Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The impact of increased workloads due to restructuring (Bulletin #4) goes far beyond the workplace; it goes to the heart of how members try to balance increasing workloads with family obligations.

At the same time that members face workplace change, they are also coping with increased family demands brought about by cuts to education and to social and health services. Both younger and older UPCE members feel caught between the competing priorities of work and home. Recent research has shown that these ever increasing demands are pushing up stress levels and prompting the increased use of leave and more unplanned absences.

The result is that more and more employees — regardless of their length of service — need to take time off to care for parents and children. Our current agreement is not consistent with respect to these leave provisions. A minimum of two weeks leave without pay to care for pre-school age children is provided for. The minimums are higher for the care of older children but they are subject to operational requirements. Leave for elder care is similarly subject to operational requirements. Our contract should be consistent and provide us with the time that we need in order to care for our children and our parents. To begin to address this inconsistency, the bargaining team has tabled the following language with Canada Post:

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Our collective agreement with Canada Post guarantees extended benefits to our members, including coverage for prescription drugs, physiotherapy and dental care.

Canada Post would have PSAC members believe that our health and insurance benefits under Article 37 of the collective agreement make the employer uncompetitive compared to other companies that do the same work.

Is this true? Not really.

Canada Post’s current benefit costs are similar to the payroll costs of other large employers. The company will realize significant tax savings once changes to the Alberta provincial health plan come into effect in 2009. PSAC/UPCE’s membership represents approximately 4 per cent of Canada Post’s total payroll. This means that the total benefit plan costs of PSAC/UPCE members are not as critical in affecting the company’s bottom line.

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Our national bargaining team met with Canada Post from July 22 to July 25.

Most of the unions’ proposals with the exception of monetary items have been discussed at least once during this week of bargaining. Some priority items such as leave entitlements, bargaining unit work, hours of work, contact centre proposals and staffing have been discussed several times to date.

Canada Post tabled an initial proposal on dental health and vision care. Because PSAC/UPCE and Canada Post will not be discussing monetary items until the next set of bargaining dates in August, these proposals are not complete and will remain confidential until all of the appropriate information has been received and bargained between the parties.

Canada Post also tabled proposals that would fundamentally alter the current bidding and scheduling practices for contact centre workers. These concessionary proposals were immediately rejected by your bargaining team.

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Following a May 9 announcement by Parks Canada Agency that it intends to arm 100 Parks employees, the Parks bargaining team walked away from the table on May 11 without discussing this very important issue with your bargaining team.

From the beginning, PSAC has been very clear that any and all issues regarding the arming initiative must first be discussed at the bargaining table.

PSAC confirmed this position in a July 15 letter sent to Parks Canada Agency and, on behalf of Parks Canada, Andrew Campbell responded on July 18 affirming that the arming initiative will be discussed at the bargaining table.

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Since PSAC signed the collective agreement with Canada Post four years ago, there have been a lot of changes in the way that work is organized and who does that work. The drive for “increased flexibility” has led to reorganization, increased use of term and casual employees and duties being moved outside the bargaining unit.

In 2006, Human Resource Management (HRM) and Production and Control Reporting (PCR) were reorganized and new reporting systems were introduced. Canada Post’s expectations increased, workloads increased and yet fewer people were left to do more complicated work. For example, in 2002, 50 jobs were created in Montreal to handle increased workloads and now only 17 people remain in those positions. The workload has not decreased.

Members are now finding that they have to monitor and correct work that is being done outside of the bargaining unit. This work used to be part of their job.

While PSAC recognizes that there may be some situations that call for term or casual staffing, the union is concerned about the increasing use of these strategies instead of simply staffing positions on a permanent basis.

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Our national bargaining team met with Canada Post July 7 to July 10.

PSAC’s proposal for new grievance language in Article 19 was discussed and a  technical working group was formed to report back to the main bargaining table for the round of bargaining on August 20.

The employer presented a revised Appendix M for renewal. Appendix M deals with ongoing change at Canada Post. Your bargaining team will work to ensure that this program is updated appropriately and continues to be adequately funded. This appendix remains under discussion.

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The last negotiation session with the BC Corps of Commissionaires was held on July 7 and 8, 2008. Although progress is slow, the parties reached agreement and signed off on a couple articles:

• Job Descriptions - contained in the Post Orders and shall reflect the duties and responsibilities expected of the employees;
• Professional Membership, Registration and Licenses Fees - employer to pay for periodic refresher training to maintain First Aid and CPR certificates and will reimburse employees for any other certificate and/or license required for the employee’s position, as determined by the employer;

Discussions were also held regarding the following issues:

• Definitions and Interpretation
• Information
• Discrimination and Harassment
• Leave With or Without Pay for Union Business
• Other Leave With or Without Pay
• Layoff and Recall
• Seniority
• Pay Administration

With the employer representatives not being available until the end of August, the next negotiation meeting with the employer has been scheduled for August 20, 2008.

These negotiations, for a first collective agreement, include two (2) bargaining units: approximately 40 Commissionaires performing work on behalf of the Canadian Border Services Agency at Library Square and the Vancouver International Airport and 8 Commissionaires performing work on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the Seal Cove Coast Guard Base in Prince Rupert.

• July 9th, 5:30PM
• PSAC Vancouver RO, 200 - 5238 Joyce Street
• (1 1/2 blk south of the Skytrain)

Come and listen to bargaining updates from members of PSAC units that are currently in bargaining: Treasury Board, CFIA, Commissionaires and Parks. If time allows, there will be a question and answer session.

Please RSVP to Regina Brennan at (604) 430 5631 x 228 so we can plan for dinner.

Negotiators for Parks Canada Agency applied for mediation after walking away from the bargaining table last May.

Your bargaining team believes that mediation is premature because the parties are far from resolving the substantive issues and that the employer has not even addressed the critically important issues, including the arming initiative.

The employer’s application for mediation to the Public Service Labour Relations Board came after seven days of fruitless negotiations that began on May 5.

Your bargaining team had agreed to return to the table at the request of Parks Canada Agency and after it had publicly announced that they wanted to return to the bargaining to address all of our important bargaining demands. Your team had made the commitment to you that they would remain at the table in an effort to reach a fair and just collective agreement.

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Filing a grievance is one of the most effective ways that you can stand up for your rights on the job, making a difference for everyone in the workplace. When PSAC/UPCE sits down at the bargaining table during this round of negotiations, we will be working hard to improve the grievance process at Canada Post, so that complaints can be resolved more quickly and efficiently.

Your collective agreement

Your collective agreement is the contract with Canada Post that union members fought hard for in previous rounds of negotiations. This contract spells out the gains that we made in protecting human rights, salaries, job security, vacation leave entitlements, benefits and the right to freedom from harassment, among many other issues.

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Your bargaining team met with the BC Corps of Commissionaires on June 17 and 18, 2008. The parties reached agreement on a few articles and signed off the following articles (summary only):

• Union Recognition - recognition of the PSAC, by the employer, as the exclusive bargaining agent for the employees identified in the bargaining certificate;
• Joint Consultation Committee - process and some parameters regarding discussions between the parties on matters of common interest;
• Technological Change - reference to relevant legislation and commitment to meet to discuss any effect it will have on employees, with a view to minimizing such effects;
• Court Appearances - reimbursement for wages lost due to a court appearance when serving as a subpoenaed witness;
• Leave to Vote - in accordance with the relevant statutes.

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Our union, UPCE/PSAC, has the duty to fairly represent all members. While the current collective agreement contains provisions that protect against discrimination and sexual harassment, our members have told us that unfairness in the workplace still exists at Canada Post. The bargaining team has proposed a number of changes to broaden the definition of discrimination and define different forms of harassment beyond sexual harassment.

Employers are ultimately responsible for acts of work-related harassment. The Supreme Court has said that the goal of human rights law is to identify and eliminate discrimination.

In agreeing to our proposals, Canada Post would be taking a leadership role in working with the union to reverse the negative effects of harassment. This would help to ensure a healthier and fairer work environment for everyone.

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On June 19th PSAC members throughout BC, and from coast to coast to coast, joined together at lunchtime and after work gatherings to tell the employer that we deserve to be treated with respect and to express our frustration at the lack of progress after one year of bargaining. Members in BC sent postcards to their MP’s, distributed leaflets, and wore their “I support my team” bracelets and tattoos, among many other things.

In Kamloops and Salmon Arm, members asked Treasury Board to “Show Us The Green”; in the Fraser Valley, members working for Corrections Canada handed out peanuts and ate vegetarian pizza (where’s the meat in TB’s offer?); in Vancouver members gathered downtown and at Nat Bailey Stadium to hear reports from Bargaining Team members, and REVP Kay Sinclair; and at the airport Customs Officers practiced due dilligence in their work; on the Island members gathered in Victoria, Esquimalt, Nanaimo, Campbell River, and Courtenay.

Continue reading for some more photos & video …

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On June 19th PSAC members throughout BC marked one year of bargaining with Treasury Board by joining together and telling the employer that we deserve to be treated with respect and that we deserve more at the bargaining table.

In downtown Vancouver, 250 people braved the rain and gathered at Canada Place to hear REVP Kay Sinclair and member negotiators Karim Lawji and Megan Adam speak.  PSAC and PIPSC members working for Treasury Board, CFIA, CRA, Canada Post and Parks Canada gathered to hear bargaining updates, sign thinkpublic! postcards to their MPs, and enjoy lunch.

At the Pacific Forestry Centre in Victoria, UEW members were joined by their PIPSC and summer student co-workers for a hamburger BBQ. In Nelson, Area Strike Coordinator Sheila Pearce and members at the Service Canada office dressed in ratty clothes to demonstrate how poorly they are paid!

Other lunch time activities took place across BC and we will have a full report soon. In the meantime, here are some photos.

PSAC members take pride in the work that they do for Canada Post, and more often than not, those contributions are not recognized or valued. This is the first in a series of information bulletins that will highlight our workplace issues and what we want to achieve this round of negotiations to build a better workplace.

• View all the PSAC/UPCE demands for the current negotiations at the national website (pdf).

Surveillance

Contact Centre workers work in an electronic production environment that has been called the “factory of the new economy”. From the moment they go to work people are timed, measured and watched. Emails are measured for efficiency and productivity and calls are measured by calls per hour, talk time, not ready time. Supervisors have unfettered access to workers’ calls and emails, and conversations with clients can be listened in on by a supervisor at any time. It is becoming increasingly the norm for Canada Post to change and apply unreasonable standards to individual employees in measuring work performance and in surveilling employees.

Our bargaining team has proposed the following collective agreement language changes to address this problem and to introduce workplace fairness:

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Treasury Board has recently attempted to shift the blame onto the PSAC for canceling what were only tentative bargaining dates in June. If anyone’s responsible for bargaining not taking place in June, it’s Treasury Board.

PSAC has already been at the bargaining table for a year. What we’ve heard most from Treasury Board is NO, NO and more NO.

• NO to the elimination of regional pay zones
• NO to pay adjustments to bring our members’ salaries in line with the private and public sectors
• NO to important demands such as job security for CBSA members affected by the arming initiative.

At the same time, it has taken a year for Treasury Board to put any pressure on departments to submit their proposals for essential services. Treasury Board knows very well that Essential Services Agreements must be signed before members can take legal strike action. The longer they drag this process out, the more they think it will weaken the union’s ability to negotiate fair settlements for our members.

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source: Vancouver Sun, June 13 2008

Travellers going through customs at Vancouver International Airport today have faced waits of up to two hours because customs officials are deliberately slowing down lines to highlight a contract dispute, a union president said.

“The officers did tell me today that they’re working to the full extent of their work description,” said Sue Neumann, customs excise union president responsible for Vancouver’s airport, sea ports and cruise ships. “This is obviously a reaction, this is not normal.”

The union is currently in a contract dispute with the Canada Border Services Agency, but is not in a legal strike position.

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Actions are taking place all across the province…

In Downtown Vancouver, meet in front of Canada Place for music, speakers and food from 12 noon - 1PM. Look for the PSAC banners! Show your support for Public Services and your Bargaining Teams! Wear your “I Support My Bargaining Team” tattoo or sticker and enjoy a free hot dog!

In Metro Vancouver members are going to a Bargaining, BBQ and Baseball event at Nat Bailey Stadium. They’ll hear about negotiations, share a meal, and enjoy a Vancouver Canadians game afterwards!

The South Kootenays is encouraging members to dress in ratty clothes to demonstrate how poorly they are paid.

In the Service Canada site in Prince George members will be in beach wear with “We deserve better” buttons and balloons and “I Support my bargaining team” tattoos and stickers at its National Public Service Week breakfast.

Fraser Valley is distributing peanuts, symbolizing what they think of the employer’s pay offer and giving out bargaining information to the members.

There will be a Union Pizza Day lunch at both Service Canada Sites in Kamloops and Salmon Arm. In Kamloops they are asking members to wear green that day (Show us some green) and will have green balloons with I Support my Bargaining Team stickers.

If there are no events near you initiate your own!

There are plenty of things you can do to show your support! Download our “Things to Do” flyer (.pdf)

Send a message to your MP! Sign a Think Public postcard and make sure your MP gets the message!

The complete list of PSAC/UPCE demands for the current negotiations is now available at the national website (pdf).

Collective bargaining with the BC Corps of Commissionaires resumed May 29 and 30, 2008. Some of the issues discussed include:

• Management Rights
• Union Recognition
• Bargaining Unit Work
• Job Security
• Union Representatives
• Use of Client Facilities
• Employee Orientation
• Union Dues and Membership
• Information
• Discrimination
• Harassment
• Leave With or Without Pay for Union Business
• Seniority
• Grievance and Arbitration Procedure
• Technological Change

Although some progress was made during those two (2) days of negotiations, no articles were signed off. These negotiations, for a first collective agreement, include two (2) bargaining units: approximately 40 Commissionaires performing work on behalf of the Canadian Border Services Agency at Library Square and the Vancouver International Airport and 8 Commissionaires performing work on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the Seal Cove Coast Guard Base in Prince Rupert.

Information sessions with the membership are planned to be held shortly. The next meeting with the employer is scheduled for June 17 and 18, 2008.