Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Is that light at the end of the tunnel?

Your PA bargaining team may be a year older since the PSAC served notice to bargain in March 2007 but we’re energized by the fact that we’re finally seeing some movement from the employer. During our bargaining sessions from March 4 to 6, it was clear that the employer’s team had come to the table with the intention of making some progress. Treasury Board started to back off and withdraw some of their demands for serious concessions.

We’re encouraged by this approach. But we’re also ready to do what it takes to get the rest of the employer’s concessions off the table and start moving ahead with improvements to our agreement.

During this latest session, we spent time bringing the employer up to date on the good work of PSAC’s Social Justice Fund as background to our demand for an employer contribution to the Fund. Team members Megan Adam and Geoff Ryan, together with one of the Fund’s Officers Louise Casselman, talked about how the Fund’s projects are helping workers in Canada and internationally.

We’re going back at it in April and we’re talking money

We’re back in bargaining during the week of April 21 and we’ll be putting our final demands on the table, demands that we know are close to the heart of every PA group member – our salary demands.

Shift work: just say no!

While we’re starting to see some progress, one of the more objectionable employer proposals still on the table is to turn more PA group members into shift workers. In fact, a delegation from Passport Canada in Ottawa took the time this week to meet with your team. They wanted to make sure we knew how exactly how they felt about the prospect of shift work. These members had read about Treasury Board’s proposal for shift work at Service Canada and knew it was just a matter of time before it might affect them. Their message was loud and clear: NO WAY. While the employer’s proposal this time only affects certain groups of workers, including those at Service Canada, this demand is really just the thin edge of the wedge. If we don’t take a strong stand now, we could find shift work becoming the norm for the entire PA group.

Your team wants to make it clear: we hear you! We have absolutely no intention of agreeing to Treasury Board’s demand that would turn thousands of our members into shift workers.

Your support means everthing to us – and to you

Receiving your e-mails of support every time we go to the table makes us proud to be representing you in this round of bargaining and inspires us to work even harder to do the best possible job for you. Our position at the table gets stronger every time we hear about your activities in the workplace supporting both team and bargaining demands. We’re already pushing hard for our demands. But your support is critical to our ability to resist Treasury Board’s concessions and to make some real gains. Keep it up! We need you to get a good agreement and a good wage increase.
Three small steps for each member…one big step towards a new agreement

• Wear a green wristband that says “I support my negotiating team”. If you don’t already have one, check with your Local or PSAC regional office.
• Sign up for electronic Bargaining INFO bulletins and other materials at http://www.psac-afpc.org/ or here at the regional website and encourage all your co-workers to sign up as well. Post a copy on your bulletin board or hand out copies for those who may not have access to e-mail.
• Plan one activity between now and April 21 with everyone in your workplace to show you’re serious about a good collective agreement. The activity doesn’t have to be serious…just the message. And don’t forget to let us know about them.

We’re united and we’re strong!

Your PA team: Megan Adam, Ken Boone, Michele Coe, Sharon DeSousa, Debbie Graham, Louiselle Laforest, Doug Marshall, Sylvie Pinard, Geoff Ryan.