Bargaining
July 23, 2012
Past service in Canadian Forces now counts for vacation leave
Thanks to the PSAC's advocacy work, former members of the Canadian Forces are now able to bring their vacation entitlement with them when they join the federal public service.
On July 19, 2012, PSAC and Treasury Board signed a memorandum of agreement amending the PA, SV, TC, FB and EB collective agreements to recognize service in the Canadian Forces for the purpose of calculating vacation leave entitlement.
This change is effective April 1, 2012
The change applies to anyone employed in the federal public service as of April 1, 2012, and in future, who has at least six months of continuous service either as a member of the Regular Forces or the Reserve Force while on Class B or Class C service. In all cases, the new provision will be retroactive to April 1, 2012.
PSAC has been working to get the service recognized
PSAC national president Robyn Benson says this is an important victory. “Our union has pushed for this for years. It was already a proposal at the TC bargaining table, the issue was raised at the FB table and it had support at our national convention in May.”
Due to a technicality in legislation, CF members have not been considered to be public sector workers and so could not carry forward into the public service vacation entitlements earned while in the military. “If the members of the Canadian Forces who risk their lives for our country are not public servants, what are they?” says Benson.
NDP Members of Parliament Peter Stoffer and Jack Harris have also lobbied tirelessly for this change. The government finally listened, and signalled the change in the 2012 federal budget.
Past service only affects the amount of vacation leave
While the previous service of former Forces personnel will be used to calculate the amount of vacation leave, it will not be used for any other purpose including the scheduling of vacation leave where seniority is used as a deciding factor.
PSAC plans for other bargaining units
PSAC will be working to extend this provision beyond the core public administration to bargaining units in separate agencies such as Parks Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Canada Revenue Agency, and other federal public sector employers.
Date Modified : 2012/07/23
