Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The surprising thing about Grace-Edward Galabuzi, author of a new book entitled Canada’s Economic Apartheid: The Social Exclusion of Racialized Groups in the New Century, is that he is a gentle, scholarly man.

He uses facts, not polemics, to make his case. He acknowledges that Canada has been good to him since he fled Uganda at gunpoint in 1982. There is nothing angry or strident about him.

But passion is not measured in decibels. And Galabuzi is nothing if not passionate about resisting the formation of a non-white underclass in his adopted home.

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As per the AEC decision with respect to the Steering and Resolutions Committees for the 2007 National Health and Safety Conference, this serves as the call for proposed names to sit on the above-mentioned committees.

Members interested in participating on these National H&S Conference committees should forward their application c/o the REVP BC Office, #302-5238 Joyce Street, Vancouver, V5R 6C9. Fax 604 430 0194.

The deadline for receipt by that office is May 11, 2006.

Striking PSAC members who work at BHP Billiton Ekati Diamond Mine are holding strong as the strike approaches its fourth week. Daily information updates are being circulated to the picket lines at Yellowknife , Rae-Edzo, Fort Smith , Hay River and Edmonton , keeping everyone up-to-date and informed.

Members who live across the land in isolated locations are finding creative ways to support the strike – some are doing community services, for example. Community events across the North have been well attended: barbeques, information pickets and entertainment. Support remains strong.

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While the Canadian flag on Parliament Hill flies at half-mast on April 28, workers observe a moment of silence in remembrance of those workers killed or seriously injured on the job.

The National Day of Mourning was officially recognized by the federal government in 1991, eight years after it was launched by the labour movement in Canada. The Day of Mourning has since spread to over 80 countries around the world. Here is a list of Day of Mourning events in BC (pdf).

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Eliminating separate assistance program reduces Ottawa’s payment to most needy

OTTAWA — Low- and middle-income families will realize the smallest net benefit from the Harper government’s $1,200-a-year child-care payment in part because the Conservatives are scrapping a separate assistance program.

The Conservative plan for meeting the country’s child-care needs is to give families a direct payment of $100 a month, $1,200 annually, for every child under 6. The specifics of how that plan will be unveiled are expected to be in next Tuesday’s budget.

But the young-child supplement of the Canada Child Tax Benefit, which currently pays $20.25 a month to parents who do not claim child-care expenses for their preschool-age children, will be eliminated at the same time. The benefit is due to increase in July to $249 annually.

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Georgetti says it’s time to enforce the rules and protect workers’ health and safety

OTTAWA – On Friday, flags will be lowered and working people across the country will take a few moments to remember their friends, family and colleagues who have died from workplace injuries. For the past 22 years, April 28 has been recognized as a National Day of Mourning to both reflect and focus on making Canada’s workplaces healthier and safer.

“People go to work so they can build a better life for themselves and their families. Nothing is more important for a worker, especially a young worker, than having the confidence that their workplace is safe and they are protected from harm,” says Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, marking the day with workers at a ceremony in Kamloops, British Columbia.

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OTTAWA - After six years as the PSAC’s national president, Nycole Turmel will be stepping down and making way for a new leader of the 155,000-strong union. Elections for the new national president and national executive vice-president will be held on Friday, May 5, 2006, starting at 8:30 a.m.

The PSAC Convention officially begins on Monday, May 1, in Toronto, but there will be a pre-convention forum on political action and social justice on the previous day.

The Sunday Forum

• What: Political Action and Social Justice Forum
• Who

• Moderator: Hassan Yussuff, Canadian Labour Congress Secretary-Treasurer
• Panelists: Olivia Chow, NDP Member of Parliament; Carole Lavallée, Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament; Alex Munter, Ottawa Mayoralty Candidate; Jim Sinclair, British Columbia Federation of Labour President

By 2050, aboriginals will comprise half of Sask. population

Aboriginals will comprise 50 per cent of Saskatchewan people by 2050, and they will “catch up” to the rest of the population in education and earning potential this century, a University of Saskatchewan professor says.

In a paper, as yet unpublished, exploring the future of the province’s aboriginal people, economics Prof. Eric Howe says early 20th century Eastern European immigrants overcame discrimination, poverty and a lack of education, and aboriginals will too.

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Last year 188 workers died due to job-related injury or disease, the highest level in 25 years, and a 40 percent increase from the previous year. This included 43 forestry workers, 39 workers in the construction sector and 11 young workers.Sadly, despite our warnings, this is a clear indictment of the BC Liberals’ agenda of cuts and deregulation. Workplace inspections by WCB have fallen by 44 percent since 2001, and the resulting value of penalties has dropped by 57 percent.

This week the B.C. Federation of Labour has been lobbying MLAs about the immediate need to restore protections of workers’ health and safety, and the need to restore dignity to compensation and benefits for injured workers and their families.

This Friday, April 28th, is the annual Day of Mourning where we will join together to “fight for the living and mourn for the dead.”

We are encouraging all of you to participate in various events throughout your community. Here is a list of Day of Mourning events in BC (pdf).

Your presence will send an important message to politicians and employers that we won’t stop fighting until workers’ health and safety is fully protected.

via BC Federation of Labour

By Bill Tieleman

The voice of the dead was a living voice to me. - Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1847

The voices of 188 dead workers speak loudly from beyond the grave.

That grim number marks the total of workplace fatalities and accepted work-related death claims in B.C. in 2005.

It is a totally unacceptable number, a shameful number, a number that should be intolerable to us all.

Behind that number lies 188 different tragedies, 188 families where someone went to work and never came home again, 188 unsafe workplaces.

And 11 of those 188 were young people, aged 17 to 24 years old.

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OTTAWA – “With two-thirds of mothers with children under the age of three working outside the home to support their families; with three quarters of mothers with children between three and five working outside the home and with more than half of all Canadian children in some form of child care, governments across the country, federal and provincial, have a duty to make sure our children enjoy high-quality and safe child care,” says Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.

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Northwest B.C. Area Council April 22, 2006 Meeting in Prince Rupert

Attendance:

• Barry Cunningham (UCTE)
• Sean McGovern (CEUDA)
• Phyllis Bortignon (USGE Local 20071)
• Benilde Gomes (USGE Local 20071)
• Mike Ballard (UEW) - regrets

Call to order: Benilde called meeting to order at 7:32 p.m.

Minutes of January 26, 2006 meeting: Barry motioned to accept the minutes of the previous meeting.
Sean seconded the motion.

Download the Northwest Area Council meeting minutes, April 22 2006 (pdf) or continue reading below.

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The annual CALM Conference, where union members gather to learn more about union communications, will be held from May 12 to 14 at the Red River College in Winnipeg. If you want to create a Local newsletter or website, or to learn how to improve communicating with your members, this conference is for you.

PSAC Locals can attend the conference even if they are not member of CALM. If you register before April 25, registration fees are $320 per person ($295 for members). You can choose up to four different workshops at the conference.

Visit www.calm.ca for more details on the conference. Register now for a great opportunity to meet union members who want to improve their communication skills.

Pierre Lebel, PSAC Communications Officer, CALM President

On April 28th nearly 100 countries worldwide will stop to pay tribute to workers killed and injured on the job. We in the labour movement will stop to publicly renew our commitment to “fight for the living” as well as “mourn for the dead”.

In 1984 the Canadian Labour Congress Executive Council declared April 28th the annual National Day of Mourning. Since then unions, central labour bodies, Labour Councils, and governments around the world have adopted the National Day of Mourning as a day to remember workers who have been killed or injured on the job. In 1991 the Canadian Parliament passed Bill C-223, an (Act Respecting a Day of Mourning.) In 1992 the BC NDP government designated April 28th as an annual day to remember those who have suffered as a result of the hazards of work.

Continue reading ‘Why does the labour movement observe April 28th?’ at bcfed.com.

A dispute between Revenue Canada and its employees has prompted a plea to Kelowna residents over impending cuts to walk-in counter services.

Covering two thirds of a page in the April 5 edition of the Capital News, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and Union of Taxation advertisement states the Canada Revenue Agency is reducing services at its counters as of April 30, followed by a statement saying residence can no longer walk in and get answers about individual or business tax returns, the GST rebate or family tax credit.

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March 22, 2006 - CVIAC meeting

Present

• Gail Jewsbury Vice President - UEW
• Gordon Miller – treasurer - UEW
• Darlene Stevens – secretary – CEIU
• Kathy Spencer – delegate - CEIU
• Dave Jackson – staff - PSAC RUO
• Mandi Schubert – guest - NHWU
• John Kraeker -UNDE
• Lise Edwards – delegate -NAT– via conference call

Download the minutes (pdf), or read more below

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OTTAWA – The Canadian Labour Congress turns fifty this month. It was on April 23rd, 1956, at a convention in Toronto, that the Canadian Labour Congress was born from the union of the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada and the Canadian Congress of Labour.

“In fifty years, we have accomplished so much yet there is much more to be done,” says Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Everyone who works for wages, one day or another, comes to realize that a union means better pay, benefits and pensions. Over the last fifty years, in their daily struggle for fairness, equality, and opportunity, the unions of the Canadian Labour Congress have improved the quality of life of all Canadian families.”

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On August 1st, 2005, more than 400 employees were transferred by order of the government from HRDC to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). All are employed in “National Collections Services” and “Collections Litigation and Advisory Services.” The vast majority are PSAC members classified as AS, CR and PM. If you were a part of this transfer, you are now an employee of the CRA. However, in accordance with provisions of the Public Service Labour Relations Act, your existing collective agreement (Table 1) remained in effect until the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB) ruled on the assignment of these new positions to bargaining units within CRA.

On 31 March 2006, in decision 538-34-01, the PSLRB approved a joint application of the PSAC and the CRA to have the AS-CR-PM positions assigned to the existing PSAC bargaining unit. Therefore, as of 31 March 2006, the Table 1 collective agreement ceased to apply to you, and you are now covered by the PSAC-CRA collective agreement.

Although the CRA agreement was originally based on the Table 1 agreement, and is structured very similarly to that agreement, over the last three rounds of negotiations a few differences have developed based on bargaining demands unique to one unit or another. To help you understand the provisions of the new collective agreement, the PSAC has put together a short summary of the major differences between the two collective agreements (pdf).

The prime minister avoided the issue in his April 4 Speech from the Throne (meant to outline the government’s agenda for the upcoming session), so Canadians for Equal Marriage held a press conference the following morning. In the media theatre on Parliament Hill, Emily Turk and Cynthia Misener, a lesbian couple hoping to marry later this year, called on Harper to reveal his intentions.

“Nobody should have to plan their wedding under this kind of threat,” they said.

Within two hours, Justice Minister Vic Toews responded by confirming the government’s plan to hold a vote on re-opening the equal marriage debate “sooner rather than later”. Harper himself said a vote would take place “within the life of this Parliament, probably in the fall.”

So, once again, the equality of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-identified people is threatened, and the right of all Canadian couples to access civil marriage is hanging in the balance.

Read more at equal-marriage.ca.

In 2005, 188 workers were killed on the job in BC including 12 young workers.

The B.C. Federation of Labour, the Vancouver & District Labour Council and the New Westminster & District Labour Council invite you to pay tribute to workers killed and injured on the job.

Friday, April 28 2006

• 7:45 am - Gather at the Vancouver Art Gallery
• 8:00 am - Procession to Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre
• 8:45 am - Day of Mourning Ceremony - VCEC - 999 Canada Place

For more information, visit the BCFL website for a listing of Day of Mourning events around the province.