Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

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.

Retirement Security: Let’s make it work for everyone!

Fixing Our Pension Crisis: A Panel Discussion
with Sylvain Schetagne, Canadian Labour Congress, Senior Economist,
and Dr. Michael Prince, Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy

• When: Wednesday, May 19, 2010
• Where: BCGEU Building, 2994 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC
• Time: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Admission is free and members of the public are welcome.

Organized by the Canadian Labour Congress, Victoria Labour Council. For information, please contact: Victoria Labour Council: 250-384-8331 Email: vlcbc@telus.net. Download a poster here (.pdf)

Here are a few photos from recent PSAC BC events …

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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.

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).

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.