{"id":4785,"date":"2015-03-12T17:52:17","date_gmt":"2015-03-12T22:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.une-sen.org\/press\/?p=4785"},"modified":"2015-03-12T17:52:17","modified_gmt":"2015-03-12T22:52:17","slug":"i-cant-afford-to-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/?p=4785","title":{"rendered":"“I can’t afford to strike”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cantaffordtostrike\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Richard Ballance<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Here we are, in the midst of negotiations with an employer that is hell-bent on saving money on the backs of workers. The talks are moving slowly \u2013 and many members are curious about possible job action. We\u2019ve all heard it: members who declare, \u201cI can\u2019t afford to go on strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, we\u2019re a long way from strike action. Negotiations continue, albeit slowly. All parties are at the table. Before we are in a position to strike, there are several things that have to happen.<\/p>\n

First of all, a legal strike cannot take place without an essential services agreement, which outlines all positions that are designated essential. Bill C-4 gives the government control over essential services (although this is likely unconstitutional) and Bill C-31 has revoked all existing essential service agreements. The government must revisit and identify amendments to essential service agreements before we will be anywhere near a strike position.<\/p>\n

Second, a legal strike can only take place once members of the bargaining unit have voted to initiate strike action. A strike vote can only happen if the PSAC national president authorizes the vote. Based on the results of the vote, the PSAC national president then has the authority to call for strike action. Members only walk the picket line if they have democratically voted to go on strike, and the PSAC national president calls for a walk-out.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re far from that point for the time being. There won\u2019t be a vote held unless negotiations reach an impasse.<\/p>\n

Is it true that our members cannot afford to strike? During job action, our members will not be paid by the employer. We all have obligations such as mortgages, car payments, tuition fees for our children\u2019s education, monthly bills (and more bills\u2026, heat, hydro, internet, telephone, etc.). Many members will struggle with keeping up with payments if they lose a week or two of pay. Any longer, and most members will have challenges.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d suggest that, in fact, with the current negotiations, we can\u2019t afford to not<\/span><\/b> strike. We stand to lose a whole lot more than a couple of weeks of pay.<\/p>\n

One of the \u201cfeatures\u201d of the \u201cshort-term disability\u201d (STD) plan that our employer wants to impose on public servants is a seven-day unpaid waiting period before anyone qualifies for benefits. Think about it\u2026. If you are ill and you have used up your six days of sick leave, any further period of illness is unpaid for up to five working days, before you qualify for \u201cSTD\u201d.<\/p>\n

And often the devil is in the details. What if you fall ill again at a later date? Will you automatically qualify for \u201cSTD\u201d or will you have another waiting period? Having had some experience with the insurance industry, I suspect the latter.<\/p>\n

Just when you need a paycheque, you may not get one. To make matters worse, you\u2019ll have to deal with a for-profit organization like SunLife trying to pay you the least benefit possible.<\/p>\n

Can I afford to strike? Not really. However, given what our employer is offering, we stand to lose even more over time. We can\u2019t afford not<\/span><\/b> to strike.<\/p>\n

No one wants to get stuck with an STD, especially from this employer.<\/p>\n

Richard Ballance is the regional vice-president for Treasury Board members in the National Capital Region.<\/em> This article was written as part of our union\u2019s\u00a0<\/i>member journalism<\/i><\/a>\u00a0<\/i>program. If you\u2019d like to find out more, <\/i>click here<\/i><\/a>\u00a0<\/i>\u2013 to pitch a story or for any questions, please send an email to <\/i>communications@une-sen.org<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Richard Ballance Here we are, in the midst of negotiations with an employer that is hell-bent on saving money on the backs of workers. The talks are moving slowly \u2013 and many members are curious about possible job action. We\u2019ve all heard it: members who declare, \u201cI can\u2019t afford to go on strike.\u201d Currently, … <\/p>\n

>> ““I can’t afford to strike””<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9,12,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4785"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4785"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4788,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4785\/revisions\/4788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}