PSAC Union Update for the period March 27 - April 7, 2000
Conciliation meetings for some 11,000 Treasury Board Table 2 members wrapped up on March 21 with a one-year tentative agreement that is a disappointment for these members, said Nycole Turmel, national executive vice-president of the PSAC. "This round of bargaining concluded without a feeling of achieving victory in any form," added Turmel.
The one-year tentative agreement, which would expire August 4, 2000, if ratified, provides for a 2% increase on rates of pay retroactive to August 5, 1999, and a lump sum payment effective March 31, 2000 of $625 for all employees except certain workers, the majority of whom are in the Atlantic/Quebec region, in the General Labour and Trades (GL), General Services (GS) and Hospital Services (HS) groups, who will receive $725.
Other improvements in the tentative agreement include:
* an increase in shift and weekend premium to $1.50;
* an off-duty Supplementary Unemployment Benefit (Sub) Plan for the Grain Handling Weighperson sub-group at the Canadian Grain Commission. While these are full-time indeterminate employees, they are subjected to temporary layoff. They will now receive a top-up to 70% of their weekly rate of pay. During the two-week waiting period for EI they will receive 35% of their regular weekly rate of pay;
* an increase in the Supplementary Allowance for Lightkeepers (LI) members. In addition, the Meteorological allowance will be increased by 2% for the LI members;
* increasing the Long-Service Pay for Firefighters (FRs) by $200;
* four weeks and three days of vacation leave after 17 years of service and 5 weeks and 3 days after 28 years.
The PSAC has succeeded in signing a tentative agreement with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) which recognizes the CCRA and its workforce as being distinct from Treasury Board. The tentative agreement includes additional increments for some groups and levels and a reduction in hours of work for operational employees without a reduction in pay.
"If ratified, we will now have a "made at the CCRA" collective agreement," according to Serge Charette, Customs Excise Union Douanes Accise national president. "This settlement is more responsive to our members' needs."
"The solidarity of our members who gave us a strong strike mandate, and their active support of their negotiating team, were instrumental in achieving this settlement," says Union of Taxation Employees National President Betty Bannon. "And they rejected the employer's tactics to try to force an inadequate settlement on us."
Highlights of the tentative agreement include:
* One collective agreement covering all PSAC-CCRA members, effective from November 1, 1999 to October 31, 2000.
* An economic increase of 2% effective November 1, 1999 on the rates in effect on the expiry date of their original Treasury Board agreements. Additional economic increases ranging from 0.48% to 0.73% which will take effect on dates from June 21, 2000 to August 5, 2000, depending on the group. A new step will be added to the maximum rates of the PM group levels 1 to 4 and the AS group levels 1 to 3 as of August 1, 2000. The value of the new steps ranges from .75% at the highest level to 2.0% at the lowest levels.
* Except for employees in the PM 1-4 and AS 1-3 groups, all other groups will receive lump-sum payments effective March 31, 2000 equal to the lump-sum payments paid to their Treasury Board equivalents.
* A reduction in the weekly hours of work for operational employees from 40 to 37.5, without a reduction in pay, effective the day after the PSSRB has rendered its decision on CCRA bargaining units and recertification.
The tentative agreement is subject to a ratification vote later this spring by the 30,000 CCRA employees represented by the PSAC.
According to the Canadian Human Rights
Commission, legal procedures initiated by several employers are intended only to delay the
implementation of the legislation and to deny women the right to equal pay for work of
equal value.
Nycole Turmel, PSAC national executive vice-president, indicated that "the Canadian Human Rights Commission's report clearly shows that employers such as Canada Post, the Northwest Territories Government, Bell Canada and Air Canada are following the federal government's example and pursuing multiple legal avenues only to delay the moment when they will have to comply with the legislation. For over 15 years our members fought an employer who paid lip service to the principle of equal pay for its employees, women and men, but who, in reality, challenged every principle in the courts."
However, even if the PSAC has won the fight for its members at Treasury Board, many members who were transferred to separate agencies since the filing of the complaint are still waiting to find out if their employers will stop their discriminatory practices and adjust their salaries in accordance with the federal pay equity agreement (please read the related article on this page).
In its annual report filed on March 23, the Human Rights Commission mentions that the debate raised by the Alliance members pay equity issue caused many commentators to demand that the wages be determined by market forces. According to the Commission, this view "overlooks clear evidence that wages are influenced by values and traditions as well as supply and demand." The Commission added that pay equity in a society such as ours is part of labour market requirements, as are minimum wages, workplace health and safety provisions, parental leave, etc.
In November 1999, the Parks Canada Agency advised its employees that the agency would honour the pay equity agreement reached between the Treasury Board and PSAC. The responsibility for payments is split between the Heritage Canada (up to April 1, 1999) and the Agency. Parks Canada has shown a willingness to deal with pay equity quickly and fairly. The Alliance will be monitoring the payments and assisting members, if necessary.
As with the federal departments the first cheques for Parks Canada employees are for the period April 1989 to July 28, 1998. These are to be run by Public Works and Government Services Canada on April 7 for current employees. All cheques must be verified for accuracy before they are released so they may not be in members' hands until May-June. In June members will receive the July 98 to March 31, 1999 payment.
Treasury Board has confirmed they will fund the on-going costs for the adjusted pay equity salaries but we do not know at this time exactly when Parks Canada Agency employees will see their on-going pay cheques adjusted to the new salary rate. Nor do we know yet when Parks Canada employees will receive cheques for April 1, 1999 to the present. If not resolved soon, these issues will be discussed in the upcoming negotiations. Your union takes the position that interest will be owed until all retroactive cheques are issued.
If you have questions about the pay equity decision and how it affects you, please consult the PSAC website at www.psac-afpc.com, your Local executive or the nearest PSAC regional office.
The majority of the 8,600 Treasury Board Table 3 members voting on their new one-year collective agreement have voted in favour of the deal. This agreement provides for a 2% wage increase and many other improvements.
According to Nycole Turmel, national executive vice-president of the PSAC: "There are significant breakthroughs in this collective agreement on issues that have been at the bargaining table for some time now. With what we have achieved during this round we can continue to build on in future rounds of bargaining."
Turmel says that some of the breakthroughs include:
* the provision for employees to be able to vary the way in which they take bereavement leave;
* the provision for employees to take up to one day with pay for a medical appointment for a dependent family member;
* a Letter of Understanding dealing with Captive Time for all affected members of the bargaining unit. The Captive Time issue was dealt with in three ways: the study; the addition of one 10-minute station to station telephone call in addition to those provided in the travel directive; and, the provision that Industry Canada employees in the Technical Inspection bargaining unit who work on days of rest when away from their Headquarters area will be compensated at overtime rates.
* overtime rates for those PSAC members on Sea Lampry Patrol;
* four weeks and three days of vacation leave with pay after 17 years of service;
* a continuation of the Terminable Allowances for some 600 Technical Inspectors (TI) and, for 150 Primary Products Inspectors (PIs);
* an Off-Pay Sub-Plan for PI workers at the Canadian Grain Commission. While these are full-time indeterminate employees, they are subjected to temporary layoff. They will now receive a top-up to 70% of their weekly rate of pay. During the two-week waiting period for EI they will receive 35% of their regular weekly rate of pay.
The new collective agreement will expire on June 21, 2000.
Alliance members at Table 5 have voted in favour of a new one-year collective agreement with Treasury Board.
"This agreement includes a number of innovations," according to PSAC National President Daryl Bean. "A new clause which provides employees working as 10-month teachers, who do not receive annual leave, with two, non-cumulative days off with pay per year for their personal needs is a step towards reducing stress and burnout."
The agreement provides for a salary increase of 2% plus an $800 lump sum payment, as well as improvements in vacation leave, and shift and weekend premiums. Of benefit to employees in remote locations is the provision allowing employees to take up to one day with pay for a medical appointment for a dependent family member, up from one-half day. A clause which permits employees to vary the way they take bereavement leave acknowledges their different cultural and religious practices - another innovation.
The one-year agreement for the Education and Library Science Group expires on June 30, 2000. It includes the employees in the bargaining units formerly known as Library Science (LS), Education (ED) and Educational Support (EU).
Members of PSAC Local 30 at the Canadian Grain Commission in Thunder Bay have walked off the job on March 27 because of unsafe conditions. Traditional ways of dealing with hazards did not work, and members felt they had no choice but to walk. Complaints include regular safety meetings that are not being held and a safety report, stressing 13 specific issues, that was not acted upon. The Local asked Labour Canada to further investigate the situation.
The First Level Supervisors at Aéroports de Montréal have ratified a new three-year collective agreement on March 14. The agreement, which will expire on July 7, 2002, provides for a 1.5% salary increase for each year of the agreement, as well as a 3% increment increase for those who have not reached the maximum of the pay scale. Some members also received a lump sum for the first year of the agreement.
On January 12, the airports' white collars workers have also ratified a five-year collective agreement. As with the First Level Supervisors, the agreement provides members with a 1.5% salary increase for each year of the agreement, as well as a 3% increment increase for those who have not reached the maximum of the pay scale. Some members also received a $300 lump sum for each year of the agreement. The agreement will expire on December 12, 2003.
Finally, the ADM Firefighters will go into binding arbitration starting on March 30. Other meeting dates are scheduled in May. Their negotiating team went through mediation from January to March, but failed to resolve the monetary issues. This group has been negotiating since September 1998, while their collective agreement expired on June 1998.
The PSAC is currently preparing pay equity payments to its members who were reimbursed by the Alliance for loss of salary. For the period 1991 to the present our records are complete and these payments will be made automatically to the individuals involved. However, our records are incomplete for the periods prior to 1991.
If you are or were in one of the pay equity eligible groups and received salary reimbursement from the Alliance prior to 1991, please advise us and provide some proof of payment received. Once we receive your request and documentation, we will process your payment as quickly as possible.
You should send this information to: Payroll, PSAC, 233 Gilmour Street, 5th Floor, Ottawa, ON K2P 0P1. For further information please email payroll@psac.com.