Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

PSAC has joined with unions from across Canada, to show solidarity with the people of Pakistan who are struggling to gain access to disaster relief after weeks of devastating floods. The union announced a $30,000 donation to Oxfam Canada this week, contributing to more than $200,000 pledged by the Canadian labour movement to various relief efforts.

“Food crops and seeds have been decimated and nearly a million homes washed away. An estimated 8 million people have been affected by the floods and are in urgent need of emergency aid,” said John Gordon, PSAC National President. “Unless humanitarian aid reaches the affected communities soon, more people will succumb to water borne diseases and potential starvation.”

PSAC’s donation is being channelled through the union’s Social Justice Fund, which was established in 2003 to support initiatives to help eliminate poverty and injustice in Canada and around the world. Operating from a position of solidarity not charity, the fund advocates for political change and works with union partners around the world to help defend and re-build public services.

“Poor people are facing the worst of the impact from extreme climate change around the globe,” said Gordon. “Our union is committed to supporting people affected by natural disasters, while also advocating for the Canadian government to unfreeze its aid budget and take substantive steps to lower Canada’s green house gas emissions.”

PSAC urges its members to give generously to help the people of Pakistan during this critical time by donating to Oxfam or the charity of their choice.

Cheers to Garry Fraser and Jennifer Ho (NAT 20088) for these photos and report from the PSAC Think Public booth at Surrey Fusion Festival, July 17 and 18!

PSAC BC set up a Think Public Booth at the Surrey Fusion Festival on July 17th and 18th. Many members volunteered to help promote Public Services and encourage the public to sign a petit…ion to the House of Commons urging them to reverse the decision to eliminate the mandatory long form Canada Census questionnaire.

The event was a celebration of community diversity in the second largest city in BC, Surrey. We had many good discussions with the public on why Public Services are critical for Canada. Many people played our game of spot the Public Service and were given a Think Public prize.

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PSAC will go to arbitration over a Treasury Board directive to managers aimed at silencing the union’s pension campaign.

• Did your employer take down PSAC petitions or otherwise interfere in the pension campaign? Let us know.

The Feb. 26, 2010 directive told managers:

• all requests to post petition sheets should be denied;
• all requests to distribute petitions via the Employer’s electronic networks should be denied;
• other than the actual petition, requests to post literature, such as general information on pensions, should not be unreasonably denied;
• the wearing of stickers should be permitted as long as the employee is not directly serving the public;
• the placing of stickers on the Employer’s property or equipment should not be permitted.

On March 10, 2010 the PSAC filed a policy grievance against the directive.

Continue reading at the national website.

National Vice-President Patty Ducharme and REVP Atlantic Jeannie Baldwin were in Charlottetown this weekend to present our pension petition to Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Here’s some video …

Visit the national website for some photos and more information.

With the assistance of PSAC Regional Representative Garry Fraser, members in ridings throughout the Lower Mainland have been meeting with their MPs over the last couple of months to discuss the Public Service Pension Plan, retirement security, and the impact of the budget on jobs and services to the public. Here is a brief report on what some of the MPs had to say.

• Don Davies, Vancouver Kingsway, is very supportive of Public Service Pension Plan and improvements to the CPP and the OAP and committed to bring the issue up with the NDP caucus.
• Bill Siksay, Burnaby-Douglas, is also very supportive, and Will support any action to stop the government from changing the plan. He also supports improvements to CPP and OAP and committed to bring the issue up with his caucus.
• John Cummins, Delta-Richmond East, suprised PSAC members by stating that the employer should not be “changing a pension plan in the middle of the game. The pension plan is a condition of employment and employees invest accordingly for retirement”. John was somewhat supportive of improvements to the CPP and will bring the issue to the Conservative caucus.
• Ed Fast, Abbotsford, laughed at the petition. This is not the kind of support PSAC members would like to see, but were expecting.
• Chuck Strahl, Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon, holds similar views as John Cummins and is supportive to the extent that the terms and conditions of the plan should not be changed. He noted that all the major unions had been involved in consultation in regards to the budget and were assured that the pension was not on the table. He stated he will bring our concerns to Stockwell Day, head of the Treasury Board, and is supportive of improvements to the CPP and OAP.
• Mark Warawa, Langley, was reluctant to sit down and have a discussion but did so. He stated that constituents should send him a letter detailing their concerns and he would take it the minister responsible and get back to them. We informed him that Veterans Affairs are scheduled to close the Surrey Office – veterans in the area will now either have to drive into Vancouver or do their business over the phone – and he seemed concerned with this as his father was a veteran.
• Peter Julian, Burnaby-New Westminster, said his party is very supportive of improvements to CPP and OAP and have been working to that end. He noted that there are too many corporate tax breaks in Canada and if the corporations paid their fair share we could much better care for Canadians. PSAC members also spoke to him about the budget and its impact on services and programs. A member from the parole office in New Westminister noted she is seeing the evidence of cuts now, and gave as an example the declining frequency of monitoring parolees for substance abuse. Peter was interested in our Workplace Watch campaign and asked to be kept up to date on it’s progress.

Are you interested in joining a group of PSAC members and meeting with your MP? Contact Patrick Bragg in the Vancouver Regional office. Our lobbying and Workplace Watch campaigns are ongoing – stay tuned for more reports.

Register now for PSAC’s first on-line Webinar!

Topic: What does the Federal Budget mean for public services and public service workers

Dates:

• May 17, 2010, 4pm PST (English only) – registration link here
• May 18, 2010, 4pm PST (French only) – registration link here

You are invited to participate in PSAC’s first webinar – an online information session to find out more about the recent federal budget and what PSAC is planning to do about it.

The session will include a presentation by David Macdonald from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives focusing on the fallout from the budget and its impact on the public service. This will be followed by a presentation on PSAC’s campaign to protect public services.

Participants will be given the opportunity to address questions to the presenter.

To participate in this session all you need a telephone and a computer with Internet access. To register, please click on the links above. Note: the session will be recorded for later viewing but registration is still neccessary.

The BC Regional Council recently endorsed the Red Tent campaign – their goal is to persuade the federal government to enact a funded National Housing Strategy that will end homelessness and ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for all persons living in Canada – please check out the information below and consider having your Local or Committee sponsor a tent.

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

Sponsor A Red Tent

It’s been almost two decades since the federal government handed off responsibility for housing to the provinces, making Canada the only G-8 country without a national housing strategy. The end result is a housing crisis that the UN described as a “national emergency.”

Pivot Legal Society’s Red Tent campaign’s goal is a funded national housing strategy that will end homelessness and ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for all people living in Canada. Modeled after a successful campaign in Paris, Red Tents are a symbol of Canada’s housing crisis and the growing support for a funded national housing strategy.

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Public Speaking & Effective Lobbying
Wednesdays, April 21 to May 12, 7 to 9 pm
Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph Street, Vancouver

Registration – $50 for 4 sessions (no one will be turned away)

Contact Keziah at the VDLC office to register – 604-254-0703

Course Outline:
Week 1 (April 21)
Effective Speeches – How to determine key points, prepare your notes, and present your message
Week 2 (April 28)
Successful media work – From message boxes to camera comfort
Week 3 (May 5)
Theatre techniques to assist your presentation – breathing, projection, and other tips
Week 4 (May 12)
Lobbying skills – How to make the most of meetings with politicians of all stripes

You may be aware of the crisis currently affecting Rights and Democracy, Canada’s public agency for human rights and democratic development. You can find out a lot more if you go to www.rightsanddemocracymovement.org.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada represents the unionized employees at Rights & Democracy – it’s a Directly Chartered Local based in Montréal. Despite our grave concerns with the internal situation and its impacts, we strongly believe that the crisis at Rights & Democracy is not simply an internal matter, but one of political interference in this institution of Parliament. What is happening amounts to the silencing of human rights’ defenders, much like the silencing of women’s advocacy work, the closure of the Court Challenges Program, and other actions to silence diversity and debate.

Canadians and international allies are mobilizing around Rights & Democracy, and a movement has been created to channel this support.

I am writing to invite you to sign on to the petition in favour of Rights and Democracy, and to distribute this invitation throughout your networks as appropriate.

The list of supporting organizations and individuals is growing, and includes the PSAC, Stephen Lewis, Alex Neve, the Fédération des femmes du Québec, and many more.

In Solidarity, John Gordon, PSAC National President

Rally to protest gov­ern­ment fund­ing cuts and express your con­cern at the direc­tion our province is head­ing. Join with oth­ers who believe we can build a bet­ter BC.

• Sat­ur­day, April 10, 2010 at noon
• Van­cou­ver Art Gallery, north side – Georgia and Howe

Stand up to the cuts. Stand up for kids, arts, seniors and your community! Visit betterbc.ca for more information.



The Harper government’s 2010 Budget demonstrates a government that is devoid of new ideas and full of ideological cuts to the size of government masquerading as fiscal restraint. It is difficult to believe that they prorogued Parliament and then introduced a new budget with so little new and positive to show.

This budget includes two major measures: another tax cut for business and ongoing cuts to federal public services. Tariffs will be eliminated on all manufacturing inputs at a cost estimated at $1.3 billion over five years. This is on top of further corporate tax cuts, previously announced, that will cost more than $20 billion over the next five years.

At the same time, the federal government will force the Canadian public and public servants to pay for the costs of an economic crisis that was caused by the financial industry by putting a stranglehold on federal departmental spending. This will lead to ongoing cuts to the public services that people depend on and further job losses.

Continue reading the PSAC’s overview and summary of the 2010 budget at the national website.

The March 4 federal budget freezes federal departmental spending. The government has announced they want to balance the budget on the backs of public service workers – a direct threat to federal public service jobs and the important services we deliver to Canadians.

Our federal employers have a legal responsibility to bargain in good faith, and our Union is already preparing for the next round of bargaining. We need to be prepared as Union members to support our bargaining proposals and to fight against any concessions at the bargaining table.

PSAC members working for the Federal Government and Agencies maintain and interpret National and Historic Parks, process and verify EI and CPP claims, provide support for the Canadian forces and RCMP, process and verify passport applications, inspect meat and food processing plants, assess tax returns and administer tax benefit programs, monitor and enhance fish stocks and habitat, work with inmates and parolees, maintain airport runways and navigation systems, stop guns and drugs at the border, and provide services to veterans and their families.

These are just some of the programs and services we deliver and that Canadians depend every day. We must speak out against cuts to these services. Speaking out works. We saw this when the budget did not cut our pensions because we took action in the workplace.

Management may propose layoffs and job cuts to deal with the budget freeze. We know the government has indicated it will not necessarily staff the 14,000 positions expected to be vacated this year due to retirement and attrition.

Our union will fight any proposed reduction in workforce and any reduction in our ability to deliver quality programs and services to Canadians.

What can you do?

PSAC BC is launching a “Workplace Watch” campaign to document and speak out against the effect of cuts in the workplace – cuts that hurt both the Canadian public and Federal employees. Your Local Executive and PSAC Regional Offices will be in touch soon with more information about how to get involved.

Go to psac-afpc.com/federal-budget and sign up to receive updated information on the impact of the budget.

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