Union Update

September 5 - 29, 2006

Acrobat format

In this issue:

• Women: Don't look for economic equality from a Conservative government
• Thanks for your input!
• Standing proud, 100 years later
• First agreement with Georgian Downs Racetrack
• PSAC / CFIA Negotiations: Towards a new collective agreement
• RCMP Canteen employees become public sector workers
• Revised Mileage Rates
• The goal: Fulfill the mandate of the PSAC Convention and eliminate regional pay zones

Women: Don't look for economic equality from a Conservative government

The Harper government has once again shown that it has little interest in women’s equality in the workforce.

“In a response to the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women, the Conservatives have said there will be no new, proactive pay equity legislation, ignoring the recommendations of the Federal Pay Equity Task Force,” says PSAC National Executive Vice-President Patty Ducharme.

The Task Force spent three years consulting with employers and employer organizations, unions, women’s groups and individuals, as well as commissioning research on the issue of pay equity.  
In May 2004, it issued its report calling for a complete overhaul of the current complaint-based federal pay equity law.  Instead of a new law, the government is proposing increased education, specialized mediation assistance and compliance monitoring.

According to Ducharme, in the almost 30 years under the current pay equity law, federal public sector employers, including the federal government, have been among the worst offenders.  PSAC’s pay equity complaint against the federal government, affecting over 200,000 current and former employees, took over 16 years to resolve.  A complaint against Canada Post is still ongoing after 23 years.  “We fail to see how new information packages now are going to address federal employers’ extreme reluctance to abide by the law,” says Ducharme

“By refusing to proceed with proactive pay equity legislation, this government is telling working women that unless they have the financial resources to pursue complaints and fight prolonged court battles, they can forget about economic justice in the workplace.”

Thanks for your input!

If you were one of the almost 5,000 members who participated in PSAC’s telephone survey asking for your opinions about bargaining issues and priorities – thank you!  The survey, conducted by Environics Research Group, is one of the tools the union is using to prepare for the next round of bargaining with Treasury Board, Parks Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Whether or not you were one of the members called in our sample, we still want your input.  Treasury Board and Parks members are reminded that their Components are currently in the process of seeking Local input on proposed bargaining demands.  Has your Local held a meeting yet to talk about possible changes to your collective agreement?  Each Component will review the input they receive from the Locals and proposed demands will then be sent to the PSAC by November 30.

Standing proud, 100 years later

On September 7, 2006, Henri Massé, president of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ), unveiled a monument commemorating two workers who were gunned down in October 1906 by detectives hired by the Maclaren company. According to Mr. Massé, this monument has brought Thomas Bélanger and François Thériault back to stand proudly among the population of Buckingham.

Hundreds of guests, including Gatineau mayor Marc Bureau and Gatineau MP Richard Nadeau gathered on Main Street in Buckingham, a sector of Gatineau, Quebec, to witness the unveiling. Mr. Massé added that “Thomas Bélanger and François Thériault died fighting for justice and equality. We have a duty to honour their determination and their memory.”

In October 1906, Maclaren workers seeking fair wages and better working conditions set up the “Union internationale des ouvriers de Buckingham” to support their demands. Maclaren management dismissed union demands outright and ordered a lockout. On October 8, hundreds of workers demonstrated to convince their brothers still on the job to join them on the line. Company goons started firing on the workers and Bélanger and Thériault were killed instantly. Workers retaliated and chased away the company goons. The mayor of Buckingham and the owner of the company called for military intervention. The army stepped in and occupied the town for two weeks. Maclaren workers remained without a union until 1943.

The FTQ donated the monument to the city of Gatineau. Dozens of unions, including the PSAC and the Alliance Employees Union, helped in the financing of the monument. The monument, created by artist-sculptor Pierrette Lambert, recalls the events of October 8, 1906, the first labour dispute in Canada in which death of workers were reported.

First agreement with Georgian Downs Racetrack

PSAC members employed at the Georgian Downs Racetrack Ltd. in Barrie Ontario have ratified their first collective agreement on September 18. It will expire on September 17, 2010.

For Gerry Halabecki, the PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President for Ontario, the new collective agreement reflects the current standards for salaries and working conditions in the industry. All employees in the bargaining unit employed on the date of ratification will be paid a signing bonus of $350 (less statutory deductions). They will also be entitled to a progressive standardization of the rate of pay and elimination of arbitrary rates of pay. In some cases, the salary increases will reach 40%, as is the case for part time mutual bet tellers whose hourly rate will go from $10 to $14.

For Halabecki, this collective agreement reflects the hard work and dedication those PSAC members invested into the organizing drive and the round of negotiations. “We are proud of the commitment and perseverance some of those workers put into organizing their colleagues at Georgian Downs Racetrack,” Halabecki said. “Workers now have a collective agreement that improves significantly their salaries and working conditions and will protect their rights in the workplace.”

PSAC / CFIA Negotiations: Towards a new collective agreement

The PSAC held a National Bargaining Conference in Ottawa from September 12 to 15, 2006, to prepare the next round of negotiations with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The PSAC negotiates on behalf of nearly 5,000 members at the CFIA.The CFIA is the first of the major bargaining units out of the gate, negotiating for the first time under the new Public Service Labour Relations Act. The process of renewing the collective agreement at the CFIA began on June 23, 2006, when PSAC/Agriculture Union issued the Input Call for Bargaining Demands for the 2007 round of negotiation. The deadline for sending bargaining demands was August 14, 2006.

The National Bargaining Conference began with a keynote speech delivered by Robyn Benson, the AEC officer assigned to the CFIA bargaining unit.  Sister Benson provided an overview of our last bargaining cycle and the changes implemented to improve the process in this round.  She outlined the activities for the next two-and-a-half days, highlighting the fact that conference participants were expected to discuss the bargaining demands package and bargaining priorities, elect a negotiating team, and develop communication and mobilization plans.

On the second day, John Gordon, PSAC National President addressed the conference, saying it is essential for the members to make their presence felt very strongly at the bargaining table if they want to have positive results.

“The key to a successful negotiation is an engaged and mobilized membership,” Gordon said. “If the members are not behind the bargaining team, it’s harder to achieve a positive result in negotiations.”

The participants also reviewed the bargaining proposals that were submitted by the members from all regions of the country, and they elected the members of the CFIA Negotiation Team. They are Bob Jackson, B.C., Brea Lewis, Al., Marianne Hladun, Sask., Len Halldorson, Man., Marlene O’Neil, ON., Denis Sicard, QC., Debbie Forsythe, Atlantic. They will be assisted by PSAC negotiator Mike McNamara and research officer Shawn Vincent. Robyn Benson is also a member of the Negotiation Team.

The members of the Team are expected to meet again soon to finalize the bargaining proposals and to decide when the Notice to Bargain will be presented to the employer. 

RCMP Canteen employees become public sector workers

PSAC reached an agreement with the RCMP regarding the reclassification of Canteen workers from the private sector to the public sector. As a result, the Canteen workers will receive offers of employment under the Public Service Employment Act and will be covered by the Collective Agreement (Program and Administrative Services) between the Treasury Board and PSAC. The Canteen positions will be classified as CR02. As part of the negotiations, the employer has agreed to resolve the two complaints in favour of the members.

In May 2006, PSAC applied to the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board (SLRB) to be certified as the Bargaining Agent for RCMP Canteen Depot employees in Regina. PSAC also filed two Unfair Labour Practice Complaints against the employer regarding retaliatory action against union supporters during the organizing drive.

REVISED MILEAGE RATES

These rates are effective September 1, 2006. The rates payable in cents per kilometre (taxes included) for the use of privately owned vehicles driven on authorized government business travel are shown below:

Notes:

• The kilometric rate payable when a Canadian registered vehicle is driven on government business travel in more than one province or in the USA shall be the rate applicable to the province or territory of registration of the vehicle.
• Lower Kilometric Rates no longer apply to the Travel Directive.
• Lower Kilometric Rates such as the Commuting Assistance Directive, Isolated Posts Directive, Relocation Directive, Reservists, etc. (www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/TBM_113/trkr-tkdv_e.asp)

The goal: Fulfill the mandate of the PSAC Convention and eliminate regional pay zones

The members of the National Pay Zone Committee met in Ottawa on September 14 to discuss how to achieve the goal set by the PSAC Triennial Convention in May 2006, which made the elimination of pay zones a top priority of the union.

In order to fulfill the mandate of the Convention, the members of the National Pay Zone Committee will set up a network of PSAC members who are affected by the regional pay zones. Comprised of representatives of Locals who have members under the regional pay structure, this network will help identify the members affected by regional pay and disseminate the information about the unfairness of the regional zone system in preparation of the next round of bargaining at Treasury Board and government agencies.

According to Robyn Benson, PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President, Prairies, and chair of the committee, “our members have told us many times that this is a fairness issue. Their comments can be summarized simply: Same job, same employer equals same pay. The PSAC Convention gave us the mandate to eliminate the regional zones during the next round and we will achieve that goal if all PSAC members are united behind us.”

In addition to the setting up of a network, the National Pay Zone Committee will inform the delegates to the different bargaining conferences about the issue and the importance to tackle it definitively during the next round of bargaining.

Of the 370,606 employees of the broader federal public sector, only 14,653 workers - or 4% of the workforce - are affected by regional rates of pay. PSAC members at Treasury Board’s Tables 2 and 5, Parks Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency comprise 80% of that group.