Union Update
February 2008
- Bargaining Update
- Retract Grain Commission Gag Order
- No More Discrimination in the MG Classification Standard
Bargaining Update
PSAC negotiating teams met with representatives of Treasury Board and government agencies to negotiate new collective agreements. Here are the latest bargaining reports from the different groups.
FB Bargaining Team encounters frustration
The FB Bargaining Team met with the employer from January 28 to February 1. The members of the Team expressed their frustration over Treasury Board's position taken on the Enforcement compensation study, and with CBSA/Treasury Board's lack of progress on key issues. In response, management expressed a commitment to take the time to discuss the key issues in good faith. Over the course of the week, the Team discussed the following subjects: job security in the context of the arming initiative, alternative working arrangements, protection of bargaining unit work, seniority rights and paid investigatory suspension language. They also discussed language ensuring safer working conditions for enforcement officers. While no agreement was reached on these issues, management committed to having responses on these issues when negotiations resume at the end of the month.
Date set for Labour Board hearing regarding Unfair Labour Practice charge
Last fall the PSAC filed an Unfair Labour Practice charge against CBSA/Treasury Board over management's communications concerning the arming initiative and job security, including the Intranet posting from last summer. The Labour Relations Board will hear the complaint on March 27 and 28 in Ottawa.
Negotiations resume on February 26.
Negotiations at the TC table
The TC Bargaining Team was in Ottawa from January 28 to February 03 and met with the Employer to table more proposals and provide further information on other items previously submitted.
The TC Team has the lead on the following articles: Call-back Pay, Standby, Reporting Pay, Captive Time, Injury-on-duty Leave, Acting Pay, Pre-retirement Transition Leave, Sick leave without pay provision for extended absence, and various articles involving Compensatory Leave.
The TC Team also shares the lead on Work Force Adjustment (WFA) with the SV Team and has tabled language on all of the above demands except for WFA.
The Team conducted discussions with the Employer to clarify the intent of these proposals and provide answers to their questions. The Employer’s team is seeking further information from the departments before providing responses on the proposals tabled to date.
It is clear from the demands submitted for consideration in this round that members of the TC group are frustrated by the inadequate classification standards being used to evaluate their work. In order to compensate for these inadequacies, the Team has presented a number of demands for new or improved allowances.
The Team is asking for improvements for specific groups described in the following appendices: Fish Hatcheries, Search and Rescue and Diving Duty. The Team is also asking for new appendix on Sessional Leave to continue benefits for new members transferred into the TC bargaining unit from the Translation Bureau, and a specific appendix for members working at Percy Moore and Norway House.
Terms of Reference have been agreed upon for the TC Pay Study and the consultant is now actively seeking comparative data. The Employer has stated that the results of the study are expected by the end of March 2008. Please note that Fisheries Officers are now included in this study, and are no longer part of the Enforcement compensation study.
The TC Team will be back at the table the week of February 25th, 2008.
SV Group talks about No Zones
The SV Team met with the employer in Ottawa from January 29 to February 1.
Their efforts this week focused on pay zones and the apprenticeship issue. On Article 44, Maternity-Related Reassignment or Leave, the SV Team expressed the difficulties associated with finding alternate work for pregnant and nursing members in workplaces that are hazardous or where the nature of the work poses a health threat to these members.
Ongoing discussions continued on allowances that included height pay, transportation of dangerous goods, Nuclear Emergency Response Team (NERT) and dirty work. Talks centered on broadening the scope of allowances, as well as the method of their payment.
There were meaningful discussions on the apprenticeship issue, with movement on the Employer's part to entertain this issue.
Treasury Board viewed the Childcare/Family Fund discussions as something that must be done at a different venue. As the SV Team has the lead on this, the Team believes that this important issue belongs at the bargaining table.
Concerning the demand for early retirement for enforcement and emergency workers, the Employer wished to review language for other groups and bring it to the next session for further discussions.
An extensive presentation on pay zones was made to the Employer on Thursday, January 31. We showed the Employer the “No Zones” DVD, with each Team member adding more insights into how they and their fellow members are affected by pay zones. UNDE National President John McLennan was also on hand to support the Team and expressed his views on the problems with pay zones. The presentation was well received by the Employer, and they indicated a willingness to work with us on this issue.
On Friday, February 1, the PSAC-REVP for the Prairies and AEC member responsible for the SV Team , Robyn Benson, discussed the past week of negotiations and chaired a conference call at noon with the No Zones Committee. Workplace actions on the No Zones campaign need to be ramped up. A number of options on how to do this were discussed.
Randy Sanderson presented a review of the ship's crew demands to the SV Team. The Ship's Crew Sub-Committee will be returning for their next round on February 17. The SV Team returns to the negotiating table on February 26.
Frustrating negotiations for EB group
Four full days of bargaining with Treasury Board last week left members of the EB Team feeling disappointed and wondering if their management counterparts have a mandate to bargain.
Your Team was able to sign off on the existing hours of work for librarians, language teachers, and employees in the ED-EDS classification, after the Employer dropped a demand (dealt with at the PA table) to expand the hours of a normal work day to between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. And the EB Team also withdrew a Traveling Time proposal dealing with child and elder care, acknowledging that the issue is more appropriately dealt with at the National Joint Council.
But that was where the progress ended. The Employer has said no to our demand to improve bereavement leave to five working days from five consecutive days, in the case of a death in the immediate family. They have said no to our proposal to remove the cap on the amount of vacation pay that can be carried over from year to year.
But most disturbing was the Employer's cavalier response to a detailed presentation by the EB Team last November demonstrating that 10-month teachers who work on aboriginal reserves at Six Nations, Tyendinaga and Cold Lake routinely work approximately three weeks of unpaid overtime each year. Our proposal asked for a modest improvement in preparatory time and for three days to fulfill administrative obligations. The Employer dismissed our concerns, saying that they should be dealt with at local union-management meetings – despite the fact that prep and administrative time are issues contained in the collective agreement. And consistent with their approach, they said no to our proposal that 10-month teachers should have the right to be paid overtime.
We are still waiting for responses on our demands to improve career development leave, professional development leave and pedagogical break. We are also waiting for them to respond to our proposals that would limit the widespread use of term employment, especially in the ED-LAT classification, and introduce sabbatical leave. We are hoping for a response at our next meeting in early March to the major problems we flagged with respect to the LS classification standard.
At the next bargaining session, the Team will be dealing with Correctional Services Canada issues, particularly hours of work for teachers and the contracting out of bargaining unit work. We also have a proposal dealing with teachers in high stress environments and we intend to return to our demand, rebuffed by the Employer early in negotiations, to add gender identity and gender expression, as well as political activity, to the No Discrimination language.
Negotiation breaks down:
PSAC Parks team will apply for conciliation
Your Bargaining Team was disappointed, in this week of negotiations, by the employer's lack of understanding of the need to have meaningful negotiation on the priority issues. It is clear that the employer is not ready or willing to negotiate a collective agreement after their statement that all demands carry equal weight in terms of importance.
Your Team was also frustrated as the employer continuously focused on grammatical changes instead of the key issues such as:
- Seasonal and term employment
- No contracting out
- Wages
- The return to the National Joint Council
- No Zones
- Misuse of student program
The Bargaining Team unanimously agreed that it is left with no choice but to apply for conciliation to get the process back on track, with the goal of achieving a fair and just collective agreement that addresses all of the bargaining unit's priority issues.
In Other Bargaining News:
Bargaining dates set for SSO negotiations
The Regional Office (RO) Interviewers Bargaining Team is scheduled to meet with the employer to exchange demands and begin negotiations from March 18 to 20.
The Field Interviewers Team is scheduled to be in bargaining from April 15 to 17.
Update bulletins will be published soon after each of these sets of meetings.
Notice to bargain was served by the Union to the Rankin Inlet Housing Association, NU, Baker Lake Housing Association, NU, staff of the Non-Public Funds, in Ottawa, Koprash Investments in Sault St. Marie, All Nations’ Healing Hospital, in Fort Qu’appelle, SK, and to the Listuguj Mi’gmac Nation Council in Listuguj, Québec
PSAC requested arbitration in the negotiations with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
PSAC members ratified a collective agreement at the Prince Rupert Airport Society
PSAC members reached a tentative agreement with the Québec Port Authority and a ratification vote will be held shortly.
Retract Grain Commission Gag Order
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz should retract a gag order which threatens Canadian Grain Commission employees who speak out against his government's legislative proposal to gut the Commission, according to the Agriculture Union, PSAC which represents Grain Commission employees.
In December, the Canadian Grain Commission issued a memo to employees forbidding them to publicly criticize Bill C-39, the government's proposal to cripple the Commission. “We hope the Minister will disassociate himself from the Commission's intimidation and assure employees they are free to express their opinion,” said Bob Kingston, National Vice-President of the Agriculture Union, PSAC.
The memo from Diane Shapiro, Director of Human Resources, threatens Canadian Grain Commission employees with possible disciplinary action if they criticize the government.
However, the memo did not prevent CGC chief commissioner, Elwin Hermanson, from advocating in favour of the controversial bill.
Hermanson authored a strongly worded opinion article in favour of amendments to the Canada Grain Act in Bill C-39 which was published in the February 7th edition of The Western Producer. Mr. Hermanson declares in his opinion article: “As chief commissioner of the CGC, I strongly support this legislation…
The bill would gut or kill several services and regulatory oversight activities of the Canadian Grain Commission, leaving producers newly disadvantaged in their dealings with grain companies and undermining the quality and food safety assurance programs Canada's international reputation for excellence are built upon.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Agriculture Union are working together to oppose the politically-motivated job cuts at the Canadian Grain Commission.
The PSAC is asking that all its members fax their Members of Parliament to protest this politically motivated initiative. Members can find the name and address of their MP along with a sample letter on the PSAC web site:
http://petition.web.net/psac/node/7/
No More Discrimination in the MG Classification Standard
In late December, the Commissioners of the Canadian Human Rights Commission approved the settlement negotiated by the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency, resolving the Union's 2003 discrimination complaint against the Agency. The complaint had alleged that the introduction of the MG classification standard violated the Canadian Human Rights Act. In particular the complaint had alleged that the MG Group classification requirement to supervise at least five employees was discriminatory in regard to work performed by women.
The settlement provides for the removal of the MG Group classification requirement to supervise five or more employees, effective January 1, 2007. It further provides for the identification of supervisory positions, not in the MG Group, and their re-evaluation in light of the revised MG Group inclusion requirements before the end of 2008. Any supervisory position subsequently re-classified to the MG Group will be entitled to retroactive compensation effective January 1, 2007, as per the collective agreement, excluding performance incentives for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007.
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Date Modified : 2008/06/09
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