February 2009
Fact Sheet
Wage roll-backs undermine workers' rights and threaten free collective bargaining
The Conservatives' Budget Implementation Act (Bill C-10) legislates rates of pay for employees of Treasury Board and all other federal agencies. The bill legislates wage increases of 2.5%, 2.3%, 1.5%, 1.5% and 1.5% from 2006-2011.
For PSAC members, who are covered by collective agreements, the provision that allows the government to roll back negotiated wage increases covers any increases during the period from December 8, 2008 to March 31, 2011. The Act explicitly states that it will roll back any wage increases that differ from this formula, stating that they “are of no effect and are deemed never to have had effect,” during this period.
A string of broken agreements
This attempt to rewrite history will directly affect a large number of PSAC members who negotiated wage increases and collective agreements freely and fairly with their employers.
Canada Revenue Agency: the 2009 negotiated increase of 2.5% will be rolled back, even though it was negotiated back in October 2007.
National Gallery of Canada: the 2009 negotiated increase of 2.5% will be rolled back.
Canada Council for the Arts: the 2.5% negotiated increases for 2009 and 2010 will both be rolled back.
Canadian Museum of Nature: the 2009 negotiated increase of 2% will be rolled back.
National Arts Centre: the 2009 negotiated increase of 2.5% for the ushers and tour guides will be rolled back and the 2.5% increases for 2009 and 2010 for property management, security and parking services will be rolled back.
Workers' rights under attack
PSAC is convinced that Bill C-10 violates a 2007 Supreme Court of Canada decision that found free collective bargaining to be encompassed and protected by the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Court stated that: “Recognizing that workers have the right to bargain collectively as part of their freedom to associate reaffirms, enhances and promotes the values of dignity, personal autonomy, equality and democracy that are inherent in the Charter.”
The 2007 ruling also made a point of rejecting earlier Supreme Court decisions that excluded collective bargaining from the Charter's protection, saying those decisions would not stand up to principled scrutiny.
If workers have a Charter-protected right to bargain collectively, then it is reasonable to expect that the contracts they negotiate should be protected as well and not subject to the whims of politicians.
PSAC will challenge the wage roll-backs mandated in Bill C-10 and its impact on PSAC members.
Date Modified : 2010/01/29
