The Education and Library Science (EB) bargaining team focused on expanding a range of leave options and potential flexible work arrangements during talks with Treasury Board September 14-16.
Expanding leave options
The bargaining team proposed several improvements, including:
Enhancing sick leave by increasing the amount of sick leave that can be advanced to members, and limiting when a medical note may be requested while ensuring the employer covers any associated fees.
Expanding leave for family-related responsibilities by increasing the hours provided. This would be applicable to care for any family member, along with care for children whose daycare or schools have closed. The proposal would also remove the cap of 7.5 hours for legal appointments and specify that the leave can be used to visit a terminally ill family member.
Strengthening injury on duty leave by requiring that a certified workers’ compensation authority determines the length of leave rather than individual managers, who do not have the same expertise or impartiality.
Providing leave for medical appointments to those with chronic medical conditions, since these members may struggle to access time off for medical needs and resort to using vacation leave.
Flexible work arrangements
Treasury Board is exploring non-traditional working hours for employees. PSAC welcomes this initiativeand will ensure that any change to hours of work is implemented fairly, made accessible to as many members as possible, and entirely voluntary. Any change must also respect members’ health and safety and right to disconnect.
The EB team returns to the table November 8-10. The common issues table will meet on September 27-29.
Show your support
Meet your bargaining team, learn why they got involved in this round of negotiations and show your support with our bargaining graphics:
Please be sure to keep your contact information up to date with the member portal to receive all the latest updates as we negotiate your next contract.
The Technical Services (TC) bargaining team met with the Treasury Board September 14-16 to continue negotiations.
Only non-monetary issues were discussed this round. The bargaining team is looking to make progress on these important issues before moving into discussions around wages and other monetary changes.
Some issues the bargaining team is prioritizing include:
Maintaining flexibility for hours of work to ensure members have numerous options to do their work. Members have shown resilience and dedication to their work throughout the pandemic and should have maximum flexibility going forward.
Improving health and safety for all members by including clear language ensuring that the employer is obligated to provide personal protective equipment to employees, and that they also provide proper training for workplace health and safety representatives.
Language protecting members who blow the whistle on wrongdoing. The existing whistleblower system does not adequately protect members who report wrongdoing in the workplace. All members should be protected from reprisals in such situations.
Occupational Group Structure (OGS) because getting a fair and modern classification system is at the root of getting members paid fairly for the work that they do. The OGS is the first step of this process.
The bargaining team expects to meet with the employer again in the fall. They are firmly focused on getting a strong and fair deal for all TC members.
Show your support
Member support through this process is critical to our success. Meet your bargaining team and learn why they got involved in this round of negotiations. And show your support with our bargaining graphics:
Earlier this year, PSAC and the employer submitted a joint application to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) to combine the two Statistical Survey Operations (SSO) bargaining units. The FPSLREB approved the application on June 10, 2021, and we are awaiting the official certificate.
The ruling combines the Regional Offices and Field teams into one bargaining unit. The consolidated unit will provide an opportunity to negotiate a better contract for 1,950 SSO members and give us greater strength in numbers.
PSAC met with the employer to continue negotiations for a consolidated collective agreement in May and July. Our next scheduled meeting is August 17-18 and then again in September, though the dates have not yet been confirmed.
Passion and commitment were on the agenda at the Parks Canada Agency’s National Virtual Bargaining Conference, held from May 31 to June 2. Delegates from the Union of National Employees (UNE) and the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE) came out of the conference more united than ever after electing their bargaining team and setting priorities for the new round of talks starting this summer.
Meet the Parks Canada Agency bargaining team:
Nicolas Angers
Alisha Campbell
Angela Decker
Birch Howard
Kassandra McKinnon
Omar Murray
Daniel Toutant
Jaison Van Tine
Alternates
Réginald Bernatchez
André Miller
Denis St-Onge
The bargaining team will be supported by the following PSAC staff:
John Eustace, negotiator
Djimy Theodore, researcher
Parks Canada Agency members proudly work to offer Canadians the best outdoor experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected their work, but they stepped up to guarantee safe access to green spaces across the country. Their essential work in these uncertain times ensured that everyone could keep connecting with Canada’s rich natural and cultural heritage.
At the bargaining conference, members outlined the impact of the pandemic on their work and proposed solutions to improve their working conditions, all of which must be addressed with the agency.
Here is an overview of the key issues discussed at the conference:
Job security
In an agency where seasonal and student jobs are common, achieving job security is a top priority. Under the current system, precarious employment creates a lot of stress and is detrimental to mental health.
PSAC is committed to opposing all forms of precarious employment and ensure that all members have access to indeterminate employment.
Fair wages
We must secure wage increases that reflect the rising cost of living as well as our members’ skills, professionalism and dedication.
Many members have also experienced a widening wage gap compared to their private-sector counterparts. We need wage adjustments that keep up with the wages of those doing similar work both within and outside the federal public service.
Remote work
We believe that provisions governing remote work will be most effective if negotiated into collective agreements.
We must also ensure that remote work is free from remote surveillance and unreasonable performance expectations, that employers cover associated expenses and that concerns relating to accommodations, ergonomics and health and safety are addressed.
Contracting out and privatization
Contracting out and privatization of public services increase costs and risk to taxpayers, reduce the quality of services, erode the internal capacity of the public service, create precarious work, and undermine initiatives that address pay equity and systemic racism.
We must tackle the alarming increase in contracting out of government work, including through temporary staffing agencies.
Work-life balance
We must also expand leave provisions (e.g. 699 leave, family-responsibilities leave and sick leave) to improve work-life balance, which is especially critical for women, caregivers and those with disabilities.
We also need to negotiate flexible work options that allow members to shape their workday to match their personal and family responsibilities.
Violence and harassment
Workplace violence and harassment are a health and safety issue that can have severe physical and psychological consequences for members.
We need to build robust mechanisms to tackle these issues, such as mandatory training and support for members.
Languages rights
Our membership at Parks Canada includes many Indigenous members and several parks are located on traditional Indigenous territories.
In recognition of this, it’s necessary to decolonize our collective agreement. We want the agency to formally recognize Indigenous languages and provide an allowance to members who work in their Indigenous language.
Next steps
Over the next few months, the Parks Canada Agency bargaining team will meet to discuss the bargaining issues prioritized at the National Bargaining Conference and work on a final package of bargaining demands that will be exchanged with the employer.
Make sure to keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive all the latest updates as we prepare to negotiate your next contract.
After months of preparation, bargaining teams for the PA, SV, TC and EB groups are now gearing up for their first meetings with the employer in June. They’ll aim to build on the gains negotiated in the last round of negotiations and put forward proposals that reflect the new realities of our post-pandemic workplaces.
This spring, Treasury Board members took part in the first virtual PSAC National Bargaining Conference, where they reviewed and prioritized the bargaining proposals submitted by PSAC members from across the country, and elected their bargaining teams.
At the common issues table, the bargaining team will negotiate proposals that encompass the needs of all federal public service workers employed by Treasury Board, while teams at each table will negotiate improvements specific to their membership.
Bargaining dates:
Common issues: June 14-15
SV group: June 16-17
TC group: June 16-17
PA group: June 22-23
EB group: June 22-23
To support your elected bargaining team members, we encourage you to download and use your team’s virtual background for all your work meetings and swap out your social media profile picture during National Public Service Week, June 13–19.
Over the next few months, we’ll launch some exciting new engagement tools to help you build support for your team. We are also organizing opportunities for members to learn more about the bargaining process and how to engage with colleagues virtually.
Your commitment to Canadians throughout the pandemic has been invaluable, and we’ll continue to fight for a contract that reflects that. Make sure to keep your contact information up to date to receive all the latest updates and stay connected with your PSAC regional office as we prepare to negotiate your next contract.
PSAC members from the PA, SV, EB and TC groups came together for the first-ever virtual National Bargaining Conference April 26-29 to discuss the bargaining issues that will drive the next round of Treasury Board (TB) bargaining.
The pandemic has had a profound impact on the way we live and work, exposed glaring inequalities for marginalized workers and raised other major issues that we need to address through collective bargaining.
Over the last few months, we’ve asked Treasury Board members to send us their feedback about how the pandemic has impacted them and put forward their proposals to help reshape the federal public service in the wake of COVID-19.
At the conference, delegates prioritized their proposals for the next round of bargaining that kicks off this summer and elected their respective bargaining teams.
Key bargaining issues discussed at the conference include:
Remote work
We believe that provisions governing remote work will be most effective when they are negotiated into collective agreements. We must also ensure that remote work is free from remote surveillance and unreasonable performance expectations, that employers cover associated expenses, and that concerns relating to accommodations, ergonomics and health and safety are addressed.
Technological changes
New and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence are poised to play a bigger role in supporting government decision-making and the delivery of public services. We must be properly notified and consulted on these changes, and ensure that any impacts on members are addressed.
Fair wages
In every round of bargaining it is imperative that we maintain our hard-fought gains – and that includes making sure that we secure increased wages that reflect the rising cost of living, and our members’ hard work and dedication.
Many PSAC members are also experiencing a widening wage gap compared to their private-sector counterparts. To continue attracting strong candidates for public service jobs, we must negotiate compensation in line with that of workers in similar occupations in industry.
Contracting out and privatization
Contracting out and privatization of public services increases costs and risk to taxpayers, reduces quality of services, erodes the internal capacity of the public service, creates precarious work, and undermines initiatives that address pay equity and systemic racism.
We must tackle the alarming increase in contracting out of government work, including through temporary staffing agencies.
Work-life balance
With the shift to remote work, we must secure the right of members to disconnect from electronic work devices outside of working hours. We must also expand leave provisions (e.g. 699 leave, family-responsibilities leave, sick leave) to improve work-life balance, which is especially critical for women, caregivers and those with disabilities.
We also need to negotiate flexible work options that allow members to shape their workday to match their personal and family responsibilities.
Classification and gender pay gaps
The outdated classification system used in the public service continues to be completely unresponsive to the work done by many PSAC members. It doesn’t meet the needs of this century’s workplaces and discriminates against work categories dominated by women. We must close the gender pay gap and move towards a gender-neutral classification system that properly measures the work that members do and fully complies with pay equity laws in Canada.
Systemic racism in the workplace
Systemic racism continues to prevent the public service from reaching its full potential. We must actively address the barriers and discrimination faced by racialized and Indigenous workers and ensure that all our members’ workplaces not only reject racism, but actively work to dismantle the structures that sustain it.
We also plan to call on the federal government to provide education to public service workers on the history of Indigenous peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Indigenous rights, Indigenous law, and Indigenous–Crown relations.
Job security
The current period of economic uncertainty emphasizes the need for a fairer workforce adjustment (WFA) process in case of layoffs. The current WFA process threatens more employees with potential displacement than is necessary and forces workers to re-interview for their own jobs, resulting in serious stress and other mental health impacts on affected members.
We must oppose all forms of precarious employment and ensure that all members have timely access to indeterminate employment.
Next steps
Over the next few months, the elected bargaining teams for the PA, SV, EB and TC groups will meet and discuss the bargaining issues prioritized at the National Bargaining Conference and will work on a final package of bargaining demands that will be exchanged with the employer over the summer.
Make sure to keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive all the latest updates as we prepare to negotiate your next contract.
The Parks Canada Agency has announced the payment schedule for the implementation of monetary provisions in the recently signed collective agreement.
Signature
Economic increase and adjustments paycheque date
Retro paycheque
$500 lump sum paycheque
Parks Canada Workers
January 14, 2021
April 14, 2021
May 12, 2021
May 26, 2021
This schedule is tentative, and Parks Canada may still make changes. Note that Phoenix damages payments were made on March 3.
Please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to continue receiving information about the implementation of collective agreements and the Phoenix settlement.
Help us prepare for the next round of bargaining
PSAC is getting ready to negotiate your next collective agreement with Parks Canada. This next round of talks will be all about the future of work in the federal public service and you can help decide what your union bargaining team brings to the table by completing our member survey.
Please take 15 minutes to fill out the Parks Canada survey to make sure we address your workplace concerns at the table. Your input is essential. We need to hear directly from you about what has changed over the last year. And we need to know more about you so that we can make the case for a contract that equitably addresses our members’ diverse needs. The survey will be open until April 9, 2021.
The pandemic has radically changed the way many PSAC members work. We have experienced the challenges of working remotely from home or having to work onsite with new protection measures; the impact of technological changes; the effect of an uncertain economy on job security; and the major inequalities that remain for women, racialized workers, and many other marginalized groups. These are some of the key issues that can be addressed in the next round of bargaining that begins this summer.
This next round of talks will be all about the future of work in the federal public service and you can help decide what your union bargaining team brings to the table by completing our member surveys.
Take 15 minutes to fill out our Parks Canada survey or CFIA survey to make sure we address your workplace concerns at the table. Your input is essential. We need to hear directly from you about what has changed over the last year. And we need to know more about you so that we can make the case for a contract that equitably addresses our members’ diverse needs.
Your participation in the Parks Canada survey or CFIA survey and the broader bargaining process is key to our success in the next round of talks.
Your component union and PSAC will review your proposals and they, along with the survey’s results, will be discussed at a bargaining conference of member delegates from across the country who will decide the bargaining priorities.
The current collective agreements expire on the following dates:
Parks: August 4, 2021 CFIA: December 31, 2021
Please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive more updates as we prepare to negotiate your next contract.
PSAC’s Statistical Survey Operations bargaining team will be holding online bargaining information sessions across the country to bring members up to speed on the issues at the table.
Negotiations between PSAC (Regional Offices and Field Units at SSO) and the employer kicked off in early December, with bargaining continuing January 27-28. New dates have also been set for the first week of March.
Negotiations were delayed in part due to the pandemic and the lengthy hiring process of a new employer negotiator.
During the information sessions, SSO members will have the opportunity to discuss the bargaining proposals put forward by both PSAC and the employer.
PSAC’s core bargaining demands include:
Better job security, hours of work and schedules;
Improved maternity and parental leave benefits;
Greater protections against harassment and abuse of authority;
10 paid days of domestic violence leave;
Improved shift premiums for evenings and weekend;
Leave improvements for sick leave, family leave, vacation leave and compassionate care and caregiving leave.
Discussions continue on these and other proposals as the negotiation process gets underway.
PSAC national negotiator Hassan Husseini is working with bargaining team members across Canada to organize the online bargaining information sessions over the next few weeks. Please stay tuned for announcements from your local about upcoming meetings in your region.
We encourage you to make every effort to attend and stay informed about the issues at stake.
The pandemic has radically changed the way many PSAC members work. We have experienced the challenges of working remotely from home; the impact of technological changes; the effect of an uncertain economy on job security; and the major inequalities that remain for women, racialized workers, and many other marginalized groups. These are some of the key issues that can be addressed in the next round of bargaining that begins this summer.
This next round of talks will be all about the future of work in the federal public service and you can help decide what your union bargaining team brings to the table.
Take 15 minutes to fill out our survey to make sure we address your workplace concerns at the table. Your input is essential. We need to hear directly from you about what has changed over the last year. And we need to know more about you so that we can make the case for a contract that equitably addresses our members’ diverse needs.
Your participation in this survey and the broader bargaining process is key to our success in the next round of talks.
We are also still accepting your specific proposals for improving your next contract until January 31. Your component union and PSAC will review your proposals and they, along with the survey’s results, will be discussed at a bargaining conference of member delegates from across the country who will decide the bargaining priorities.
The current collective agreements expire on the following dates:
PA: June 20, 2021 TC: June 21, 2021 SV: August 4, 2021 EB: June 30, 2021
Please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive more updates as we prepare to negotiate your next contract.
