Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The UN General Assembly has designated June 23rd – World Public Services Day – to celebrate the value and virtue of public service to the community and to encourage young people to pursue careers in the public sector.

National President John Gordon, NVP Patty Ducharme, REVP BC Kay Sinclair, REVP North Jean-François Des Lauriers, REVP Atlantic Jeannie Baldwin, CEIU National President Jeanette Meunier-McKay, and UTE National President Betty Bannon are in Vancouver attending the International Trade Union Confederation World Congress. They joined many other PSAC members and elected officers at a rally commemorating World Public Services Day where they heard messages of Solidarity from labour leaders from around the world and rallied for strong public services. Formed in 2006, ITUC represents 175 million workers through its 311 affiliated organizations within 155 countries and territories. Here are a few photos …


The voices of Public Services International members are being raised from the streets of Europe to international trade union and government meetings in Canada this month.

The message is loud and clear: workers and their trade unions reject public spending cuts that reduce the wages, pensions and social programmes that families and communities rely on. Working people must not be made to pay any further to bail out banks and speculators.

Public Service International general secretary Peter Waldorff says, “Budget deficits and debts must not be used as an excuse to cut public services. This simply opens the way to privatizing desperately-needed public programmes, and will only further benefit financial profiteers at the expense of working people.”

Read more at world-psi.org



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).

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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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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Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada working for Statistical Survey Operations have voted in favour of new collective agreements that contain no concessions. The collective agreements cover both regional office and field interviewers.

The four-year collective agreements, which expire on November 30, 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. The agreement also broadens the definition of �family,� which now applies to various other leaves. It also improves the Bereavement Leave article and secures commitment from the employer to improve its communication to employees on pension and retirement options and to provide pre-retirement seminars.

Despite negotiating under very difficult circumstances your bargaining teams were able to win some gains without allowing for any concessions.

We may have to erect a tombstone on Parliament Hill and inscribe it “Here lies pay equity,” if Canada’s MPs support the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act, buried deep in C-10, the Conservative’s Budget Implementation Act.

Eleven recipients of the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, the country’s highest honour given to women, and more than 60 experts on women’s human rights have called on Stephen Harper to drop this legislation because it empties women’s right to equal pay for equal work of its meaning. But media space has more readily been given to those denigrating pay equity with such old saws as “Equal pay for work of equal value is like comparing apples and oranges.” In contrast to Canada, the EU has recently moved to strengthen its pay equity legislation. The European Parliament has called “for the organization of a European Equal Pay Day to contribute to raising awareness about the existing wage gap and to encourage all those involved to take additional initiatives to eliminate this gap.” Yet in Canada, conservative economists continue to posit, contrary to extensive evidence, that the market, if left unregulated, will resolve wage and other financial inequities. But history shows that the absence of market regulation leads to, rather than prevents, gender inequity. And recent global economic events further reveal the problem with unregulated markets.

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Ottawa didn’t do cost estimates for new Tory plan, senior officials acknowledge

OTTAWA � Ottawa prepared no estimates to demonstrate that a controversial and divisive shift in establishing pay equity for 400,000 federal public servants would ultimately save taxpayers money, senior officials acknowledged yesterday.

Under the new regime the Harper government first unveiled in a restraint package last fall, the Canadian Human Rights Commission will be forbidden from hearing complaints from federal public servants on pay equity. That has previously served as the first step in a dispute process that led to litigation forcing Ottawa to dole out big settlements for pay imbalances.

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source: Vancouver Sun, Wednesday Nov 26

They sometimes escort suspected killers, drug dealers and terrorists from jail to hearings and even out of the country, but they have no weapons or bulletproof vests.

Concern over their safety is a big reason commissionaires contracted to the Canada Border Service Agency planned to serve strike notice today, union official Dave Thompson said.

The 40 or so guards who work at CBSA jails at the airport and Vancouver’s Library Square could be off the job by Sunday, said Thompson, of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

The security specialists, who look after those detained for being in Canada illegally, technically work for the Corps of Commissionaires, a non-profit company formed to employ former servicemen after the Second World War.

But they are looking after the same inmates who are arrested by CBSA enforcement officers or police officers who are fully armed and wear body armour, Thompson said.

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The largest union representing federal public servants wants a voice in how its members’ pension fund is run after government-appointed pension fund managers gave up on more than $900 million in investments rocked by the U.S. credit crisis.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada says it would like to see employee representation in the management of its pension fund, as is done in other public-sector plans.

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via PIPSC

Ottawa, June 20, 2008 – Federal public service employees have won a landmark victory before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. In a decision released today, the Tribunal ruled that the Treasury Board term employee policy was discriminatory.

Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada member Brigitte Lavoie filed the complaint before the Tribunal, alleging that the term employee policy discriminated against women who take maternity leave. The TB policy stated that term employees would automatically become indeterminate after three years of employment yet would not count the leave period.

The Tribunal ruled that the Treasury Board did discriminate by refusing to count the maternity leave period towards continuous employment therefore eliminating her chances of permanent employment and career advancement.

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source: The Ottawa Citizen, June 16, 2008

It’s time for a major study into what is ’sabotaging taxpayers’ investment’: mental health expert

Canada needs a national inquiry into the management and working conditions of the public sector, which is a “toxic place to work” for a growing number of employees who are stressed, burned out and slipping into depression, says a mental health expert.

Bill Wilkerson, chairman of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, said the absenteeism, disability claims and distress among Canada’s nurses, doctors, teachers, police, military and bureaucrats have reached such crisis proportions that it’s time for a major study into what is “sabotaging taxpayers’ investment” into these critical services.

“We are seeing absences, disability rates and illness among public sector organizations that beg a national evaluation of what it is about these workplaces that creates such high levels of distress,” he said.

“And I would argue, conceptually, that this goes beyond the question of too few nurses, for example, doing too much work.

“There is something wrong with the culture of these workplaces.”

Disability claims in Canada are climbing and between 30 to 40 per cent of claims are for depression. The cost to the economy is $51 billion, or four per cent of GDP.

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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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source: The Ottawa Citizen, Friday, May 23, 2008

The stage is set for increased tension in negotiations between Treasury Board and the 120,000 federal public servants represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

John Gordon, the union’s national president, said last night that government negotiators yesterday afternoon put a monetary offer on the table, “which is, quite frankly, insulting.”

The four-year offer included annual wage increases of 1.5, 1.5, 1.2 and 1.2 per cent.

“We were looking for some respect from this employer, which has told us they were bargaining in good faith,” Mr. Gordon said. “We’ve been at this for a year and they come in and insult our members like that … those valuable employees they talk about at every turn. Well, I’ll tell you, those valuable employees are somewhat upset.”

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On May 1^st, 1886, 80,000 workers took to the streets of Chicago to demand an eight-hour work day. This was at a time when the right to organize and strike did not exist. The peaceful mass meeting at Haymarket Square in Chicago that followed was broken up by armed police, leading to the death of seven police officers, and later, the execution of seven prominent labour leaders. Since then, people all over the world have used May 1st as an opportunity to commemorate the struggle for decent working conditions and to press for social justice and workers’ rights.

• Read more about the Haymarket Affair at wikipedia.org.

In 2008, workers are still fighting to protect their hard-won rights to organize, to bargain collectively and to strike. In the last couple of years alone, we have seen workers’ rights eroded through:

• The defeat of Bill C-257, which would have made it illegal for employers to hire scab labour.
• The Harper government’s dismantling of a hard fought-for universal child care program.
• The removal of the “equality” mandate from Status of Women Canada and the abolishment of the Court Challenges Program, which gave marginalized groups access to the court system to fight for their constitutional rights.
• Continued closed-door negotiations on the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America – a pact between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, which is being led by some of the world’s richest corporations, with zero input from working people.

In addition to standing up for people’s rights in the workplace, PSAC is building a movement to fight back and defend Canada’s valuable public services. We believe that the needs of people come first – that the role of government is to protect and promote the social, economic and safety needs of the public, rather than promote profits at any cost.

One hundred and twenty two years after the Haymarket Affair, PSAC celebrates our successes but we remain vigilant against attacks on our rights.

Ottawa – StraightGoods.ca is pleased to announce the addition of a new member to its family of websites: www.PublicValues.ca .

The site is an online magazine presenting news about privatization and the fight to preserve public services, resources, spaces and enterprise. It will be updated frequently. Readers are encouraged to submit ideas and articles.

“The site is in Beta format right now,” Straight Goods says.

“We’re still test-driving it, and we have yet to publish all articles in French on its sister site, Valeurspubliques.ca. As we get rolling, we expect to be publishing in both official languages as simultaneously as possible.

“We are thankful for the support of the partners backing PublicValues.ca. In 2008, they include National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) and Ontario Secondary School Teachers (OSSTF). Founding partners include the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).”

Visit publicvalues.ca today and add it to your list of bookmarks!

source: The Ottawa Citizen, Jan 11, pg A1

Fat City is back. And according to a study of federal public service employment trends released yesterday, it’s putting on weight at a rapid rate.

The Statistics Canada study also found that, on average, public servants in this region are younger and more highly trained than those elsewhere in Canada.

The study reported that the number of people who work for the “core public administration” in the national capital region, which includes Ottawa, Gatineau and surrounding areas, grew by a stunning 20 per cent between 1995 and 2006, an additional 12,800 jobs.

By contrast, federal employment in the category fell 5.6 per cent nationally during the same period, shrinking by more than 10,000 to just under 178,000.

The core public administration represents nearly half of all federal employment and includes almost the entire public service other than the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canada Border Services Agency.

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Source: The Ottawa CitizenThe federal government has been discriminating against a group of federal nurses on the basis of their gender for more than three decades, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ruled.

The ruling could potentially expose the government to hundreds of millions of dollars of liability for back wages and compensation, according to the lawyer for most of the nurses.

And the principles it endorses could apply to other employee groups as well, said Philippe Dufresne, senior counsel for the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

The human rights tribunal found that the nurses, who determine the eligibility of applicants for CPP disability benefits, perform essentially the same core functions as government doctors who are paid about twice as much.

The group of nurses, called medical adjudicators, is 95-percent female, while the doctors’ group, known as medical advisers, is 80-per-cent male.

Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, it is illegal to treat a female-dominated group differently from a male-dominated group when both perform the same or substantially similar work.

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OTTAWA – Canadian workers have finally won new legal protection for their wages and their pension contributions when their employer goes bankrupt. Bill C-12, a series of amendments to existing insolvency and wage protection laws, was approved by the Senate last night and received Royal Assent today. This was accomplished after an intensive three-year campaign by the Canadian Labour Congress and its affiliated unions to change bankruptcy laws that unfairly put workers last line to get paid.

To print the English PDF version, please click here.