Do you support paid sick leave for federal government works – and for all workers across Canada? No one should face a choice between going to work sick or losing pay.
Treasury Board has proposed a “Go to work sick” plan that would encourage people to come to work sick, passing the germs onto their co-workers or the public they serve.
The incidents that shook the nation on Wednesday remind us all of what is important – family, friends and loved ones. As union members, we have always recognized these fundamental principles.
Our sincere condolences go out to the family of Corporal Nathan Cirillo.
We are proud of the work of all first responders during this chaotic day, and every day. It reminds all Canadians that the work they do, whether seen or unseen, is to serve and safeguard all Canadians.
In the coming weeks and months, we will work with all our employers to review and enhance workplace safety practices and procedures in order to ensure that members – and members of the public alike – can access the services we provide without fear.
We understand that these events were traumatic for many. We would like to remind you that Employee Assistance Program (EAP) counselling services are available to discuss how the events this week affected you, either in groups or on an individual basis. For more information, please contact your human resources department.
In solidarity,
Doug Marshall
National President
Union of National Employees – PSAC
As we reported earlier this week, the federal court heard our arguments concerning the ability to deal with seniority-based proposals in arbitration. The bargaining team is seeking these provisions for both field interviewers – those who conduct surveys door-to-door – and regional office employees, those who conduct surveys by phone.
Mary Anne Walker, regional vice-president for Ontario and a member of the bargaining team, was able to attend the October 8 hearing.
“The question before the court is: did the arbitrator make a mistake to rule that the two clauses couldn’t be arbitrated,” explained Walker.
Walker was quick to commend Andrew Raven, who represented the SSOs.
“He did an excellent job,” said Walker. “We felt very good afterwards; we felt our presentation was very good.”
The case before the court will undoubtedly set a precedent. But all these judicial hoops we’ve had to jump through to get there have delayed justice for our SSO members; people who are eagerly waiting to be treated fairly in the workplace.
“We can’t thank our members enough for being patient and waiting. It’s not that anyone is trying to not communicate information; things have been at a standstill as we waited for this judicial review.”
The Federal Court will hear the union’s arguments today. The issue centres on seniority, which the employer, Statistical Survey Operations, contends can’t be dealt with in arbitration.
Bargaining has been at an impasse since October 2012.
“We are all frustrated at the time this has taken, and by SSO’s delay tactics, said the bargaining team in a statement released yesterday. “But we are committed to getting our key issues addressed with SSO – including provisions in our collective agreements that respect our years of service and provide better income stability for employees.”
You can find out more about the current SSO issues in this February article.
We will bring you updates on this story as soon as they are made available to us.
A surprisingly chilly fall day wasn’t enough to keep many members from attending an info session on sick leave on Tuesday. The noon-hour session in Gatineau was organized at the grassroots by four UNE Locals and other PSAC, CAPE and PIPSC Locals.
Regional Vice-President Richard Ballance was there to hand out hundreds of surgical masks to those who came to find out more about Harper’s proposed sick leave plan.
“The hospital mask is basically Treasury Board’s plan for sick leave,” said Andrew Gibson, president of 70312. “If you want express your discontent towards that plan, wear that mask, talk to your colleagues.”
Treasury Board announced its desire to wage war on our sick leave just a few weeks ago when it tabled its bargaining proposals. The employer is hoping to claw-back our sick leave from 15 days per year down to five and scrap our ability to accumulate sick leave credits.
“When we prepare for bargaining, we do that in the spirit of improving working conditions,” explained CAPE National President Claude Poirier, who is also a member of the EC bargaining team.
“Unfortunately, Treasury Board came to us with a mandate that is of a political nature.”
Poirier says his bargaining team is prepared to negotiate improvements to the sick leave system; but as it stands, the system works. Despite Tony Clement’s lies, the fact is that public service employees’ sick leave use is in line with their counterparts in the private sector.
The new plan will undoubtedly force employees to come to work sick, increasing the spread of viruses and posing serious health risks to those with weakened immune systems.
“If you are sick for a week – that’s it for the rest of the year. If you get sick again, you’ll go seven days without pay before even getting one cent,” added Poirier.
“We’re open to discussing sick leave provided that it’s something that makes sense. Right now, what we have on the table is something that doesn’t make any sense.”
But the message wasn’t all doom and gloom. Local presidents urged their members to get involved.
“It’s easy to be demoralized about what the government is proposing to do to our sick leave – but we don’t need to despair,” said Ryan Kelly, president of CAPE Local 514.
“What’s required is that rank-and-file employees – that’s you and me – get involved in their locals. While fighting back is possible, it’s going to require a degree of mobilization and membership participation that we haven’t seen in the federal sector in years.”
There are photos of this event on our Flickr photostream.
Earlier this week, our members at the National Arts Centre voted in favour of the tentative agreement put before them.
As we had reported earlier, our members had voted to strike after talks at the bargaining table had broken down over wage increases and job security.
The bargaining team unanimously recommended acceptance of the tentative agreement.
The deal includes wage increases of 1.75% for 2012, 1.5% for 2013, and 2% for 2014. The bargaining team was able to secure improvements on the job security front and better protections for employees facing layoffs.
Once it goes into effect, the collective agreement will expire on December 31, 2014.
Last Sunday, hundreds gathered on Parliament Hill to pay their respect to the men and women of law enforcement who lost their lives during the course of duty.
This year’s ceremony was an occasion to remember the three Mounties who were killed during the June 4 mass shooting in Moncton. The names of a Toronto police constable and a Saskatchewan conservation officer who died in the line of duty were also added to the honour roll this year.
But the memorial also serves as an opportunity to say thanks to the countless police and peace officers who regularly put their lives at risk in the name of public safety.
In our national parks, that responsibility falls on park wardens. During the course of their day, these men and women face dangers ranging from unruly campers to hungry grizzly bears. The most recent fatality involving a park warden happened in 2002, when Michael Wynn’s life was cut short due to an avalanche.
Wynn, aged 37, had worked for Parks Canada for 13 years.
“Our national parks are breathtaking places,” said Eddie Kennedy, national advisor for Parks Canada. “But they come with their share of hazards. Our visitors owe a great debt to the wardens who keep our parks safe.”
Kennedy was in Ottawa last Sunday to represent our union during the ceremony.
Each year, the Union of National Employees and the Parks Canada Enforcement Branch collaborate to send ten park wardens to represent their comrades during the memorial. This year, the participants were Ben Alderman, Lisa Babineau, Courtney Bearinger, Jonathan Jansen, Eric Jensen, Daniel Keenan-Pelletier, Patrick Latreille, Julia Montgomery and Tyler Tilson.
The Union of National Employees wishes to recognize all our brave park wardens for their important public service.
Update: The museum has announced that it will not be ready to reopen until January 2015.
We received news late last week that the Canadian Science and Technology Museum would be closed for an indefinite period because of airborne mould.
“Our first concern was finding out what would happen to our members – ensuring that the employer would respect the collective agreement,” explained National Executive Vice-President Kevin King.
“But so far, we’ve been pleasantly surprised. This employer has been doing a great job at ensuring that our members are being accommodated during this closure. It’s also committed to meeting with the Local every two weeks to keep them in the loop.”
The majority of these members have been relocated to other offices, where they can continue performing work for the museum. Museum guides, who can’t perform their work while the museum is closed, are being kept home with pay.
During a meeting with the Local on Monday, the employer stressed that it does not plan on laying-off anyone during this time.
This latest health and safety hazard has put the spotlight on the museum’s suffering infrastructure. There’s $3.5M worth of maintenance work to be done, including repairing a leaky roof and installing proper heating and ventilation units. There’s also the issue of asbestos that was found in the roof back in October 2013.
The employer told the Local on Monday that they are looking into replacing the roof, which would address both the mould and asbestos.
But that hasn’t stopped politicians from dreaming big. This gem of the national capital region has been housed in an old industrial bakery since 1967 – it was supposed to be a temporary location.
“There’s a real need to have a more modern Science and Tech Museum in the high tech capital of Canada,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson told CFRA. “I’ve always thought that that museum should be down in the downtown core.”
But both the museum and the conservative government say this isn’t bound to happen anytime soon; there’s no money for that kind of project right now, according to John Baird.
In a brilliant op-ed earlier this week, Emma Godmere perfectly captured how magical this museum is for anyone who graced its halls as a kid.
“To anyone else, I was just another suburban Ottawa kid ambling around a museum on a quiet, admission-free evening. But what no one else could see was that I — along with hundreds, even thousands of unsuspecting students before and after me — was discovering a whole new dimension, one that computer screens and elementary school science classes could never quite reach.”
Godmere is one voice among many calling for a better home for this museum.
“That pure, independent, curiosity-driven discovery that the Science and Technology Museum provides for a kid — especially a modern-day, Internet-burdened kid — is priceless.”
In 2008, when Isabelle Beaudoin found out she had been accepted to the PSAC’s Union Development Program, her regional vice-president told her, “you’ll see, you’re going to become a great union leader.”
“That sent shivers down my spine,” recalled Beaudoin.
“I was in my late twenties, eager to take on whatever my thirties brought. I took that same fervent energy that I dedicated to union work and applied it to the UDP.”
Beaudoin had been eager to learn all she could about the union world. By the time she had been accepted into the UDP, she had pretty much attended every other training the PSAC had to offer. What followed, she says, changed her union life forever.
“It was the most complete and most rewarding program. It was like a complete overview, in just three weeks, of what I could expect to confront in my next thirty years of union activism.”
From the very beginning, the very diverse group of participants taking the training alongside her started forming very strong bonds. It’s this sort of experience that the PSAC hopes to build upon with some of the improvements it’s bringing to the program.
For the first time, the program is bringing together members from different regions. There are two English courses; one for the western provinces and the territories, another for the eastern provinces and the NCR. A third course will be made up of francophone participants from Quebec, the NCR and Atlantic provinces.
Ultimately, all three groups will meet in Ottawa for three days of training – a key opportunity to network and brainstorm among kindred spirits.
For Dave Burchell, who took the program in 2009, it’s music to his ears.
“That’s huge because, even though the groups haven’t met each other, each individual group has already made bonds – and now there’ll be a collision of entities comparing notes on what they’ve learned.”
“When I read it, I thought ‘Oh, that’s cool! I like that idea.’”
UDP participants will also get the opportunity to participate in a social justice fair, which will provide them a chance to interact and network with community action groups in their region.
Burchell believes this will encourage a more long-term involvement among our activists. He added that most people would get more involved if they had immediate access to such opportunities.
“Most people don’t have time to figure out the steps required to get involved,” he explained. “Often, that’s where we fall down; we say ‘okay guys, go get ‘em’ and everyone stands around going ‘go get who and we’re ready for what?’”
To further promote networking and learning among participants, the new version of the program will usher in the use of social media and web technologies.
But all these tweaks are just improving on possibly the best program PSAC has to offer. All the staples of the tried-and-true UDP are still there; participants can still expect to learn a great deal about labour history, activism and how government works.
For her part, Isabelle Beaudoin still remembers the research paper she presented on the life of Léa Roback, a Canadian labour activist and feminist.
“She’s considered a pioneering feminist in Quebec,” explained Beaudoin.
“There’s a road in Montreal that bears her name; the only road to cross it is Beaudoin Street.”
“Maybe my ancestors were unionists too,” mused Beaudoin. “There you go. Now I know where the fire in my belly comes from!”
To find out more about UDP, please consult your PSAC region’s website. The deadline for applications is October 3; don’t delay!
We knew this was coming: the government tabled a proposal, last week, that would see our sick leave slashed to just 5 days per year. And forget about banking those (in the unlikely event that you wouldn’t use all of them!).
“Instead of promoting a healthy workplace, the government is once again showing its disdain for its workers and for public services in general,” said PSAC National President Robyn Benson.
Strictly looking at this proposal from a policy perspective, we can see that it oozes of ideology over informed decision-making.
For one, as we keep reiterating, public servants’ use of sick leave is in line with the private sector. The parliamentary budget office recently reported that we use an average of 11.52 sick days per year; our counterparts in the private sector use an average of 11.3 sick days per year.
Paid sick leave is also incredibly important from a public health perspective. For proof, we needn’t look much further than the 2009 H1N1 scare. Xenia Scheil-Adlung and Lydia Sandner, of the World Health Organization, pointed to the following alarming statistics in their 2010 background paper on paid sick leave.
“In 2009, when the economic crisis and the H1N1 pandemic occurred simultaneously, an alarming number of employees without the possibility of taking paid sick leave days attended work while being sick. This allowed H1N1 to spread into the workplace causing infections of some 7 million co-workers in the USA alone. […] Fears of losing one’s job, restructuring, downsizing, and financial worries were identified as reasons for the dangerous and costly presence of the sick at work.”
The same report points out that working while sick leads to reduced productivity: “up to three times higher than loss of productivity due to sickness-related absence”.
A likely outcome of cutting sick days is a high degree of presenteeism: coming to work while sick. Other factors that have been found to lead to presenteeism include heavier workload and concerns about job security related to downsizing and restructuring; situations that are all-too common in this era of public sector job cuts.
At the end of the day, even guilt about missing work contributes to presenteeism. Even when employees have access to paid sick days, 28% of them still show up for work. Without sick days, that number spikes to 48%.
Another study, conducted just last year by University of Pittsburgh researchers, found that the 11.54% of influenza transmission was attributable to the workplace. Presenteeism accounted for 72% of the virus’ spread.
In that study, having access to paid sick days helped decrease the rate of transmission by 5.86% (bear in mind, Americans who have paid sick days don’t have many of them to begin with!). When researchers added an additional day or two, termed “flu days”, more employees stayed home. The rate of transmission decreased by 25.33% in workplaces given one flu day; 39.22% in workplaces given two days.
Over and above providing viruses with a larger breeding ground, presenteeism presents a very real life-and-death risk for individuals who have weakened immune systems, including pregnant women who risk more serious health problems to their unborn baby.
But you don’t need an impaired immune system to suffer the consequences of presenteeism.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the US also found that employees who have access to sick leave are 28% less likely to be injured in the workplace.
“Expanding sick leave programs might help businesses reduce the incidence of nonfatal occupational injuries,” the study concluded.
So, let’s just say that there’s a lot of evidence out there against Harper’s “go-to-work sick plan”. But then again, the Harper government’s never been one to be swayed by “facts” and “science”.
Sick leave is incredibly important. Let’s show our bargaining team some solidarity!