Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

OTTAWA – The largest union of federal public-sector workers is poised to mobilize against cuts in public sector programs and operations and to apply pressure on Parliament to reject the federal budget.

“This budget is a clear attack against quality public services,” says John Gordon, the national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. “The freeze on public-sector operation budgets, combined with an increase in deregulation and free trade, will further weaken the economy and hurt Canadians.”

Gordon argues that freezing the operation spending of government departments will mean significant reductions to the quality of public services that Canadians need in an economy that’s, at best, still undergoing a fragile recovery. Spending freezes, more expenditure review and deregulation will also mean job losses in the federal public sector.

“This runs counter to the government’s stated goal of job creation and economic growth,” Gordon says. “With this budget, the government is compromising the food we eat, the health of our environment, transportation safety and the public services that the people in Canada rely on everyday.”

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Last June the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (the Board) allowed a section 18 application by the PSAC. This resulted in additional YVR employees being moved into the PSAC/UCTE bargaining unit. As we reported last June this victory came as a result of a three year battle with the employer.

Following the issuance of the Board’s June decision, the employer had their legal folks file an “application for reconsideration” pursuant to section 18 of the Canada Labour Code (Code). The grounds for the reconsideration application were: “The Board breached the principles of natural justice and exceeded its jurisdiction by failing to consider relevant evidence in determining whether certain positions were properly included in the Union’s bargaining unit; and The Board breached the principles of natural justice by failing to provide adequate reasons for its decision.” The remedy requested was: “Conduct a full evidentiary hearing to determine anew the issue of the inclusions or exclusions of positions in the bargaining unit.”

In a decision dated March 2, 2010 the Board has refused to exercise its discretion pursuant to section 18 of the Code to review, rescind, amend, alter or vary either of their previous decisions (LD2148 & LD2172).

Specifically, the Board therefore refuses the request to hold a full evidentiary hearing to determine anew the issue of the inclusions or exclusions of positions in the bargaining unit; the Board dismisses the employer’s application, filed June 22, 2009, asking for a review of LD 2148 on the grounds that the applicant has not satisfied the Board that it breached any principles of natural justice in reaching or communicating its decision. Moreover, the Tracking Sheet does not constitute “new facts”; the Board dismisses the employer’s application, filed August 13, 2009, regarding LD 2172, on the grounds that the applicant has not satisfied the Board that it breached any principles of natural justice in reaching or communicating its decision.

The complete decision is available here (pdf).

Judging from the Throne Speech, the Harper government’s strategy for containing the deficit will focus on attacks against quality public services through spending freezes, more expenditure review and deregulation.

The speech was clear that the government plans to balance the budget by restraining federal program spending overall. It will do this by freezing the total amount that government departments spend on salaries, administration and overhead, and by aggressively undergoing a review of all departmental spending.

Continue reading John Gordon’s message regarding the Throne Speech at the national website.

OTTAWA –The head of the largest union representing federal public sector workers is urging the Harper government not to cut public services or attack federal pension plans in order to pay off the deficit.

“If the recession has shown us anything, it is that Canadians need and expect more services from their national government, not less,” said the national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, John Gordon, today during a press conference on Parliament Hill. “They expect safe food and drugs, their environment protected, their military and veterans supported and their human rights enforced.”

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The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has released the 2010 version of its Alternative Federal Budget. The budget is produced in collaboration with unions, including the PSAC, and other progressive groups and individuals. As its name suggests, the Alternative Federal Budget offers a different economic approach, one that supports strong public services and working people. Read more at the national website.

source: Vancouver Sun, Feb 23

Re: Government pensions fair game, Feb. 18

In her column, Barbara Yaffe is critical of the federal public service pension plan and the level of employee contributions to it.

Federal public sector workers make significant contributions to their pensions in the form of deferred wages. By 2013, these contributions will make up about 40 per cent of the total cost of providing pension benefits. The real pension crisis in Canada is that most workers and pensioners are covered by inadequate defined-contribution pension plans or no workplace pension plan at all. In a defined-contribution plan, pension benefits are dependent on a number of things, such as the performance of markets and interest rates at retirement. All of the risk is put on the workers.

Defined-benefit plans collectivize risk and resources and ensure a decent, stable retirement income for seniors.

Our union believes defined-benefit pension plans in Canada should be supported by governments. We are also calling for significant improvements to public pensions in Canada: CPP benefits should be doubled by gradually increasing employer and employee contributions by three per cent and the Guaranteed Income Supplement of Old Age Security should be immediately increased by 15 per cent.

We can have a society in which no retired person is living in poverty through achievable, forward-thinking pension policies.

Kay Sinclair – B.C. Regional Executive Vice-President, Public Service Alliance of Canada

Groups provide “reality check” on women’s equality – Labour, women’s groups will tell UN Canada is lagging

VANCOUVER, Feb. 22 /CNW/ – Labour and women’s groups have issued a report which they say is a “reality check” describing Canada’s lagging performance in achieving women’s equality. The report will be distributed at the Bejing plus 15 meeting being held at the United Nations in New York, March 1-12.

“Canadian women have lost a lot of ground in the past 15 years,” says Kay Sinclair, Public Service Alliance of Canada Regional Executive Vice President for BC. “Our government has sent a report to the United Nations that paints a rosy picture on women’s equality in Canada. We have written our own document and it is a reality check on what the government is saying.”

• Download the report: Reality Check:Women in Canada and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action Fifteen Years On, A Canadian Civil Society Response (pdf)

The UN meeting in March will evaluate progress, identify challenges, and recommend policies to promote gender equality and the advancement of women. This year holds special significance because it marks the 15th anniversary of the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women.

Sinclair continues, “We see the ravages of poverty every day in school classrooms, and rates are increasing at an alarming rate while the support mechanisms are disappearing or non-existent. With more women and girls living in poverty and being denied fundamental human rights, how can we build for a strong and prosperous Canadian future?” She adds, “Although Canada has made commitments to implement equal pay for work of equal value, the federal government hasn’t lived up to its commitments. The government removed the right to pay equity for federal public sector workers in 2009, with the adoption of the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act. We raise this issue in this report and it will be front and center for us next week at the United Nations in New York.”

Five years ago, Canada was ranked amongst the top ten countries in the world for its achievements in women’s human rights, but in 2009 Canada had fallen to 73rd in the UN Gender Disparity Index. Changes to gender architecture, shifts in policy and programming within the government, and the government’s response to the economic crisis have been felt by the most vulnerable women and girls in Canada.

The joint report is called Reality Check: Women in Canada and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action Fifteen Years On, A Canadian Civil Society Response. It was coordinated and produced by the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action and the Canadian Labour Congress, and is endorsed by a variety of other organizations.

Next budget must stress good jobs – Georgetti says unemployment, low wages hurting younger workers

OTTAWA – When the federal government introduces a new budget in March, it must make the creation of good jobs a priority, says Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Georgetti was commenting on the release by Statistics Canada of labour force figures for December 2009. The unemployment rate remains at 8.5% and 1.57 million Canadian men and women are out of work.“Workers have had a dismal year and we’re not out of the woods yet,” he says.

Georgetti says that both the number and quality of jobs available are big issues for workers. “The income of most Canadian workers has dropped in the past decade, even while corporate executives saw their pay outpace inflation by 70%. Too many other Canadians are surviving on poorly paid and part-time jobs. The middle class is taking a beating and we have to turn that around.”

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Union unanimously recommends ratification

OTTAWA—Early this morning, the Public Service Alliance of Canada reached a tentative agreement with the Museum of Civilization Corporation. This came on the 85th day on the picket line for workers at the Museum of Civilization and War Museum. The union is unanimously supporting the tentative agreement and will meet with the museums’ management today to negotiate a return-to-work protocol.

“We are unanimously recommending ratification of this agreement,” said Daniel Poulin, a guide at the Museum of Civilization and the President of PSAC Local 70396. “We have made serious gains in the areas of job security and contracting-out. We are confident that our members will support this agreement and we are thrilled that will be able to return to work soon.”

John Gordon, National President of PSAC, expressed admiration for the striking workers’ courage and determination.

“These workers have shown us the true meaning of solidarity,” he said. “Their tenacity and strength have been an inspiration to the labour movement and to the entire community of Ottawa/Gatineau. When workers unite, anything is possible.”

The workers will meet soon to ratify the tentative agreement. Until then, picket lines will remain up at the two museums

OTTAWA – On the 20th anniversary of the Montreal massacre, the Public Service Alliance of Canada is calling on all Members of Parliament to reject a private Member’s bill that will eliminate the need to register rifles and shotguns and destroy more than eight million records in the federal long gun registry.

“This extreme example of violence against women will forever be branded in our collective memory,” says PSAC national executive vice-president Patty Ducharme.

“After this crime was committed, women and men across the country turned their grief into action. Yet, 20 years later, violence against women remains endemic.”

According to John Edmunds, national president of the Union of Solicitor General Employees component of the PSAC, spousal deaths by guns have been reduced by 50 percent since gun owners were required to register long guns. “The registry allows police to check households for the presence of firearms which is especially important in the case of domestic disputes.”

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On November 3rd and 4th the Federal Court –Appeals Division heard arguments regarding two appeals filed by the PSAC in response to the February 2008 Federal Court-Trial Division decision. This earlier court decision struck down the 2005 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision which found Canada Post had violated section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The PSAC’ first appeal seeks to have the Tribunal’s findings restored on the basis the trial judge made several errors in concluding there was no violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act’s equal pay provisions and that there was no systemic discrimination within Canada Post. The CHRC also argued the Tribunal’s decision should be re-instated.

The PSAC’s second appeal challenged the amount of compensation ordered by the Tribunal in 2005. The Tribunal halved the amount of compensation it ordered based on its concerns over the reliability and accuracy of the job information involved in this case. The PSAC argued there was no evidence justifying this action as there was any evidence that any uncertainties in the job information over-estimated the wage gap.

The Federal Court-Appeal Division’s decisions are not expected until well into 2010.

PSAC participated in a historic first step toward long-awaited classification reform in the federal public service last fall. In November, PSAC and Treasury Board negotiated a collective agreement that includes a commitment by the employer to engage in a process of meaningful consultation with the union on occupational group structure, beginning with the Program and Administrative Services (PA) bargaining unit.

This group includes almost 70,000 employees responsible for program administration, information services, communications, secretarial services, office equipment, administrative services, welfare programs, clerical functions and data processing.

PSAC acted quickly to hold the government to its commitment and met with Treasury Board on May 19, 2009 to begin the classification review process.

However, given the sheer number of employees and different classifications, the reform process is complex and will take time. The language in our collective agreement with Treasury Board contemplates that the initial stage of reform – a review of the occupational group structure in the PA group – could take up to two years. The process will then move to the other employee groups. Throughout all of this, PSAC will be working with Treasury Board to develop fair and accurate classification standards.

As we move through this process, PSAC will be drawing on the expertise of union members in the workplace, and we expect membership involvement to increase as things unfold.

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source: Toronto Star

‘Disgraceful’ conditions persist in native communities after residential schools apology

OTTAWA — Four of Canada’s largest unions have joined together to urge the federal government to tackle the appalling conditions facing the country’s native communities.

The labour movement’s “sorry is not enough” campaign is pressing the Conservative government to get beyond last year’s apology by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Canada natives for the emotional and physical harm done to them by the residential school system.

“Sorry is not enough when aboriginal peoples in almost every measure are the most marginalized group in Canada,” John Gordon, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) told a press conference Thursday.

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source: The Telegram (St. John’s), Wednesday, October 14, 2009, p. A6

Those in the business of sounding warnings and being alert to danger are looking very carefully at a statement issued on Sept. 30 by Gail Shea, the federal minister responsible for the Canadian Coast Guard, putting the brakes on the controversial plan to de-staff lighthouses in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador. The minister has ordered a review and while the review is going on, no staff will be removed from light stations. The Public Service Alliance of Canada represents the lightkeepers and while we are glad the plan has been put on hold, we feel no great sense of relief, for several reasons.

It is obvious Gail Shea’s office was deluged with complaints – the minister described it as “concerns raised by a variety of stakeholders” – and the government doesn’t want the bad publicity. But instead of saying the plan to remove staff from all lighthouses is a poor one and will be scrapped, she wants more information about what she calls “the additional services provided by lighthouse staff.” After the review, if it is shown that staff (human beings) are necessary to deliver services, Minister Shea says “this option will receive full consideration.”

We are worried that the so-called review is nothing more than a delaying tactic and, after it is done, lightkeepers will be reassigned as was planned all along. The automated lights will be on, but nobody will be home.

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The fuelers working for Globe Ground Fuel Services at YVR, have voted overwhelmingly to join the PSAC. The fuelers will join the fueler supervisors who recently certified with PSAC. Both groups will become members of the UCTE local 20221 at YVR. The organizers would like to thank Dave Clark, local President, Jason Salchert, Vice President, the members of local 20221 and the inside organizing committee for their hard work in this campaign.

The organizing drive was a raid on the PPWC, a non CLC affiliated union and lasted 8 months. Due to some interesting legal turns, we were forced to make two separate applications to the CIRB. Many thanks to Shannon Blatt, Legal officer for PSAC for the handling of the legal issues.

Certification for the unit is expect to be granted within a few weeks. In the mean time, we will be preparing for negotiations.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Fisheries Minister Gail Shea has ordered a review of Canadian Coast Guard plans to automate lighthouses in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

It’s the second time in two decades a strong backlash has stalled the coast guard’s effort to de-staff light stations along the west and northeast coasts. In a statement released Wednesday, Shea said safety concerns have been raised by a number of parties over the gradual de-staffing of light stations in the two provinces, so no more automation will take place until the review is complete.

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Workers on strike, seeking fair working conditions and protections against contracting out

Ottawa/Gatineau – Workers are on strike at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the War Museum.

Represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the 420 workers are demanding the same protections that are in place for other museum workers in the Ottawa/Gatineau region. The Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC) continues to deny their demands for workplace fairness and protections against contracting out.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization and the War Museum had the highest attendance and brought in more revenue than any other museum or gallery in the National Capital Region last year. Meanwhile, workers’ salaries at the two museums are lower than all of the other federal museum workers in the Ottawa/Gatineau – in some cases 40 per cent lower.

“The mandate from our members is to close the wage gap and protect them against the threat of their jobs being contracted out,” says Maria Fitzpatrick, PSAC Vice-President for the National Capital Region. “As it stands, ticketing agents and several security guard positions, as well as cafeteria and boutique employee jobs have already been contracted out to private companies. Our workers are seeking some guarantee that they won’t lose their jobs, especially in the face of an economic recession.”

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OTTAWA – Government plans to de-staff 27 lightstations on the West Coast and nine on the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador are dangerous and must be reversed, say New Democrats.

“They want to run oil tankers in and out of some of the most rugged coastline in the world, and now they are saying they want them to do it without the help of lighthouse keepers,” said Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley).

“This minister is completely out of touch with our coastal communities.”

“This decision is very short-sighted,” said New Democrat Fisheries and Oceans Critic Peter Stoffer. “The remaining lightkeepers at these stations provide very important services that, in the interest of public safety and security, cannot be replaced with automated equipment.”

“Quite frankly, our lightkeepers are the eyes and ears of our coastlines. I know personally of situations where, especially in storms, lighthouse keepers have made the difference,” MP Denise Savoie (Victoria) added.

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source: The Globe and Mail

A lighthouse keeper’s schedule comes with a clock that never stops ticking, with tides that rise and fall and rise again, with winds that howl when not calm, with a radio that at any time can bring news of desperation.

Steve Bergh has kept an eye on the coast of Vancouver Island for 27 of his 59 years. For the past two decades, he has been based at Chatham Point Lightstation, about 40 kilometres north of Campbell River.

He lives in a house with his wife, Alice Woods, on a bluff overlooking the confluence of Discovery Passage and Johnstone Strait. A small building houses a fog signal. The yard includes a helicopter landing pad.

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PSAC members working at the airport vote in favour of strike action

VANCOUVER, Aug. 20 /CNW/ – A possible labour disruption could cause delays for travelers arriving or departing from Vancouver International Airport in the near future. Employees working for the Vancouver International Airport Authority (YVR), members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), have voted in favour of taking strike action, should it be necessary, in an effort to bring the Airport Authority back to the bargaining table with a meaningful mandate.

“We have one more meeting with a federal Conciliation Officer in an effort to avert a disruption in service, whether that be a strike or lockout.” says Kay Sinclair PSAC Regional Vice-President for BC. “Our first two days of meeting with the Conciliation Officer proved to be an exercise in futility and our members have no choice but to take this next step.”

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