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Public Service Modernization
Bill C-25: a worrisome piece of legislation
We, at the Public Service Alliance of Canada, could not agree
more with Robert Lanctôt that Bill C-25 is a worrisome piece
of legislation, especially in light of the recent declarations of
the Clerk of the Privy Council Clerk, Alex Himelfarb. A self-proclaimed
“ideas guy”, Mr. Himelfarb says that “defensive,
stale and cautious policy” is out and “bold ideas and
insights are in”. Considering that Bill C-25 is the most regressive
piece of legislation we have seen in some time, it is difficult,
if not impossible, to believe that Mr. Himelfarb is speaking for
the very same government doing its best to pass the Public Service
Modernization Act through the House of Commons in record time…and
with the help of the Canadian Alliance party!
This Bill is anything but modern. If adopted, Bill C-25 will take
back the right of federal government workers to engage freely in
political activities. When entering negotiations with its workers,
the government/employer will have the sole authority to determine
the nature and level of essential services during a strike, thereby
potentially preventing PSAC members from exercising their legal
right to strike. To add insult to injury, any striking members could
easily find themselves on the receiving end of a hefty fine or summary
conviction, simply for handing out leaflets and allegedly impeding
others to enter the workplace.
The most controversial sections of Bill C-25 are the provisions
on hiring. Under the new law, it will no longer be necessary for
Public Service managers to hire the “best qualified”
person to fill a position, or even consider more than one person.
All they will have to do is find a person who meets the essential
qualifications of the job. Good-bye, merit: Hello, favouritism.
When the Task Force on Public Service Reform was created, I dared
to hope that the government would invite the PSAC, and the other
bargaining agents, to participate in the new initiative as full
partners. What better way to set up the legislative framework for
productive labour-management relations than to sit down with the
unions as equals, exchange views and come up with mutually acceptable
solutions to the challenges facing us all.
This government could have broken the mold. It could have chosen
to “challenge orthodoxies, question assumed realities and
reveal new possibilities” and negotiate, rather than legislate,
the principles and practices governing the two areas of greatest
concern to most PSAC members – staffing and collective bargaining.
Instead, the government retreated to the timid world of the tried
and true and, in so doing, missed a golden opportunity to “re-charge
the Public Service” and usher in a new, exciting era of labour-management
relations. Plus ça change…
Nycole Turmel
National President
Public Service Alliance of Canada
233 Gilmour St.
Ottawa, ON
K2P 0P1
Tel: (613) 560-4200
or call
Liz Holden
PSAC, Coordinator, Communications and Political Action
(613) 560-4280
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