RALLY
Parliament Hill, Ottawa
December 4, 2017
12-1 PM
MP Romeo Saganash tabled Bill C-262 to ensure that the laws of Canada respect the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A second reading in the House of Commons is scheduled for December 5, 2017.
With your voice and collaboration, Canada will honour Indigenous human rights and pass Bill C-262.
For more information, visit www.adoptandimplement.com.
#UNDRIP #TRC #RECONCILIATION #WaterIsLife
Please remember that all Public Service Alliance of Canada Life Membership and Public Service Alliance of Canada Award of Merit applications must be submitted to the PSAC no later than November 30.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada Life Membership award is the the highest recognition that can be given to a member for outstanding service to the members of the PSAC.
Nominations may be made by the National Executive of this component or by the PSAC’s National Board of Directors. Please complete the application form and enclose a complete service history of the individual. Please pay careful attention when completing the work history, union activities and include dates on the application form. The eligibility criteria and application form can be found on the PSAC website at http://psacunion.ca/eform/submit/life-member-nomination-form
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
In solidarity,
Kevin A. King
National President
Union of National Employees, PSAC
Our bargaining team met with SSO during the week of May 1. The team started the week in caucus, where we had planned to review SSO’s proposals, but unfortunately the documents provided by our employer contained many errors and lacked clarity. This made it impossible for us to do our work of analyzing their proposals.
Tuesday, we were pleased to meet all members of the employer’s bargaining team. We communicated the problems with their proposals and the lack of professionalism this demonstrated. In response they requested the rest of the day to review their proposals, but first, SSO’s Director General Geoff Bowlby presented us with an overview of SSO operations.
The rest of the week, we heard from our employer about the changes proposed during this round of negotiations. The union is concerned about some of these proposals. SSO wants to restrict union leave and the participation of union representatives in solving problems in the workplace. SSO has proposed eliminating the requirement for management to provide operational justification when denying leave requests, a right we won in the last arbitration. There are also proposals to limit protections against harassment and discrimination, maternity-related job modification and leave, bereavement leave and family related leave. We have been clear with the employer that we will not negotiate concessions. We are at the table to negotiate improvements for our members.
We need to tell you we encountered a serious underlying problem in meetings with our employer this week. During the last round of bargaining, our arbitral awards clearly stated that SSO employees are federal public servants, but throughout the week our employer repeatedly said that it does not acknowledge our status as public servants. The employer uses this argument to deny us working conditions comparable to other public servants, including those we work alongside at Statistics Canada.
Your local representatives will be contacting you soon about participating in our union’s activities to make it clear to SSO that we will not stand for this.
Source: http://psacunion.ca/
After pressure from PSAC, the government agreed to compensate federal public service employees, with tax problems caused by the Phoenix pay system, for up to $200 per year of tax advisory services.
The claim and release form is strictly restricted to tax advisory services for the tax years 2016 and 2017.
Where an employee has tax filing expenses related to Phoenix which have a total cost equal to, or less than, $200 per year, this claim process is the best way to claim these expenses. There need be no concern about signing the release.
Where an employee has tax filing expenses related to Phoenix which have a total cost greater than $200 in either tax year, signing the release will prevent them from seeking further reimbursement for those tax advisory services through any other means. This includes a grievance or the Phoenix general claims process.
PSAC is advising its Members with tax filing expenses related to Phoenix having a total cost greater than $200 in either tax year that they may wish to use the general claims process instead, in order to demonstrate that those expenses were justified and necessary because of Phoenix.
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.
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
Following the recent ratification of new agreements by the PA, SV, TC and EB Treasury Board groups, the following steps will be taken:
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.
The employer has 150 days from the date of signing to adjust rates of pay and issue retroactive pay.
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.
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.
The employer has 150 days from the date of signing to implement the provisions of the new collective agreement.
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.
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.”
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:
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.
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.
Click here to email your manager
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.