PSAC Union Update for the period October 15 - 26, 2001
The federal government's initiative to put "Government on Line" by 2004 will increase the trend towards more contact centre work and we want to ensure that workers are in control of the technology and that the technology does not control them. This statement was contained in a speech presented by PSAC National President Nycole Turmel on September 25th to the government organized Conference on Contact Centres held in Ottawa.
"Government on Line" is supposed to make it easier for Canadian citizens and businesses to find what they need through one stop, thematic access points on the internet," continued Turmel. "However, union members have mixed feelings about this trend. They want to participate in initiatives that will provide better public services but unfortunately some contact centre environments are characterized by unsatisfactory working conditions. They have been called the 'factories of the 21st Century'."
"The information age promised more flexibility in working spaces and working time. Instead, work that is constantly monitored and controlled by automated call distribution technologies can reconfigure the office into a modern assembly line. Working conditions are poor. Pay is low. Health and safety concerns are ignored. Workers are left without adequate representation."
The PSAC points out that stress symptoms tend to be common in contact centres where workers are isolated. "Because workers are on their own they do not have a chance to share their knowledge and their emotional reactions with one another about the work they do. Automated Call Distribution (ACD) electronic monitoring and harassment are all significant contributors to workplace stress in contact centre environments.
The PSAC believes that quality of work should be measured and not the quantity of calls or e-mails answered. Targets, quotas and work generated by ACD only increase stress. ACD technologies can imprison workers in environments that are already stressful.
Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) is at the forefront of the move towards contact centre work. PSAC members at these centres answer 4 million calls annually. In a report issued by HRDC last year called the "Telecentre Pulse Report" there was clear consensus that stress levels were high. And one of the key sources of stress identified was that many of the telecentre employees were term. They reported frustration, uncertainty, financial insecurity and a feeling of being 'second-class' workers. In addition, the report noted that part-time employee status increased stress levels.
While HRDC responded to the Pulse report concerns in their Vision and Blueprint for Action, the 'vision' is short-sighted. Work life issues facing the workers do not seem to be part of HRDC's criteria.
In her concluding remarks Turmel reminded the government that its workers are its greatest assets. "There have to be rules around working hours and compensation for shifts that are less family friendly than the traditional workday. Flexible working hours can benefit both the employer and the workers but the workers need to have a strong voice on how flexible-working arrangements will look. Contact centres must conform to ergonomic standards and other health and safety guidelines. All Automated Call Distribution should be respectful of the worker's autonomy as an individual. It must be a tool not a master. It must help workers deliver service to the public and not bully the worker or rush the work."
"We embrace new changes in technology, because we know that if we are involved we can ensure that the changes benefit everyone. Through our intervention we are confident that federal government contact centres will stand out as models of good practice. Well-adjusted, knowledgeable and happy workers will be able to use their skills and knowledge to help all Canadians."
The PSAC calendars for the years 2002/2003 have been printed and distributed to all PSAC Regional Offices and Components. To get your copy please call the regional office in your area or your component.
The PSAC has selected a test case on the taxation of pay equity interest payments for appeal to the Tax Court of Canada.
Thousands of PSAC members filed notices of objection regarding their 2000 income tax relating to the taxation of the interest payments they received as part of the pay equity agreement. Based on a legal opinion obtained by the PSAC, there is reason to believe that these payments should not have been subject to income tax.
The CCRA has sent a letter to members who filed an objection seeking their agreement to have their objection held in abeyance until there is a judgement in the test case. The PSAC encourages all members who submitted an objection to sign and return this letter from the CCRA.
Legal Counsel for the PSAC is currently working on details for the test case. As the case proceeds more information will be published in the Union Update and on the PSAC website.
National Arts Centre Ushers and Guides say YES to
strike action A majority of PSAC members working as Ushers and Guides at the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa voted October 18th in favour of strike action should attempts to reach a new collective agreement fail.
"We want the NAC management to recognize the sacrifices we have made in the past and to offer us decent wage increases," indicated Tom Sparks, a member of the PSAC negotiating team. "Three years ago, when the NAC finances were in the red, we understood management's situation and we accepted a three-year contract including minimal increases. However, now that the National Arts Centre has once again found the profit path, we would like to have our wages adjusted to take into account the increase in the cost of living and the sacrifices we agreed to in the past," added Sparks.
During conciliation meetings on October 2, the NAC proposed increases which would be acceptable for new employees but it refused to change substantially the salary ranges for the ushers and guides who have been working for the Centre for more than 18 months.
"We are not asking for an astronomical amount," added Sparks. "The NAC has yearly expenses of $50 million, of which $15.6 million go to salaries. If management granted us what we want, this would only represent a few cents for every thousand dollars it spends on salaries. The NAC just gave substantial annual increases to the musicians of the NAC Orchestra. We also want to be compensated fairly," concluded Sparks. The Ushers and Guides will be in a legal strike position on October 26.
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has launched a 10-year campaign to improve the living standards of working Canadians. Under the theme "Is work working for you?", the campaign was launched on Labour Day 2001 and its purpose is to reverse the decline in living standards Canadian working people and their families have experienced during the last decade.
The objectives of the campaign include:
* making improved living standards for working people the central focus of public policy debate in Canada;
* establishing a legislative agenda at the municipal, provincial, territorial and federal levels to promote this objective;
* encouraging affiliates to set bargaining goals consistent with the campaign objectives;
* demonstrating the 'union advantage' and promoting organization of non-union workers.
Each Labour Day, the CLC will release a new set of social well-being indicators and focus attention on progress made since the previous year. In the first year of the campaign, the indicators will focus on Individual and Household Incomes, Poverty Levels, Access to Employment, Access to Health Care, Job Satisfaction, Union Status and Status of Equality Seeking Groups.
For more information on the campaign visit the CLC website.
PSAC members and the public in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, need only to go to a hockey arena in the area to see the 'PSAC wheels in motion'. In 1993 a PSAC Minor Hockey Team was born and still lives on thanks to monies raised by Locals in the area in preparation for the 'Strike of '91'. The Environment, Customs Excise Union Douanes Accise (CEUDA), Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE) and Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU) Locals put monies into a general fund in 1991 to assist members from smaller Locals in Sault Ste. Marie following the Strike.
However, when the strike was over and it was clear that no members had taken advantage of this fund, a decision was needed from the Locals on what to do with these revenues. At the Environment Component Local 00046 General Membership meeting, a motion was put forward to use the funds to support a Sault Ste. Marie Recreational Minor Hockey Team and was subsequently supported by all PSAC Locals within the area.
Although the funding from the hardship fund was depleted in 1996, the Environment Component Local 00046 membership at their Annual General Meeting, agreed to continue the financial support for this team. And, thanks to the PSAC membership in the area and Environment Component Local 00046, the union still has a prominent profile in the community 10 years after the Strike of '91.
The PSAC congratulates Brother Ranjit Perera on the successful conclusion to his many years of struggle and his victory over the discriminatory barriers he has encountered in his career with the federal public service.
No one should have had to carry a burden such as the one Brother Ranjit has carried for so many years.
Just as this case attests to the need to bring equity into the federal public service, this settlement also attests to the commitment of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to do the right thing and provide the redress and recognition that is owed to Brother Ranjit.
Brother Ranjit has been steadfast in his anti-racism work and vision. We wish him all the best. We know that he, and his family, deserve this long-overdue settlement and the positive opportunities it will provide.