Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government has quietly handed senior government officials and the heads of Crown corporations pay raises and increased bonuses, sounding alarm bells from a tax watchdog and the biggest public service union.

Government executives and deputy ministers, the highest ranking public servants, are in line to get a 2.5-per-cent pay raise.

The chief executives of Crown corporations, such as the CBC and Canada Post, are slated to get three-per-cent raises.

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In response to some questions we’ve received lately, here is a brief overview of the changes to the Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA) and the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) under the Public Service Modernization Act along with links to the relevant sections of the legislation.

Click to jump to

• Grievances
• Alternate Dispute Resolution/Informal Conflict Management Systems (ICMS)
• Consultation and Co-development
• Essential Services
• Strikes
• Unfair Labour Practices
• Staffing

Click the ^ to follow a link to the relevant piece of legislation or website.

Labour Relations - Grievances (Part 2 of the PSLRA)

There are now three types of grievances: individual^, group^ and policy^. Individual grievances are much like the past; group grievances are filed by the Union and must relate to the interpretation or application of the collective agreement - but individuals sign onto a consent form, thereby allowing the issue to move forward more efficiently and giving a remedy to those individuals who sign on; policy grievances are union grievances that also must relate to the interpretation or application of the collective agreement - they are filed at the final level with PSAC approval as the bargaining agent [similar to the way section 99 references were processed]. Policy grievances are “new” because the Union can file a policy grievance whether an individual could also grieve the issue or not [the limitation that existed for section 99 references];

Issues relating to deployments will be grievable once the new Public Service Employment Act is in force. However, the only issue that can be referred to adjudication is whether the individual deployed had given consent to the deployment; this includes persons who are deployed as a result of a finding that he or she harassed and is deployed out of the work unit. The Adjudicator will be entitled to inquire into whether there actually was harassment as part of the consent issue;^

Adjudicators can award interest in cases of termination, demotion, suspension or financial penalty;^

Adjudicators can now interpret and apply the Canadian Human Rights Act, and they can award the damages set out in that Act for pain and suffering (maximum of $20,000) and punitive damages (maximum of $20,000);^

The Canadian Human Rights Commission must be given notice of any adjudication that deals with a human rights-related issue and it can intervene in the hearing;

Subject to general policies set by Treasury Board, each Department’s deputy head now has the direct statutory power to set standards of discipline and set penalties (including termination, suspension and demotion), to provide for termination or demotion for unsatisfactory performance or non-disciplinary reasons, or provide for the termination of employment of persons to whom an offer of employment is made as a result of a transfer of work outside the core public administration; and

In cases of termination or demotion for unsatisfactory performance, an adjudicator can now only rule on whether the deputy head’s decision relating to performance was “reasonable”.^

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Labour Relations - Alternate Dispute Resolution/Informal Conflict Management Systems (ICMS)

Deputy heads must, in consultation with the union, establish an information conflict management system;^

Minimum binding guidelines for all ICM Systems have been issued by Treasury Board and are available on its website;^

ICMS can apply to any workplace conflict but does not override the grievance process;

It is strictly voluntary and individuals have a right to have a union or other representative present;^

The Union must be notified if the subject-matter of the ICMS involves the interpretation or application of the collective agreement;^

Opting into ICMS will not prejudice time limits under the grievance process; they’ll start ticking again once you opt out of ICMS if it isn’t working.

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Labour Relations - Consultation and Co-development (Part 1, Division 3 of the PSLRA)

It’s now mandatory for each deputy head to establish a union-management consultation committee. This includes all Treasury Board departments and separate employers. For many workplaces, UMCC or similar committees are already in place and functioning;

Employers and/or deputy heads and bargaining agents may also engage in co-development; this means the identification of workplace problems and the development and analysis of solutions to those problems;

Co-development is a joint analysis and decision-making process that is much more involved than consultation and will generally take place at a higher / national level. Any initiative must have bargaining agent approval;

Many employer/department representatives don’t understand the distinction between co-development and consultation. They ask to “co-develop” issues such as overtime distribution agreements. This is not co-development; so when in doubt, call it consultation.

Neither of these processes can serve to circumvent the collective bargaining process, or take away rights under a collective agreement.

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Labour Relations - Essential Services (Part 1, Division 8 of the PSLRA)

There has been a change in the way essential services are defined – it now includes “facilities” and refers to “a segment of the public” as well as the general public;^

The bargaining agent and the employer must negotiate an “essential services agreement”;^

Each agreement will deal with three issues: (1) identify the services that are essential; (2) what level of essential service is being provided (i.e. EI or CPP cheques must go out every two weeks); and (3) how many employees are required to maintain that level of service;

(3) is a change from the current process. Under the old system, if a job description even involved a small percent of the essential service, the position was designated. Under the new law, if there are 100 jobs that involve duties deemed “essential”, but only about 25% of the job relates to these essential duties, then only 25 positions will be deemed “essential”. The persons who are in those positions will only do the essential duties for 100% of their time (and therefore will not perform the other 75% of the “normal” work). This leaves 75 employees who can exercise the right to strike. Under the old system, all 100 of these positions would have been designated regardless of how much of the job was essential;

The Union and Employer must negotiate issues (1) and (3). The employer unilaterally decides (2) – the level of service that must be provided; If we can’t agree on (1) and (3), the labour board will hold a hearing and render a decision.^

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Labour Relations - Strikes (Prohibitions regarding strike activity are covered under Part 1, Division 14 of the PSLRA)

The Union is now required to hold a strike vote among all employees in the bargaining unit – not just Union members;^

Excluded employees are not covered by this, but members who have been suspended or had their membership revoked are;

Every employee must be given a reasonable opportunity to vote and to be informed of the result of the vote;^

An employee can complain to the PSLRB that there was an irregularity in the vote; the PSLRB can dismiss the complaint outright if the irregularity could not have affected the outcome;^

The Union must initiate strike action within 60 days of the date the vote is held;

The timing of strikes must not only take into account this 60 day “window”, but is subject to a range of other requirements including a prohibition on strike activity until 30 clear days have elapsed since singing off on an essential services agreement;

There is a new prohibition that says that no person can impede or attempt to impede essential service workers from entering or leaving the workplace;

There are new fines for both the union and individual members relating to strike activity.

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Labour Relations - Unfair Labour Practices (Part 1, Division 12 of the PSLRA)

The PSLRA now says that a Union cannot expel, suspend, discipline, deny membership, or apply its rules, in a discriminatory manner; after having exhausted the appeals under the Union constitution(s), an individual may also file a complaint with the Board alleging a violation of this provision;^

The employer now has a right to “free speech” and does not commit an unfair labour practice where it offers an opinion as long as it doesn’t use intimidation, threats, coercion, promises or undue influence.^

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Staffing (Covered by the Public Service Employment Act)

There’s a new definition of merit that radically changes the basis for appointments;^

• The PSAC Education department has produced an “e-tutorial” that explains how staffing works under the PSMA.

Relative merit is gone, merit now only means that the person meets the essential qualifications of the position and has certain other “assets” that the department considers important for its current or future needs;

The Act actually says that it is not inconsistent with merit to only consider one person for a job;

The changes to the definition of merit have an impact on lay-offs since reverse order of merit no longer applies.

There are new rules that apply to how candidates are notified of job opportunities, selected and assessed;

The Act no longer favours appointments from within the public service so there will likely be an increase in open (“external”) appointment processes instead of closed (“internal”) appointment processes;

The power to appoint, and the decision on whether to even advertise a job opportunity, is to be delegated to the lowest possible management level;

Extensions to a term are no longer considered new appointments;

Appeals (and Public Service Commission Appeal Boards) are gone;

Complaints for internal selection processes can only be made, on limited grounds, to a new Public Service Staffing Tribunal;

The Tribunal has the power to interpret and apply the Canadian Human Rights Act in relation to a complaint;

The role of the Public Service Commission is, largely, to audit departments and how they administer the Act.

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Tom Cochrane wants you to help make poverty history at the 2006 AIDS Conference: August 2006

The eyes of the world will be on Toronto August 13 to 18 at the XVI International AIDS Conference. This meeting brings together thousands of delegates from around the globe and Canada’s role in fighting the AIDS pandemic will be under the spotlight.

Over 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS and 95% of these people are living in the developing world. Poverty fuels the AIDS pandemic and is making millions more poor. To address the AIDS crisis, world leaders must take action to make poverty history.

At the G8 meeting in 2005, heads of state promised to reduce debt loads of the poorest countries. Unfortunately, the G8 plan will help only one-third of the countries with high HIV rates, and just 13% of the debts of 60 countries overwhelmed by AIDS will be cancelled.

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Progressive Filipinos in Vancouver will rally outside of the Philippine Consulate offices in downtown Vancouver this Monday to call for a stop to the political killings of activists in the Philippines and for the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

According to the human rights group Karapatan, since 2001 when Arroyo came to power, there have been 690 extra judicial killings of political activists and other civilians. Women and children, priests, lawyers, trade unionists, peasants and progressive politicians are included in the list of those killed. The list may be viewed at cp-union.org.

In Vancouver, a mock funeral march and protest rally and vigil will take place in front of the Philippine Consulate offices at 700 West Pender (at Granville) on Monday, July 24, 2006 from 3:30 – 6:00 p.m. Rallyists will display the names and some pictures of the 690 people killed on tombstones and light candles to protest what they see as the Arroyo-sanctioned killings.

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New weekend courses have been announced in Nelson, to take place in the fall …

Click for the full education schedule, and/or apply for these courses online.

To: Alliance Executive Committee, PSAC Components with T.B./Agency members, PSAC Regional Offices

From: Patty Ducharme and Gerry Halabecki, Collective Bargaining Committee Co-Chairs

Re: 2007 Round of TB/Agency Collective Bargaining

We write to inform you of the upcoming steps being taken in preparation for the next round of TB/Agency bargaining. A number of actions have been taken that affect all five Treasury Board bargaining units and the three major Agency units.

• The Collective Bargaining Committee of the National Board of Directors and the Alliance Executive Committee have been preparing a revised approach to the Program of Demands, input calls for bargaining demands, and a framework for the coming round of bargaining conferences.
• PSAC has developed a new collective bargaining course for members that will be delivered in the regions in the coming months. This course is intended to inform members on negotiations and how to organize to support the bargaining process. Information on course availability and other details will be available from the Regional Offices.
• Later this summer, Environics Research Group will be conducting a membership telephone survey among almost 5,000 PSAC members in the TB and Agency units. The information from this survey will be used to prepare for the upcoming round of bargaining.
• Our timelines are being scheduled so that we are in a position to be at the table prior to the expiry of the collective agreements.

We are beginning to receive inquires about the upcoming round of bargaining, and in particular, questions about the TB and Agency bargaining conferences. In order to address many of these questions, we felt it important to provide you with information about the decisions that have been made to date regarding Treasury Board and Agency negotiations.

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This is to inform you that the members of COPE 15 working at Island Savings Credit Union in Shawnigan Lake, Mill Bay and Duncan commenced strike action on Saturday July 15th. If you are in the area between the hours of 9:00am and 5:00 pm please drop by and give them your support.

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The deadline for PSAC scholarships is July 31st:

The PSAC Scholarship Program is offering the following 15 scholarships to PSAC members and their children:

• one $4,000 Groulx-PSAC National scholarship;
• one $4,000 Coughlin-PSAC National scholarship;
• two $3,000 Groulx-PSAC National scholarships;
• two $3,000 Coughlin-PSAC National scholarships;
• the J.R. (Joe) Power $2,000 Scholarship;
• one $1,000 PSAC National Scholarship;
• one $1,000 scholarship for each region ( Atlantic , Quebec , National Capital Region, Ontario , Prairies, British Columbia and the North).

Awarding of the scholarships is based on an 800-word essay, scholastic achievement, and community and union involvement. The subject of the essay is determined in January of each year. Three out of the eight $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to PSAC members (if applications are received) who are returning to university, college or an institute of higher learning on a full-time basis.

Eligibility

All scholarships are available for PSAC members and their children. Members must be in good standing as of May 31 st of the current year. The student will attend a recognized university, college, or institute of higher learning on a full-time basis. These scholarships are not restricted to first-year students. No more than one scholarship will be awarded to the same family in a given year and no one will be awarded a scholarship more than once.

Read more and find out how to apply at the national website.

Attendance:

• Barry Cunningham (UCTE)
• Sean McGovern (CEUDA Local 20042)
• Penny Dickson, (CEIU Local 20926)
• Lynnda Rydgaard (USGE Local 20071)
• Phyllis Bortignon (USGE Local 20071)
• Benilde Gomes (USGE Local 20071)
• Jack Rudd (PSAC CULE) Regional Representative

Call to order: Benilde called meeting to order at 6:16 p.m. and welcomed Jack as our guest.

Continue reading below, or download the NWAC minutes May 27 2006 (pdf)

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The Public Service Labour Relations Board ruled on July 7, 2006 that a firefighter fitness test adopted and implemented by the Department of National Defence is discriminatory on the basis of age and sex.

The Board’s adjucator also directed the employer “to immediately cease using the eight minute standard as a condition of employment for DND firefighters”.

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In light of the recent arrests of 17 young Muslim men, media sensationalism and government statements have stirred public frenzy about “homegrown terrorists”, revealing a shallow multiculturalism and reinforcing the racialized national space of Canada. This discourse within the context of the War on Terror further justifies an increasingly aggressive and crusading police, security, and military apparatus both within and beyond these borders. A critical perspective, rooted in the historic and current reality about Canadian domestic and foreign policy, is necessary to address the climate of paranoia, racism, repression, and war-making. Join us for speakers, films, and discussion….

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Cheers to Jennie for sending us this report on the World/Labour Peace Forums, held recently in Vancouver. For more information about these events visit worldpeaceforum.ca and vdlc.ca.

Blogging on the World’s First Peace Forum in Vancouver BC, June 23-28, 2006by Jennie Chu, BC EO rep for PSAC-Agriculture Union

I was one of 4500 delegates registered for the World Peace Forum (WPF) and truly was grateful to Vancouver District Labour Council (VDLC) for organizing the 2-day Labour Peace Forum (LPF).

Patty Ducharme (NEVP, PSAC), Jennie Chu (AGR EO Rep, BC) and Yves Ducharme (National President, AGR).

The LPF was made possible through the generous financial support from CUPE National, PSAC, BCGEU, CUPW, BCNU, CEP, HAS, CUPE BC, HEU, CAW, COPE 378, BCFED, ILWU 500, CUPE METRO, IUOE 963, CUPE 402, MWBIU 1, UFCW, BCNU Shaughnessy Heights, CAW 2200, IBEW 258, Saskatoon Labour Council, and Campbell River Labour Council.

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PSAC is going to be surveying members in preparation for the next round of bargaining with Treasury Board, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Parks Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency.

Environics Research Group, a well-known and respected polling firm will be conducting the survey for PSAC, asking questions about bargaining issues and priorities.

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Here are some photos of the 6th Annual Iqaluit Pride and Friends of Pride picnic. The National Component Human Rights Committee (BC) was one of the picnic’s sponsors! Click them for a larger view …

On June 28, 2005, the House of Commons passed Bill C-38 by a vote of 158 to 133, marking the end of one of the longest and most thorough debates MPs have ever had. The Senate passed the bill on July 19 and it became law on July 20, 2005.

One year later, Canadians have largely moved on. Canadians for Equal Marriage commissioned Environics Research to conduct a poll asking Canadians whether they support equal marriage and whether they wish to re-open the equal marriage debate.

By a more than a 2 to 1 margin, Canadians who expressed an opinion consider this matter settled and are against having another vote. Even a majority of Conservative voters (52%) are against re-opening, while only 38% want to re-open the issue and 10% did not express an opinion.

The poll also asked whether “same-sex couples should have the same right to civil marriage as opposite-sex couples.” 59% of all respondents agreed, only 33% disagreed and 8% did not express an opinion.

In response, a June 20 Globe and Mail editorial titled “Really, get past it” said of the CEM poll: “Fairly worded questions, and the answers were clear… Mr. Harper is raising an issue that most Canadians see no need to revisit. Take it off the agenda.”

For more details, visit equal-marriage.ca.

Yellowknife – Public Service Alliance of Canada members at the Ekati diamond mine have voted to ratify a tentative agreement with Ekati owner BHP Billiton, ending a strike that began April 7 with the first-ever union contract at a Canadian diamond mine and significant improvements for workers there.

Ekati workers voted 66% in favour of the one-year contract that contains a full grievance procedure to protect workers from arbitrary and unfair treatment, wage increases, a signing benefit, more vacation days and other improvements, said Jean-François Des Lauriers, PSAC Executive Vice-President-North.

“This has been a tough strike but our members are going back to work with significant improvements in their workplace as a result of their determination,” Des Lauriers said. “And we will be back at the bargaining table on our members’ behalf next year.”

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