Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The PSAC has advised its Components with members in Treasury Board bargaining units and/or in the Parks Canada unit that November 30, 2006 is the deadline for providing proposals for bargaining demands for the next round of negotiations.

The union has also mailed a copy of a new Program of Demands document to each Local/Branch President in these bargaining units. It is also available on this web site. The document has been developed to facilitate the work of the Locals/Branches. It includes a general list of wage and non-wage bargaining demands for consideration.

• Download the Program of Demands documents at the national website.

Each Component will be sending an input call to its Locals/Branches giving them a deadline to provide their proposals. The Program of Demands document provides instructions about how to respond to this input call, as well as information about using the input forms and what makes a good bargaining demand.

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PSAC members from Treasury Board locals who are interested in facilitating workshops for the PSAC-PSHRMAC Joint Learning Program (JLP) can apply on-line to become program facilitators.

The next JLP Facilitator Orientation course in the BC region will be in Vancouver from November 6 – 10, 2006. The deadline date for applications is September 25, 2006. For more information, visit the JLP web site.

In response to some questions we’ve received lately, here is a brief overview of the changes to the Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA) and the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) under the Public Service Modernization Act along with links to the relevant sections of the legislation.

Click to jump to

• Grievances
• Alternate Dispute Resolution/Informal Conflict Management Systems (ICMS)
• Consultation and Co-development
• Essential Services
• Strikes
• Unfair Labour Practices
• Staffing

Click the ^ to follow a link to the relevant piece of legislation or website.

Labour Relations - Grievances (Part 2 of the PSLRA)

There are now three types of grievances: individual^, group^ and policy^. Individual grievances are much like the past; group grievances are filed by the Union and must relate to the interpretation or application of the collective agreement - but individuals sign onto a consent form, thereby allowing the issue to move forward more efficiently and giving a remedy to those individuals who sign on; policy grievances are union grievances that also must relate to the interpretation or application of the collective agreement - they are filed at the final level with PSAC approval as the bargaining agent [similar to the way section 99 references were processed]. Policy grievances are “new” because the Union can file a policy grievance whether an individual could also grieve the issue or not [the limitation that existed for section 99 references];

Issues relating to deployments will be grievable once the new Public Service Employment Act is in force. However, the only issue that can be referred to adjudication is whether the individual deployed had given consent to the deployment; this includes persons who are deployed as a result of a finding that he or she harassed and is deployed out of the work unit. The Adjudicator will be entitled to inquire into whether there actually was harassment as part of the consent issue;^

Adjudicators can award interest in cases of termination, demotion, suspension or financial penalty;^

Adjudicators can now interpret and apply the Canadian Human Rights Act, and they can award the damages set out in that Act for pain and suffering (maximum of $20,000) and punitive damages (maximum of $20,000);^

The Canadian Human Rights Commission must be given notice of any adjudication that deals with a human rights-related issue and it can intervene in the hearing;

Subject to general policies set by Treasury Board, each Department’s deputy head now has the direct statutory power to set standards of discipline and set penalties (including termination, suspension and demotion), to provide for termination or demotion for unsatisfactory performance or non-disciplinary reasons, or provide for the termination of employment of persons to whom an offer of employment is made as a result of a transfer of work outside the core public administration; and

In cases of termination or demotion for unsatisfactory performance, an adjudicator can now only rule on whether the deputy head’s decision relating to performance was “reasonable”.^

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Labour Relations - Alternate Dispute Resolution/Informal Conflict Management Systems (ICMS)

Deputy heads must, in consultation with the union, establish an information conflict management system;^

Minimum binding guidelines for all ICM Systems have been issued by Treasury Board and are available on its website;^

ICMS can apply to any workplace conflict but does not override the grievance process;

It is strictly voluntary and individuals have a right to have a union or other representative present;^

The Union must be notified if the subject-matter of the ICMS involves the interpretation or application of the collective agreement;^

Opting into ICMS will not prejudice time limits under the grievance process; they’ll start ticking again once you opt out of ICMS if it isn’t working.

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Labour Relations - Consultation and Co-development (Part 1, Division 3 of the PSLRA)

It’s now mandatory for each deputy head to establish a union-management consultation committee. This includes all Treasury Board departments and separate employers. For many workplaces, UMCC or similar committees are already in place and functioning;

Employers and/or deputy heads and bargaining agents may also engage in co-development; this means the identification of workplace problems and the development and analysis of solutions to those problems;

Co-development is a joint analysis and decision-making process that is much more involved than consultation and will generally take place at a higher / national level. Any initiative must have bargaining agent approval;

Many employer/department representatives don’t understand the distinction between co-development and consultation. They ask to “co-develop” issues such as overtime distribution agreements. This is not co-development; so when in doubt, call it consultation.

Neither of these processes can serve to circumvent the collective bargaining process, or take away rights under a collective agreement.

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Labour Relations - Essential Services (Part 1, Division 8 of the PSLRA)

There has been a change in the way essential services are defined – it now includes “facilities” and refers to “a segment of the public” as well as the general public;^

The bargaining agent and the employer must negotiate an “essential services agreement”;^

Each agreement will deal with three issues: (1) identify the services that are essential; (2) what level of essential service is being provided (i.e. EI or CPP cheques must go out every two weeks); and (3) how many employees are required to maintain that level of service;

(3) is a change from the current process. Under the old system, if a job description even involved a small percent of the essential service, the position was designated. Under the new law, if there are 100 jobs that involve duties deemed “essential”, but only about 25% of the job relates to these essential duties, then only 25 positions will be deemed “essential”. The persons who are in those positions will only do the essential duties for 100% of their time (and therefore will not perform the other 75% of the “normal” work). This leaves 75 employees who can exercise the right to strike. Under the old system, all 100 of these positions would have been designated regardless of how much of the job was essential;

The Union and Employer must negotiate issues (1) and (3). The employer unilaterally decides (2) – the level of service that must be provided; If we can’t agree on (1) and (3), the labour board will hold a hearing and render a decision.^

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Labour Relations - Strikes (Prohibitions regarding strike activity are covered under Part 1, Division 14 of the PSLRA)

The Union is now required to hold a strike vote among all employees in the bargaining unit – not just Union members;^

Excluded employees are not covered by this, but members who have been suspended or had their membership revoked are;

Every employee must be given a reasonable opportunity to vote and to be informed of the result of the vote;^

An employee can complain to the PSLRB that there was an irregularity in the vote; the PSLRB can dismiss the complaint outright if the irregularity could not have affected the outcome;^

The Union must initiate strike action within 60 days of the date the vote is held;

The timing of strikes must not only take into account this 60 day “window”, but is subject to a range of other requirements including a prohibition on strike activity until 30 clear days have elapsed since singing off on an essential services agreement;

There is a new prohibition that says that no person can impede or attempt to impede essential service workers from entering or leaving the workplace;

There are new fines for both the union and individual members relating to strike activity.

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Labour Relations - Unfair Labour Practices (Part 1, Division 12 of the PSLRA)

The PSLRA now says that a Union cannot expel, suspend, discipline, deny membership, or apply its rules, in a discriminatory manner; after having exhausted the appeals under the Union constitution(s), an individual may also file a complaint with the Board alleging a violation of this provision;^

The employer now has a right to “free speech” and does not commit an unfair labour practice where it offers an opinion as long as it doesn’t use intimidation, threats, coercion, promises or undue influence.^

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Staffing (Covered by the Public Service Employment Act)

There’s a new definition of merit that radically changes the basis for appointments;^

• The PSAC Education department has produced an “e-tutorial” that explains how staffing works under the PSMA.

Relative merit is gone, merit now only means that the person meets the essential qualifications of the position and has certain other “assets” that the department considers important for its current or future needs;

The Act actually says that it is not inconsistent with merit to only consider one person for a job;

The changes to the definition of merit have an impact on lay-offs since reverse order of merit no longer applies.

There are new rules that apply to how candidates are notified of job opportunities, selected and assessed;

The Act no longer favours appointments from within the public service so there will likely be an increase in open (“external”) appointment processes instead of closed (“internal”) appointment processes;

The power to appoint, and the decision on whether to even advertise a job opportunity, is to be delegated to the lowest possible management level;

Extensions to a term are no longer considered new appointments;

Appeals (and Public Service Commission Appeal Boards) are gone;

Complaints for internal selection processes can only be made, on limited grounds, to a new Public Service Staffing Tribunal;

The Tribunal has the power to interpret and apply the Canadian Human Rights Act in relation to a complaint;

The role of the Public Service Commission is, largely, to audit departments and how they administer the Act.

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To: Alliance Executive Committee, PSAC Components with T.B./Agency members, PSAC Regional Offices

From: Patty Ducharme and Gerry Halabecki, Collective Bargaining Committee Co-Chairs

Re: 2007 Round of TB/Agency Collective Bargaining

We write to inform you of the upcoming steps being taken in preparation for the next round of TB/Agency bargaining. A number of actions have been taken that affect all five Treasury Board bargaining units and the three major Agency units.

• The Collective Bargaining Committee of the National Board of Directors and the Alliance Executive Committee have been preparing a revised approach to the Program of Demands, input calls for bargaining demands, and a framework for the coming round of bargaining conferences.
• PSAC has developed a new collective bargaining course for members that will be delivered in the regions in the coming months. This course is intended to inform members on negotiations and how to organize to support the bargaining process. Information on course availability and other details will be available from the Regional Offices.
• Later this summer, Environics Research Group will be conducting a membership telephone survey among almost 5,000 PSAC members in the TB and Agency units. The information from this survey will be used to prepare for the upcoming round of bargaining.
• Our timelines are being scheduled so that we are in a position to be at the table prior to the expiry of the collective agreements.

We are beginning to receive inquires about the upcoming round of bargaining, and in particular, questions about the TB and Agency bargaining conferences. In order to address many of these questions, we felt it important to provide you with information about the decisions that have been made to date regarding Treasury Board and Agency negotiations.

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The Public Service Labour Relations Board ruled on July 7, 2006 that a firefighter fitness test adopted and implemented by the Department of National Defence is discriminatory on the basis of age and sex.

The Board’s adjucator also directed the employer “to immediately cease using the eight minute standard as a condition of employment for DND firefighters”.

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PSAC is going to be surveying members in preparation for the next round of bargaining with Treasury Board, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Parks Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency.

Environics Research Group, a well-known and respected polling firm will be conducting the survey for PSAC, asking questions about bargaining issues and priorities.

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After a brief hiatus, the highly successful PSAC-PSHRMAC Joint Learning Program is back! The initiative resulted from the collective bargaining in the fall of 2004 and over $8M was dedicated to the Joint Learning Program (JLP) to fund learning activities, designed and delivered jointly by union and management. It highlights how bargaining agents and the employer can work together to modernize and improve relations in the workplace. Click for more information about the Joint Learning Program.

JLP Regional Field Coordinators

The JLP is recruiting 12 field coordinators to help implement the program across the country. The coordinators, 6 to represent the PSHRMAC and 6 to represent the PSAC, will be hired for 2 year terms. If you are interested in applying for one of these positions, or would like more information, visit the JLP web site.

Become a JLP faciliator …

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), and the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada (PSHRMAC) invite you to apply to join our team of facilitators for the PSAC-PSHRMAC Joint Learning Program (JLP). Read more at jlp-pam.ca.

On August 1st, 2005, more than 400 employees were transferred by order of the government from HRDC to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). All are employed in “National Collections Services” and “Collections Litigation and Advisory Services.” The vast majority are PSAC members classified as AS, CR and PM. If you were a part of this transfer, you are now an employee of the CRA. However, in accordance with provisions of the Public Service Labour Relations Act, your existing collective agreement (Table 1) remained in effect until the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB) ruled on the assignment of these new positions to bargaining units within CRA.

On 31 March 2006, in decision 538-34-01, the PSLRB approved a joint application of the PSAC and the CRA to have the AS-CR-PM positions assigned to the existing PSAC bargaining unit. Therefore, as of 31 March 2006, the Table 1 collective agreement ceased to apply to you, and you are now covered by the PSAC-CRA collective agreement.

Although the CRA agreement was originally based on the Table 1 agreement, and is structured very similarly to that agreement, over the last three rounds of negotiations a few differences have developed based on bargaining demands unique to one unit or another. To help you understand the provisions of the new collective agreement, the PSAC has put together a short summary of the major differences between the two collective agreements (pdf).

Important changes to the PSHCP!

This issue of the bulletin outlines important changes to the PSHCP that take effect April 1, 2006. These changes to the plan are the result of a two year collaborative effort between the Treasury Board Secretariat, Bargaining Agents and the Federal Superannuates National Association under the auspices of the National Joint Council.

The changes include

• the introduction of some brand new benefits,
• a number of upgrades,
• some changes to plan provisions to increase flexibility, and
• new contribution rates for pensioners.

Contents of the bulletin include

• Introducing new benefits
• Introducing benefit upgrades
• Introducing changes to plan provisions
• A few words on Pay Direct Drug Cards (PDDC)
• Questions and Answers

A copy will be mailed to all members covered by the plan, it is also available for download here .

OTTAWA — The National Joint Council is pleased to announce that an agreement on the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) has been reached between representatives of the bargaining agents of the National Joint Council, the Federal Superannuates National Association and the Treasury Board Secretariat. The Public Service Health Care Plan is an important program providing health care benefits and services to over 500,000 members and their dependants.

The agreement is the product of a collaborative process that began in 2004. The terms of the new five-year agreement will improve benefits and ensure that the PSHCP continues on a sound financial foundation for the future. The new terms of the PSHCP will come into effect April 1, 2006 and will mark the first major changes in benefits under the Plan in over a decade.

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The Department of Canadian Heritage has been ordered to reinstate a former employee who was fired because she belonged to a sovereigntist organization.

The Public Service Labour Relations Board has ruled that Edith Gendron was improperly fired two years ago.

Gendron may have been in conflict of interest when she was elected president of the group Le Quebec, un Pays in 2004, but the board found that Gendron’s termination was an excessive reaction, and ordered the government to give her back her job.

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JLP Developments

Here is some information on the status of the JLP and some next steps.

The JLP was first negotiated with Treasury Board in 2001, and was forced to shut down in 2004 with the expiry of the collective agreements. The PSAC was successful in re-negotiating the JLP in 2004, this time with ‘bridging funding’ to cover the period from the expiry of the current collective agreements to the conclusion of the next ones. What that means is there won’t be a complete shut-down in between bargaining rounds.

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Things aren’t all bad for former Liberal MP Reg Alcock, after being unseated in a surprise defeat Monday night.

After 12 years, two months, and 20 days in office, the outgoing Treasury Board president will collect an estimated $83,897 in an annual pension, or approximately $6,991 per month. Manitobans also needn’t mourn for losing Independent MP Bev Desjarlais, who’ll walk away from serving the Churchill riding since June 1997 with an estimated $40,072 pension per year.

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, 66 MPs who were defeated in Monday’s election or left politics before the vote stand to collect $74.6 million in pensions and severance. Four of the 66 retiring MPs, all of them Liberals, could each collect more than $3 million before they turn 75, estimates calculated by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation suggest.

Alcock rounded out the top 10 list of pension-getting ex-MPs: he’s set to receive more than $1.9 million by the time he hits the age of 75.

Read more at the Brandon Sun.

Older news and information pertaining to Treasury Board units are archived in our old webspace. This section will be updated as time goes on.

Here’s a handy-dandy list of the groups represented at Treasury Board Tables 1,2,3 and 5

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