Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The next chapter in the Federal Superannuation Surplus dispute begins at the Ontario Court of Appeal, April 19, 20 and 21, 2010 in Toronto.

PSAC and other federal public service unions took the then-Liberal government to court over 1999 changes to the Public Sector Investment Board Act which allowed it to expropriate $30 billion from the federal superannuation fund.

Read more at the national website.

Across Canada and around the world, people are taking a stand in support of public water and against the privatization of water. The bottled water industry is being forced under a public microscope as more and more people question:

• The safety of bottled water
• The weak bottled water industry regulatory standards and practices
• The growing corporate control of water
• The use of misleading bottled water marketing schemes
• The heavy social and ecological toll of for-profit water around the world

In Canada, there are over 70 municipalities, 6 school boards and 3 campuses that have successfully phased out the provision and sale of bottled water in their sectors. Will your institution be next?

It’s time to stand up and speak out, ditch the bottle and turn on the tap! Join the Canadian Federation of Students, the Sierra Youth Coalition and the Polaris Institute this March 11 for Canada’s first Bottled Water Free Day! Visit bottledwaterfreeday.ca to take the pledge and make today the first day of your bottled water free life!

In the week before International Women’s Day, the Canadian Labour Congress is launching an email campaign to let the Members of Parliament who voted in favour of scrapping Canada’s long gun registry know that this is the wrong thing to do!

Why is scrapping the gun registry the wrong thing to do? Among other things, it’s about violence against women.

More women in Canada are killed by their intimate partners than are killed by strangers – 65% of women murder victims are murdered by their intimate partners. In contrast, men are more likely to be killed by strangers, with only 15% of male homicides committed by their intimate partners. Most women are killed in their own homes – an Ontario study of risk factors of domestic violence found that possession or access to a firearm was the fourth most serious risk factor after marriage breakup, depression and a history of domestic violence.

In 1991 Canada brought in stricter gun control regulations, and also introduced the gun registry legislation in 1995.

The new laws focused on strengthening controls on rifles and shotguns – not just registering long guns but also strict regulations on the storage of these weapons. Since 1991 the overall rate of homicides with firearms (including handguns) in Canada is down by 40%. But the rate of homicides with rifles and shotguns has plummeted – a decrease of 70% in the same period. The number of women murdered by guns has fallen from 85 in 1991 to 24 in 2004.

In BC, Dona Cadman is one of the urban Conservative MPs who voted in favour of abolishing the registry. Please take a moment to visit the CLC website and send her an email asking her to change her mind.

The federal budget will probably talk about both short term measures and long term measures to slay the deficit. Some of those measures could involve direct attacks on federal public sector workers. Read more at the national website, and download the budget background documents on …

• Child care
• Debt and deficits
• Destroying public services
• A healthy economy
• Taxes and public services

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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Please read the message from John Gordon regarding the PSAC Hands Off Our Pension campaign. It is important that we continue to put pressure on the Government by signing the petition, lobbying MPs, and attending meetings. Despite some media reports, our fight is not over – on Friday the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said “There are too many programs, employing too many people who, generally, get paid too well (when you include pay and lavish pensions)” – read the piece here at the Vancouver Sun – and the Financial Post called for the Harper government to put public service pensions “on the chopping block”.

So far in BC members have mailed back over 2000 signatures on the Hands Off Our Pension petition, and over 25,000 people have signed the national petition on-line. If you have a hard copy of the petition, please don’t forget to return it to the Vancouver Regional Office as soon as possible and if you haven’t signed the on-line petition, please take a moment to do so here.

We’ve also had very successful membership meetings in Vancouver, Kelowna, Comox and Abbotsford – over 400 members in total attended – and we have more scheduled for next week. PSAC members across the province have also been plant-gating their worksites and phoning, emailing, and visiting their MPs in person. If you would like more information regarding holding a meeting, or information on how to get involved in the campaign, please contact Garry Fraser in the Vancouver Regional Office, by phone (604) 430 5631 or by email fraserg@psac.com.

We must continue to tell the government to protect our pension and improve pensions for all Canadians.

Speculation about what will be in the March 4 federal budget is rampant in the media. Some reports would lead us to believe that the Harper Conservatives will leave the federal pension plans alone.

So far, nothing PSAC has heard from Treasury Board President Stockwell Day would lead us to believe that we won’t have to continue to fight to protect the pension benefits our members in the federal public sector pay for.

Minister Day has made repeated references to the pension plan funds. At no time has he guaranteed federal public sector unions that the Conservative government will not reduce pension benefits and/or increase contribution rates.

Our pension campaign is in full swing and we are not letting rumours slow us down. I urge you to continue your hard work gathering signatures on our petitions to Stephen Harper. The willingness of our members to send a strong message to the government is critical if we are to succeed in getting the Conservatives to keep their hands off our pensions.

In solidarity, John Gordon, PSAC National President

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

• Tuesday March 2nd between 11AM and 3PM (briefings will be staggered on the 1/2 hour)
• Welch 1 & 2 Rooms, YWCA, 535 Hornby Street, Vancouver

Come to a lunch and learn meeting, Tuesday March 2nd, between 11AM and 3PM (briefings will be staggered on the 1/2 hour) to find out what you can do to safeguard pensions for federal government workers and all Canadians.

Please RSVP to the Vancouver RO at (604) 430-5631 as pizza and refreshments will be provided.

Spread the word! Download a poster (pdf).

Come to a pension meeting, Thursday February 25th, anytime between 3PM and 7PM to what you can do to safeguard pensions for federal government workers and all Canadians.

Please RSVP to the Vancouver RO at 1 800 663-1655 as pizza and soft drinks will be provided.

• Thursday February 25th 3PM – 7PM
• Abbotsford Ramada Inn, 36035 North Parallel Road, Pinnacle room

Spread the word! Download a poster here (pdf).

Come to a lunch and learn meeting, Wednesday February 17th, anytime between 11AM and 3PM to find out what you can do to safeguard pensions for federal government workers and all Canadians. Please RSVP to Garry Fraser at (604) 430-5631 as lunch and drinks will be provided.

• Wednesday February 17th 11AM – 3PM
• Vancouver Public Library, 300 W Georgia, Alma Vandusen room

Spread the word! Download a poster here (pdf).

Powerful business interests, some corporate media, and corporate think-tanks such as the C.D. Howe Institute and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, are pressuring the Harper government to attack our pensions under the guise of reducing the deficit.

The PSAC is launching a campaign to stop the attack on our pension and to ensure that all Canadians have a safe and secure public pension when they retire.

Here are some of the campaign materials (all pdf):

• A petition that can be circulated and returned to PSAC,
• The ‘Retirement security for all‘ flyer which summarizes the issue and what we can do to take action to protect our pensions
• ‘Building on what works‘ – a series of myths and facts about public and defined pension plans.

Please give these wide circulation in your worksites. All of these materials, as well as an on-line petition, are available at the national website which will continue to be updated as the campaign progresses.

In B.C. we are organizing an M.P. lobby on the issue. Meetings of union officers and members will be held to ensure members are well-equipped to lobby their M.P.s; write letters to the editor; gather petitions; talk to co-workers, friends, and neighbours etc. Staff from the PSAC Regional Offices will contact you soon regarding these activities.

The Conservative Government will table a new budget on March 4th. Please join with me and PSAC members from coast-to-coast-to-coast-to-coast to let them know that we are against using federal public sector workers as scapegoats and attacking pension plans and the important public services we deliver.

We need you to be involved in this crucial campaign.

In Solidarity, Kay Sinclair, Regional Executive Vice-President, BC

Lobby groups with the Harper government’s ear are making much of the federal public service’s pension. They’re calling for cutbacks spreading misinformation and distortions to make their case for funding tax cuts and investment loopholes that would benefit their constituents.

We need to make sure Harper knows he’s in for a fight if he wants to pilfer our deferred wages or weaken our pension plan.

Take action to protect your pension:

• Sign our online petition calling for retirement security for all and to preserve federal public service pension plans.
• Follow us on Twitter: PSAC BC | PSAC National
• Join our Facebook Fan page: PSAC BC | PSAC National
• Forward this URL via email to co-workers, friends and family who share your concerns about federal public service pensions and retirement security.

Building a better future for Canada’s children: the need for public childcare

The verdict has long been in – a public system blending early childhood education and child care (ECEC) delivers high quality programs for children and families. What would that system look like? What can we do to push governments to act?

• A Great Place to Grow-Public Child Care
• Vancouver Public Library, Alice McKay Room
• November 24, 2009 – 7-9 pm

Come to a public event aimed at developing – and moving forward – a 21st-century vision for ECEC. Martha Friendly (Childcare Resource and Research Unit in Toronto) and Susan Prentice (University of Manitoba sociology professor), co-authors of the just-published About Canada: Childcare, will join local CUPE and community child care activists to share their views on building a better future for Canada’s children. A series of forums sponsored by CUPE.

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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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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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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Brothers and Sisters of PSAC, we want to thank all of the Public Servants for all you do.  Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) members are all part of a safety network for the Canadian people.  All of our jobs are connected in some way to the safety and security of the citizens of this country.  Lightkeepers are only one of the many faces of that service, but right now we are the one on the block.

On both coasts, and across Canada, the public is in an uproar over the potential loss of the services of lightkeepers.  They understand that this is the outpost, the beacon of the their society’s framework of social good.  They understand that the abilities of humans cannot be replaced by machines. They understand that investment in the safety of a society pays off.  They want to stop the dismantling.  We owe it to them, and each other, to help.  We cannot allow the government to pick apart public service bit by bit.  This is our line in the sand.  Let’s push back.

In solidarity, Lightkeepers of BC, Steve Bergh – President, Alice Woods – Vice President, BC Lightkeepers Local 20232 PSAC

Read letters and emails of support from …

• Gulf Trollers Assocation
• Commercial salmon trollers
• Village of Masset
• Area A Crab Association
• Pacific Coast Shrimpers Cooperative Association

Please ask you members to sign the attached Lightstation Petition in support of our cause and then to return the petition to the Victoria Regional Office at the following address: 210-1497 Admirals Rd Victoria, BC V9A 2P8.  Please return the signed Petitions by October 15, 2009.

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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Everyone should have the right to join a union if they want to.

Did you know that students who work under the Federal Student Work Experience Program are banned from joining a union? The definition of employee in the Public Service Labour Relations Act excludes student, casual, and short-term workers from access to collective bargaining.

This provision prevents these workers from becoming union members and enjoying the rights and protections afforded to them by membership in a union, including the right to bargain collectively and access to the grievance process.

The PSAC thinks this is unfair and has filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government that argues that this violates the Article 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the freedom of association.

We are also undertaking a number of initiatives to demonstrate that our charter challenge has the support of student workers and of the public at large.

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