Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Workers at Ekati Diamond Mine reach tentative settlement for 2nd collective agreement

YELLOWKNIFE - Workers at the Ekati Diamond Mine represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada North have reached a tentative settlement for a second collective agreement at Canada’s only unionized diamond mine.

The proposed 4-year agreement comes after a series of negotiations concluded November 7 and the union bargaining team is recommending members vote in favour, says Jean-François Des Lauriers, Regional Executive Vice-President PSAC North.

Des Lauriers says the new contract contains significant improvements for diamond workers, including annual indexed wage increases above the rate of inflation, a very good incentive pay plan, improved seniority and layoff protection, better Short Term Disability program and other benefits to workers.

“Ekati Diamond Workers can today see the great benefits of joining a union and sticking with their union. This new contract is a substantial improvement on wages and working conditions that will serve our members well,” Des Lauriers said.

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via the YMCA

Great opportunities for youth (15 to 30 years old) - PAID work experience within the Federal Government. For more information, contact Lisa Okada, Program Facilitator - Federal Public Sector Youth Internship Program, YMCA of Greater Vancouver. Tel: (604) 685-8066 or Toll Free: 1-888-298-3947.

Opportunities for youth that have not completed high school (and are not currently attending full time studies):

Vancouver:

• Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Downtown Vancouver - Priority Administration Intern
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Burnaby - Administrative Intern
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Vancouver - Health Services Intern
• Canada School of Public Service, Downtown Vancouver - Administrative Intern
• Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Burnaby - Administrative Support Intern
• Service Canada, Surrey - Administrative Intern
• Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Downtown Vancouver - Citizenship & Immigration Counsellor Assistant
• Department of Justice, Downtown Vancouver - Material Management Intern

Abbotsford:

• Correctional Service of Canada, Pacific Institution - Administrative Intern
• Correctional Service of Canada, Matsqui Institution - Administrative Office Assistant Intern
• Correctional Service of Canada, Pacific Institution - Information Gathering Intern
• Correctional Service of Canada, Pacific Institution - Information Gathering Intern

Opportunities for youth that have completed high school but have not completed any more than 2 year of full time post-secondary education and are not presently in full time studies:

Vancouver:

• Pacific Council of Senior Officials, Downtown Vancouver - Administrative Intern
• Citizenship & Immigration Canada, Downtown Vancouver - Citizenship & Immigration Services Intern
• Citizenship & Immigration Canada, Downtown Vancouver - Citizenship & Immigration Services Intern
• Public Service Commission, Downtown Vancouver - General Administrative Intern
• Public Service Commission, Downtown Vancouver - Human Resources Intern
• Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Downtown Vancouver - Human Resources Intern

Eligibility Criteria:

• 15 to 30 years of age
• Non-Graduates of High School or High School graduates with no
  more than 2 years of full time post secondary education
• Canadian Citizens or Landed Immigrants

CFIA members can expect to receive their new pay increments in this upcoming pay period. Back pay will also be processed and should follow in the next little while. It was our intent to commence negotiations before our contract expired but we were unable to do so. Our bargaining team expects to be back at the table by mid January.

Your bargaining team had a lot of face-to-face discussions with the employer during the bargaining session on the week of October 29. These discussions have laid the groundwork for future talks at the bargaining table.

We have achieved resolution on rest period language and commenced discussions on the scope and structure of various allowances and began discussions on new allowances.

We continued discussions on other items, including:

• Childcare fund
• Maternity reassignment
• Early retirement for members in emergency and enforcement
• Harassment
• Apprenticeship
• Injury on Duty Leave
• Overtime language for FRs (Firefighters)
• Shift and Weekend Premiums

The bargaining session that had been scheduled for December has been postponed. To date many departments have not met their legal obligations to provide the most basic information pertaining to Essential Services Agreements (formerly known as designations). This has resulted in your Union filing complaints with the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB), in order to force Departments to provide the necessary information, as we continue to seek the information from the Departments. The postponement is also due to delays with compensation studies.

by Murray Dobbin, The Tyee, November 1 2007

Taxes are the price of a civilized society. Support them.

So here we go again, another round of huge tax cuts as the country continues down the road to a neo-con dystopia. Over the next five years the revenue that pays for the things Canadians say they want will drop by $60 billion. There are cuts to the GST, to personal income taxes and corporate taxes — with the latter dropping by 2012 to 15 per cent (from 21 per cent today), an outrageous corporate giveaway, giving us third world status in the “attract investment” race to the bottom.

• More: PSAC news release - Tax cuts a sell out.

It is the continuation of a 20 years process of diminishing the country — a conscious plan implemented by three prime ministers from both the Liberal and Conservative parties. Between 1984 and 2006 the federal government, which is supposed to be looking after the interests of the country, has voluntarily given up over $250 billion in revenue — an amount that would have made a huge difference in the quality of life of Canada. We can now add $60 billion more. Provincial governments are equally culpable.

It’s not hard to list the things we could now be enjoying as a country had those cuts not been made, especially taking into account the annual revenue we would have: a national child care program, a national pharmacare program, a home care program, social housing, radical cuts in tuition fees, and the elimination of this country’s staggering infrastructure deficit, estimated to be between $60 billion and $120 billion.

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Negotiations between the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Prince Rupert Airport Authority resumed October 30 and 31, 2007. Although progress was being made at the table, the employer informed the Union late on October 31st that since, in their opinion, they thought the parties were too far apart, there was no point in responding to the Union’s latest counter proposal. Instead, they announced that the parties would need to go to conciliation.

Some of the outstanding issues include benefits and wages. This was the third collective bargaining session between the parties for the renewal of the collective agreement that expired November 30, 2006.

PSAC SOUTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND DISTRICT AREA COUNCIL MINUTES

August 28, 2007, Regular General Meeting - PSAC Victoria Regional Office

Members Present:

• Nick Humphreys – UEW 20169
• Ian Wiggs – UNDE 21008
• John Rumsby- UTE 20028
• Todd Genereux – UNDE 21011
• Cindy Little – UTE 20028
• Ken Waldron – UNDE 21013
• Mandi Schubert – CEIU 20975

Regrets:

• Jim Sidel
• Ches Bennett
• VirginiaVaillancourt
• Peter Neelands
• Randy Sanderson
• Renée Young
• Brian Port
• James Little
• Rosemary MacKenzie

Continue reading below or Southern Vancouver Island Area Council minutes - August 28th (pdf).

1. Call to order: President Sister Little called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m.
2. Proposed Agenda : Nothing further to add
3. Adoption of Minutes May 22, 2007 M/S/C I. Wiggs/J. Rumsby
4. Discussion re: Legion Donations – no further donations
5. Old Business: None at this time
6. New Business: None at this time
7. Political Action:
   • Nick spoke about Political Action –Defending Quality Public Services/Conference Calls/Need for follow up letters to MP’s.
   • We have done the follow up letters what we need now is for follow up phone calls from the specific constituents to the MP’s and candidates.
   • PIPSC Campaign against Privatization of Federal Laboratories SVIDAC to put out a letter to Kay/Janet/Patty and to BC national officers.
   • October 4 – Pre Budget Finance Committee Meeting in Victoria. D.P.Q.S & DFO Campaign.
   • Victoria Labour Council –The revitalization of the VLC has been going on over the summer with 7-8 meetings. Nick was tasked with reporting on improving communications and increasing affiliations. Nick’s report circulated at meeting. This fall Nick plans to contact and encourage Victoria PSAC locals to affiliate with the VLC. One recommendation is to look at reducing affiliation dues. Resolutions to our various conventions concerning subsidizing locals that affiliate are being considered. VLC meets the 3rd Wednesday of each month.
   • P. Bragg (Van RO) might be loaned from Van RO to work on website for VLC.
8. Labour Day Picnic: All Welcome. PSAC will have a booth set up. Esquimalt/Gorge Park. 1070 Tillicum Road. 11:00 – 4:00 Nick/DaveJ/James/Cindy/Rosemary/DaveT to bring supplies for raffles
9. AGM: Annual General Meeting – September 26, 2007 AGM Sept 26, 2007
10. Other Business: Need for new banners. Discussion about colors for banners – what is most visible Todd to look at costs
11. Adjournment / Next Meeting: M/S/C K. Waldron/I. Wiggs to adjourn 6:40 PM

source: The Ottawa Citizen, Nov 5 2007

High stress levels, work-life balance main reasons for escalation, PSAC says

The incidence of disability claims by federal public servants is at a 37-year-high, with women bearing a disproportionate share of the burden, according to federal government figures presented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

In a presentation this week to a group of PSAC local officers, James Infantino, a PSAC pensions and disability insurance officer, singled out high job stress levels and problems with work-life balance as key reasons for the escalating claims.

“The federal government is a cesspool right now,” he said in an interview. “The stress levels are inconceivable, actually.”

The high rate of depression in the public service was pointed out in a major federal study of public service compensation that was posted without fanfare on Treasury Board’s website in July.

The study, commissioned in 2004 by former Treasury Board president Reg Alcock, made no attempt to explain why more public servants are unable to work because of psychological problems.

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Your PSAC negotiating teams have come to the bargaining table to address serious issues. The PA unit has been discussing changes to the grievance procedure and language training. Hours of work and overtime,apprenticeship and child care for shift workers have been topics at the SV unit table, as well as the establishment of a Ships’ Crews sub-committee to address this group’s specific issues. The TC team has been focusing on the many allowances that affect this unit and finalizing documentation required for their pay study.

Job security in the context of the Canada Border Service Agency’s arming of Border Service Officers is a critical issue at the FB table and is also the subject of a PSAC unfair labour practice complaint with the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB). The EB unit has been presenting their position on expanding the application of the no discrimination clause and on the issues of education and career development leaves.

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September and October were busy months around the region … click the thumbnails for larger versions of the photos.

At the end of September women from across the province met at the BC Regional Women’s Conference. The conference theme was “Women and the Environment: Our Health, Our Families, Our Communities, Our Jobs”. Delegates learned more about what is happening to the environment, heard from members who work in the front line federal departments about how government cutbacks are undermining our ability to protect the environment and networked with other sisters in the union.

There are many more photos of the Women’s Conference in the photo gallery.

Cheers to Steve Stewart from UEW 20147 for organizing an outreach table with information about the Union to raise awareness amongst the membership. If you are doing similar events at your workplace, take some pictures and send them in!

Treasury Board Area Strike Coordinators and members in BC distributed “I support my Bargaining Team” stickers and “No treats - just treat us with respect” flyers throughout the province. (left to right: Virginia Vaillancourt (Victoria), Patricia LaMont & Christine Walker (Nanaimo), and Sam Wiese (A/REVP, in Burnaby). Read more here.

Here are the CRA ratification vote dates & locations

Dates and locations for other cities will be posted as they become available.

Details of the tentative agreement can be found in these documents:

• PSAC ratification kit (PDF, revised Oct. 29)
• Article 18 – Grievance Procedure (HTML/PDF)
• CRA Term Employment Policy (HTML/PDF)
• PSAC news release (HTML/PDF)

Via Joy Hennen, Health & Safety Rep on the BC Regional Council

Some interesting earthquake-related information received as a result of an inquiry initiated by the CEIU Regional H&S Committee …

PWGSC funded a series of shake table tests at UBC back in the late 1990’s to test how various office components behave in earthquake scenarios of increasing magnitude. In addition to computer components, bookcases and file cabinets, we also tested the performance of panel hung workstations. Specifically, we tested a Teknion workstation and a Corcan workstation to see whether they would provide adequate coverage for someone doing Drop Cover Hold. Both workstations performed very well.

(The computer-generated events included recreations of the Northridge and Kobe events, as well as “designed” earthquakes of other magnitudes. The simulations also included both lateral and upward thrust motions.)

It was observed that both workstations moved laterally as a result of the lateral motion of the stronger “earthquakes”. As I recall, on one occasion the Corcan unit moved about six inches (it was much heavier than the Teknion, which may have been a factor, but an engineer would be able to provide a more scientific explanation.) The shake table’s deck had been carpeted to recreate a typical office environment, and we surmised that the carpet helped to limit the displacement of the workstations.

It was suggested that in an office environment of several interlocking workstations, the likelihood of lateral displacement would be even further diminished. (There was only room for one workstation at a time on the deck, so this theory was not tested.)

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