Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The first collective agreement for the FB group has been signed. The provisions in the collective agreement are now in effect, and the employer has 150 days from today to implement the new rates of pay and issue cheques for retroactive pay reflecting the wage increases going back to June 21, 2007.

Wage increases are pegged at 2.3 per cent for the first year from 2007 to 2008 and 1.5 per cent for each of the remaining three years of the collective agreement.

Members in the FB group have won an agreement that reflects the nature of the professional services they provide and compensates them accordingly. FB workers have also won seniority rights for employees working under Variable Shift Scheduling Arrangements. Another highlight is the strengthening of Workforce Adjustment provisions that requires the government to review the use of contractors and consultants in order to avoid layoffs.

The four-year collective agreement expires on June 20, 2011.

The PA agreement has been signed. The provisions in the new collective agreement are now in effect, and the employer has 150 days to implement the new rates of pay and issue cheques for retroactive pay reflecting the wage increases going back to June 21, 2007.

The four-year collective agreement, which expires on June 20, 2011, provides for across-the-board annual wage increases of 2.3 per cent for the first year from 2007 to 2008 and 1.5 per cent for each of the remaining three years. The agreement also secured a commitment from the employer to begin work on an occupational group and classification review that we anticipate will result in the development of new classification standards to better reflect the kinds of work our members perform. Another highlight is the strengthening of Workforce Adjustment provisions that requires the government to review the use of contractors and consultants in order to avoid layoffs.

PSAC VICTORIA AREA COUNCIL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES – January 15th, 2009, PSAC Victoria Regional Office

Members Present:

• Nick Humphreys – UEW 20169
• Virginia Vaillancourt – UVAE 20030
• Cindy Little – UTE 20028
• Scott Parker – UTE 20028
• Ken Waldron – UNDE 21013
• Bernadette Israel GSU 20001

PSAC Victoria RO Staff Present:

• Dave Jackson – Regional Rep

Guests:

• Mark Miller – UNDE VP for BC

Regrets:

• Dave Rahmalho UNDE 21011
• Ian Wiggs UNDE 21008
• Jason Wallach GSU
• 20001 John Rumsby – UTE 20028

Continue reading below, or download the Victoria Area Council meeting minutes, Jan 15 2009 (pdf)

1. Call to order Chairperson Sister Little called the meeting to order at 5:32 pm

2. Introductions Roundtable introductions of members present

3. Proposed Agenda Amendments

• Union Development Program Update
• Affiliation Dues to Victoria Labour Council
• m/s/c K. Waldron/N. Humphreys

4. Adoption of Previous Minutes 1 correction noted on the minutes of Sept 30, 2008

• m/s/c N. Humphreys/V.Vaillancourt

5. Revised By-Laws

• Reviewed revised By-Laws – footnote on By-Laws to be updated and resent out. A few spelling corrections to be made. Resolution was passed at the September 2008 meeting to change the name of the SVIDAC to The Victoria Area Council.

6. Observer to PSAC Triennial Convention

• Received motion for the Victoria Area Council to fund Observer to National Triennial Convention April 26 – May 1, 2009 in Vancouver.
• m/s/c C. Little/V. Vaillancourt
• Discussion ensued. Currently, the Victoria Area Council has a delegate who will be attending the PSAC Triennial Convention.
• Motion Defeated

7. Political Action

• Nick attended a meeting in Vancouver with the President of the Victoria Labour Council where they discussed the current economic issues with the Head of CLC. They were provided with a briefing and training. President of CLC wants members to visit MPs in town. January 27th Harper will release the budget.
• Nick met with MP Lunn and discussed CLC’s plan. Discussed claw back on contract specifically CRA – not much sympathy from MP Lunn who stated our contracts are lucrative. MP Lunn gave 30 minutes for the meeting.
• Jan 16th Nick and a group of constituents will be meeting with MP Martin who gave an hour for the meeting. MP Martin has a more sympathetic ear.
• Jan 19th Nick will be meeting with MP Denise Savoie. Has a sympathetic ear but not much power.
• These meetings with Local MPs will occur all across Canada.
• 5.5 Billion dollars was provided to BC Ferries to increase security at terminals including Gabriola. These security increases include things like, security guards and closed circuit cameras.

8. Affiliation dues to District Labour Council

• Motion for The Victoria Area Council to pay 1/3 cost of affiliation costs to the District Labour Council.
• m/s/c N. Humphreys/K. Waldron
• The affiliation dues to the Victoria Labour Council were for Nick’s local, UEW 20169
• Nick to see if President of Labour Council will attend an upcoming Victoria Area Council to provide a presentation to members.

9. Ratification Vote

• Tallies Deadline is Jan 22nd to have votes in to PSAC Office. Results will be released Jan 23.

10. Education

• Talking Union Basics (TUB) course is scheduled for Friday April 17th & Saturday 18th, 2009 at the Victoria PSAC Regional Office.
• TUB will be offered in Courtenay in March 27th & 28th.
• Understanding and Interpreting the Collective Agreement will be held in Tofino June 13th.
• UDP (Union Development Program) is a 3 week program done in 3 levels. 1st level will be in Dec/09 or Jan 2010.

9. Adjournment Motion to adjourn meeting. Meeting adjourned at 6:10 pm.

Sister Cindy Little, President
Virginia Vaillancourt, Recording Secretary

Ken Georgetti, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, says that the federal budget doesn’t go far enough to stimulate the economy or to put money into the pockets of Canadians who are innocent victims of the economic recession.

“We have called repeatedly on the government to fix the Employment Insurance program so that laid-off workers have adequate benefits to support themselves and their families while they search for new jobs,” Georgetti said following the release of the budget on January 27. “Sixty percent of the unemployed weren’t getting benefits prior to this budget, and they won’t get benefits now.”

(more…)

OTTAWA, Jan. 28  – The 166,000 member Public Service Alliance of Canada says the 2009 federal budget infringes on workers’ and women’s rights,  threatening public services at a time when Canadians need them the  most.

“This budget fails working people and threatens to undermine the public services that Canadians rely on during a financial crisis of this scale,” says John Gordon, PSAC National President. “Cutting taxes will do little to create jobs or help unemployed Canadians. Working people expected more of this budget – and we expect more of our federal government.”

(more…)

OTTAWA – Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada working for Treasury Board have accepted new collective agreements that contain no concessions for four bargaining units representing more than 100,000 workers.

With these agreements, PSAC achieved some significant breakthroughs:

• The establishment of national rates of pay for members of the Operational Services (SV) group. This concludes a 41-year battle to remove regional rates of pay for trades people in the federal public service.
• Occupational group and classification review that we anticipate will result in the development of new classification standards to better reflect the kinds of work our members perform for the Program and Administration Services (PA), Operational Services (SV), Technical Services (TC), Border Services (FB), and Education and Library Science (EB) bargaining units. The review work will begin with the PA group within six months following the signing of the new collective agreement.
• Members in the Border Services (FB) group have also won an agreement that reflects the nature of the professional services they provide and compensates them accordingly.
• The agreements also contain language that requires the government to review the use of contractors and consultants in order to avoid layoffs through strengthened workforce adjustment appendix provisions.

The four-year collective agreements, which expire in 2011, provide for across-the-board annual wage increases of 2.3 per cent for the first year from 2007 to 2008 and 1.5 per cent for each of the remaining three years.
“Our union is proud of achieving these agreements which contain some significant gains and no concessions,” says PSAC national president John Gordon. “We were able to make these breakthroughs because of the 18 months of hard work put in by our bargaining teams and the collective actions of our members, especially under a challenging bargaining environment.”

The Technical Services (TC) group was unable to conclude a tentative agreement and is proceeding to arbitration, with full support of the PSAC.

“A clear majority of our members have voted to accept the tentative agreements,” says Gordon. “We see this as a vote of confidence for the bargaining teams and the union. We will now be focusing our attention on ensuring that the occupational group and classification review reflects the workplace and needs of our members.”

UCTE local president Dave Clarke speaks out about what he sees as an attempt to thwart unionization of the wildlife control crew at Vancouver International Airport that could have serious safety ramifications.

PSAC certified the workers responsible for wildlife control at the airport only to see them lose their jobs and a new contractor brought in to do the work. This action has the potential to cause a serious safety issues at the airport. As the union points out the new employees have no experience with hands on wildlife control which could threat the safety of air travelers. This threat was punctuated by the recent downing of a passenger jet in New York when it was struck by birds.

The Union alleges the new company refused to hire the employees who have been performing wildlife control for more than 15 years because they signed union cards. An unfair labour practice complaint has been filed with Canada Industrial Relations Board. In the mean time the wildlife control work will be carried out by new workers with, the union alleges, little or no experience.

Watch the Video

The publication “Workplace Health and Disability: A Guide for Employees and Those Supporting Them” is now available from the Treasury Board website.

The primary purpose of this document is to guide you through the main aspects of health and disability support in the core public administration workplace. The guide is designed to give you an overview of what you need to know if you are absent from work for health reasons and to direct you to more detailed and comprehensive information that can be found elsewhere.

The guide is also a resource for those assisting you during your illness or return to work, such as your spouse, family, friends, or co-workers.

Download Workplace Health and Disability: A Guide for Employees and Those Supporting Them here (pdf).

A ratification vote is being held for members working at CFIA.

via the Canadian Labour Congress

Today, IGLYO and ILGA launch the LGBT Youth World List – the first international network of its kind.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer young people from all over the world can sign up to send and receive messages with other activists.

• Visit iglyo.com for more information.

Members will be encouraged to share their experiences, ideas and expertise, and to work together to solve problems and run projects. The working languages of the list are English, Spanish and French.

Nanna Moe, IGLYO Board Member and Communication Officer, said: “This will create a global conversation about LGBT rights, allowing young people to make contact and work together in an international fight for respect. This project is just part of IGLYO’s venture beyond Europe.” And she continues, “The list is very much in line with IGLYO activities this year, since it is the 25th anniversary of IGLYO, which we are going to celebrate with a reunion and huge conference with international guest in Amsterdam in July”.

(more…)

source: Hamilton Spectator, Jan 15 2009

“Ditch the plastic water bottle” is the message behind a province-wide speaking tour that hits Hamilton tonight.
The Council of Canadians and CUPE Ontario are heading the UnBottle It! campaign in hopes of banning bottled water sales in schools and government buildings.

“We are feeling a tremendous surge around this. Ontario is already taking the lead across the country,” said Maude Barlow, national chairperson for the Council of Canadians.

School boards in Toronto and Waterloo, and 13 Canadian cities, have joined the UnBottle It! pledge.
“This is a no-brainer,” Barlow said. “Bottled water is a marketing scam that got people thinking they need it. It privatizes water instead of thinking of it as a public service.”

(more…)

The conference application deadline approaches …

On behalf of the BC Regional H&S Organizing Committee I am pleased to inform you of the upcoming 2009 BC PSAC Regional Triennial Health and Safety Conference. We would like to encourage members active in Health and Safety and members who share an interest in Health and Safety issues to attend.

We hope to have 55 participants representing all areas of the region and all aspects of our union. I am sending you this application form to be completed by members wishing to attend the 2009 H&S Conference.

• Download the Conference Application form (.doc)
• Download the Conference Application form (.pdf)

Please note that a registration fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) is required from all conference participants.

If Locals have difficulties sending members because of financial constraints, please contact the PSAC Victoria Regional Office as we may be able to assist you.

The theme of this years conference, “Participation And Workplace Prevention” is intended to be of interest to those who wish to contribute to improving Health and Safety in their workplaces.

In Solidarity, James Little, Regional Representative Health and Safety

The winners of the $150 gift certificates to Mountain Equipment Co-op are:

• Jamey Guerrero
• Danielle Meloche
• Jessica Shum

Special thanks to Charlie Lin, PSAC member at UTE local 20027 for conducting the draw!

We hope that all of you had an excellent holiday season and are looking forward to new and exciting things in 2009. Now that you are self-identified as part of the Young worker caucus, we certainly hope you check out some of the upcoming events and make sure other young workers in your workplace self-identify as well.

Stay tuned for information about our Young Worker course and other events coming soon!

In Solidarity,

James Painter
BC Regional Council – Youth Representative

The Victoria Regional Women’s Committee invites all PSAC women to join us on January 13, 2009 at 5:00 PM. Come out to the PSAC Victoria Regional Office, 210 – 1497 Admiral’s Road. The agenda for this meeting will include:

• Further planning for IWD conference, day care, swag etc;
• Elections for the – Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.

Light refreshments will be served so please RSVP Sister Sharon Brine at 363-7021 or email sharon.brine@forces.gc.ca or sbrine@shaw.ca if you plan on attending

The next Southern Vancouver Island & District Area Council Meeting will be held Thursday January 15th, 5:30 PM also at the PSAC Victoria Regional Office.  Agenda includes:

• observer to PSAC Convention
• revised bylaws

Please RSVP to Rosemary at the Regional Office at 250-953-1050 or mackenr@psac.com as food will be served.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada is committed to ensuring that workplaces are equitable and fair. This means that we view human rights in the workplace as an essential element in our mandate to represent our members.

The duty to accommodate is an essential principle in our approach to human rights. Due to a Supreme Court of Canada decision (Meiorin, September 1999) this concept has been radically changed in a very positive way. Previously, the duty to accommodate meant the right of a group or individual to have a specific situation modified in a manner that did not change the basic elements of the situation, but did allow the group or individual to fully operate within that situation. In the workplace, reasonable accommodation involved specific legal rights and responsibilities and was a reactive response to individual or group discrimination.

Employers, and Unions, were legally required to take reasonable actions to eliminate the effects of employment practices or rules that discriminated against individuals or groups on the basis of a prohibited ground, such as race, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation and so on.

The Duty to accommodate: A PSAC guide for Local Representatives is available for download here (pdf).

The DTA is usually thought of in relation to disability, but it relates to all grounds of discrimination found under human rights legislation, including culture, religion, family status and so on. The Guide is set up as a Question and Answer document. Laws change at a rapid pace and the document will be updated from time to time.

Members of local 20501 Mainland Commissionaires have ratified an agreement with the Corps. The agreement in a five year deal that will see wage increases in each year. The wages negotiated will begin to bring the members into line with the type of work they perform, which is enforcement.

It is now up to Corps management to contact CBSA, in an effort to get the members back on the job as soon as possible. The Corps has also agreed to bid on the new contract expected out in late January or early February.

Everyone worked very hard to reach this agreement and the members are to be congratulated on their solidarity.
The Seal Cove members are holding a ratification vote today January 12, on a new tentative agreement.

Mainland Commissionaires Direct Charter Local 20501 have reached two tentative agreements on Thursday evening January 8, 2009.   These members work at Canadian Border Services Agency locations in Vancouver at the Canadian Coast Guard Base in Seal Cove, Prince Rupert.

Ratification votes will be conducted For the CBSA Group on Sunday January 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Vancouver Regional Office,  Suite 200 – 5238 Joyce Street.  The Ratification votes for the CCG Seal Cove , members will be on Monday January 12, 2009 at the Coast Hotel,  between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

A ratification vote has been called for members working at Parks Canada, here are the dates and times

• Monday January 12th – Tofino/Best Western Tin Wis 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Tuesday January 13th – Sidney/Travelodge 4-6 p.m.
• Wednesday January 14th – Juan de fuca Library 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• Thursday January 15th – Library Square, location TBA 12 noon
• Thursday January 15th – Fort Langley, location TBA 4:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, February 4th – Revelstoke – Legion 7 p.m.

Votes for members at Revelstoke and Fort Langley are being scheduled, check back for details.

• Download the Parks ratification kit here.

The PSAC has completed the application for the establishment of an arbitration board on behalf of the TC bargaining unit. As the party requesting arbitration, the PSAC must specify details regarding the impasse reached. The details include listing the dates the parties met to negotiate, the list of signed articles and the list of outstanding issues.

Now that the request for arbitration is in the hands of the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB), the Board will forward it to the employer. Treasury Board had seven (7) days to respond in writing to request any other term or condition to be included in an arbitral award if it is not included in the union’s request for arbitration. This portion of the process, as well as the Union’s agreements that the employer’s issues were appropriate for Arbitration has been completed.

(more…)

The two sides met on December 30 with the aid of a federal conciliator. By the end of the day we had tentative deals for both the Seal Cove Commissionaires and the CBSA members. The deal is yet to be ratified and it is hoped we can conduct meetings in the next few weeks.