliamentary committee about pay centre conditions

On July 28, Lackie testified before the House of Commons Committee on Government Operations and Estimates about the working conditions at the pay centre.

Most of the compensation advisors are recent hires and new to government.
Public service pay is complicated, involving 27 collective agreements and tens of thousands of rules.
Compensation staff were not given consistent or adequate training before the system went live.
Before Phoenix was rolled out, PSAC warned the department of problems and repeatedly asked that the project be slowed down.
When the system was rolled out, staff could not keep up with the files coming in while trying to fix the huge number of errors.
Throughout the training and testing, the compensation advisors could not rely on the technology, and had nowhere to go for answers to their questions.
However, the advisors have been very resourceful and creative, devising “work arounds” and sharing solutions to problems among their co-workers.
The union gets calls on a daily basis from “broken compensation advisors” who fear losing their jobs.
The workers are proud to work for the Government of Canada, but the pressure is becoming intolerable.

2016/08/302016/09/01

UPDATE: OLG arbitration hearing will be rescheduled for Sept. 13

OLGPostponedUpdate

Unfortunately, the arbitration hearing scheduled for August 29 to hear the outstanding contract issues for Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation workers at Rideau Carleton Raceway in Ottawa will have to be rescheduled as the arbitrator was called away at the last minute.

The hearing has been rescheduled for Sept. 13, 2016.

On August 28, the arbitrator advised he was unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances. He apologized to PSAC, acknowledging the issues are very important and members have already waited a long time for this hearing.

At the end of May, the union and the employer agreed to binding arbitration to resolve contract issues still in dispute after OLG locked out our members.

2016/07/222016/09/01

Huge Victory for members of UNE and PSAC

The Union of National Employees and PSAC are proud to announce a great victory for members who transferred to the Department of Canadian Heritage from the National Capital Commission (NCC) in September 2013. A long-awaited decision was handed down by the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board (PSLREB) on July 4, 2016 which upheld the right to salary protection for the transferred workers.

The policy grievance, filed by the PSAC on December 12, 2013, involved 44 members who were transferred by government order and then told they would be paid under the Treasury Board’s classification system, meaning that they would see their salaries reduced by up to $12,000 per year. PSAC successfully argued before the PSLREB that the employees had been reclassified and therefore should be covered under the salary protection clauses. The PSLREB decision means that all of the affected employees will be entitled to full salary protection under the PSAC and Treasury Board collective agreements effective from the date of transfer.

“This is a significant win for our members and sets an important precedent for all government employees who will be transferred in the future. We fought the employer’s decision to reduce our members’ salaries and the PSLREB ruled that the employer had violated the collective agreement,” said Doug Marshall, UNE National President.

After UNE’s informal requests for consultation were ignored, PSAC wrote in May 2013 to both Canadian Heritage and the National Capital Commission to create a joint committee. The purpose of the committee was to ensure members’ rights were protected under the collective agreements and to institute a transfer process that was transparent to them. Both Heritage and NCC, however, continued their refusal to consult. Instead of consultation, in November 2013, after the transfer took place, the employer proposed a Memorandum of Agreement, which we rejected because it still denied salary protection.

Shortly after the transfer took place, the UNE filed 87 grievances dealing with job content and classification. When the grievances were being presented to Heritage, they were denied, regardless of members being classified downward or their pay reduced.

As with any decision involving retroactive salary increases, members should expect that it will take some time before the proper amount of retroactive pay is calculated and the new salary rates are implemented. PSAC, UNE and Local leadership will work with Treasury Board to discuss implementation of the decision by the end of the summer.

Also affected by the decision were PSAC members who were transferred from the Canada Revenue Agency to Shared Services Canada.

2016/07/132016/09/01

Join the World Social Forum in August

Another world is needed: Together it is possible!

The World Social Forum (WSF) is a gathering of civil society, including workers and trade unions to find collective solutions to common problems. The first WSF took place in 2001 in Puerto Alegre, Brazil. This year, the WSF will take place in Montreal from August 9-14, 2016. The theme is “Another world is needed: together it is possible”.

This is the first time that the World Social Forum takes place in North America. Thousands are expected to attend the 1,200 workshops offered on Université du Québec (UQAM), McGill, and CÉGEP du Vieux-Montréal campuses and outdoor sites.

Activities

On August 9, the WSF will open with a massive march leaving Parc Lafontaine at 5:30 pm, followed by an opening ceremony in downtown Montreal.

Throughout the rest of the week, there will be:

workshop discussions,
round tables,
conferences,
debates on controversial topics,
artistic performances,
cultural activities, and
convergence assemblies.

PSAC members are invited to join this important event. If you can’t attend, follow us on social media during the event for updates (#WSF2016).

PSAC is sponsoring some members to attend. For information on being sponsored to attend, contact your regional office.

For more information, check out the World Social Forum website.

2016/07/122016/09/01

Are you using your employer’s email system for union business?

As elected officers of the union, your communication with the union and with the members you represent is important and confidential. The first thing you should do – if you have not already – is secure a personal email for all union correspondence.

“But I mostly deal with members at work, so why can’t I just use my work email?”

While it may appear convenient, the email system at your work belongs to the employer. Under some circumstances, that means they can access your emails – even union-related – which can result in an embarrassing situation if confidentiality between you and your members is compromised.

There is also a greater chance for error. You could type someone’s name and press send to someone with the same name as a fellow member but accidentally send the email to management. Your contact list at work is different from your personal contact list.

A personal email address protects you and anyone with whom you discuss union business.

There are many providers of free email access and most sites that host them are not blocked by your employer’s network. If you have questions about where to sign up, please feel free to contact us at communications@une-sen.org. We’re here to help keep your union communications confidential.

2016/07/11

Regional Seminar – Manitoba & Saskatchewan

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, September 30, 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:

One delegate should be the local president or designate.
The second delegate should be a member who has not previously attended a UNE conference or seminar.
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, August 19, 2016. Unfortunately, we cannot consider late registrations.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE

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

In solidarity,

Your regional teams:

Manitoba

Chris Little-Gagné, Regional Vice-President, Manitoba
Martin Kaminski, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Manitoba
Melody Raabe, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Manitoba
Jacqueline Nanali, Regional Representative for Human Rights, Manitoba

Saskatchewan

Omar Murray, Regional Vice-President, Saskatchewan
Gloria Pfeifer, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Saskatchewan
Janette Husak, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Saskatchewan
Sandra Ahenakew, Regional Representative for Human Rights, Saskatchewan

2016/07/062016/07/22

Quebec Regional Seminar

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

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, September 16, 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:

One delegate should be the local president or designate.
The second delegate should be a member who has not previously attended a UNE conference or seminar.
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, August 12, 2016. Unfortunately, we cannot consider late registrations.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE

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

In solidarity,

Your regional team:

Yvon Beaudoin, Regional Vice-President, Québec
Yann Boudreau, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Québec
Géraldine Fortin, Assistant Regional Vice-President, Québec
Keith Lemoine, Regional Representative for Human Rights, Québec