May 1^st, 2006

Thank you for the opportunity to serve

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve PSAC members as a National Officer for the past 15 years and six years as your National President." With these words, Nycole Turmel began her last address to a PSAC convention.

Turmel acknowledged the contribution of past and present PSAC and Component leaders, especially former President Daryl Bean.

"During my tenure, we confronted employers large and small," said Turmel. "We also held the federal government to task during two major public sector strikes, and secured real wage increases and tangible improvements both times." She went on to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of our hundreds of bargaining team members.

In addition to confronting employers, Turmel said that the Union needs to find other ways to work with employers. She cited the Table 2 pay, captive time and term employment joint studies as examples. Complex issues and those that cross Component lines also call for new approaches, such as those taken with the Enforcement and AS Roundtables.

Turmel called on the membership to work to elect people who will fight for workplace and workers' rights, human rights and public services. Political action can pay off. UTE forced the Canada Revenue Agency to abandon its ill-advised decision to close their cash counters. More recently, the federal government announced that it is reinstating the Gander weather office.

"When it comes to human rights, equality and social justice, PSAC has played a leadership role in the Canadian and increasingly the international labour movement," said Turmel. "We came to this work with strong credentials, having won the single largest human rights decision in Canadian history with our Treasury Board pay equity settlement and countless smaller but no less important victories."

Turmel indicated that history will judge her term in office. "Leadership means having to make hard decisions and being held accountable for them. That's what I have tried to do and members deserve no less."

In closing, Turmel offered a heartfelt thank you to PSAC staff who deliver on behalf of the membership day after day and a final thank you to every single member. "Together, you have built the PSAC. Through your action, your dedication and your motivation, you have made the PSAC a force to be reckoned with.

"Together we will continue to learn to respect our diversity and to consider diversity as our strength. We will learn from our history. We will welcome new workers and young workers into our Union , and we will learn from them, their ideas and their strengths. Our movement and our union will only be stronger for it."

The Convention is on

The 14th PSAC Triennial Convention opened Monday with an Aboriginal ceremony and a presentation by Elder Tim Brown. He asked the delegates to understand the relationship that Aboriginal people have with the earth and their desire to preserve it for future generations. PSAC President Nycole Turmel called the convention to order with the traditional: "I declare the 14 th PSAC Triennial Convention officially opened."

Toronto : a city of immigrants

In welcoming delegates to his city, Toronto and York Region Labour Council President John Cartwright invited them to visit the monument in the downtown area to Chinese rail workers.

"It is a commemoration of the sacrifice they made in a monumental task," he said. " Toronto is a city of immigrants and every immigrant that came to this city found they needed unions."

Cartwright called on delegates to support the creation of "a proud union city ."

Public service a priority for Toronto mayor

Toronto mayor David Miller's highest goal is to make his city the world leader in equity and inclusiveness by investing in the public service and in those in need.

"I am proud of my commitment to the public service," he said to delegates. "Their strength, their passion and their commitment means the job gets done better."

Since Miller's election in 2003, the city has changed from one with a scandal-ridden reputation to one that has won numerous awards for public service and environmental issues.

Miller thanked the delegates for their work in the federal public sector, saying the recent partnership between the federal and municipal public service is building strong cities and, therefore, a strong Canada.

Convention debates

PSAC 2007-08-09 budget: Delegates adopted a motion to divide consideration of the proposed budget into three parts: revenue, expenditures and the strike fund.

Delegates also referred the proposed budget back to the Finance Committee with directions to remove the proposed dues increases, use a higher membership figure and a higher figure for average salary when calculating future dues revenue and to reduce amounts in a number of line items in the budget.

Amendment to the Rules of Order: Delegates now will be able to change the order of resolutions coming to the floor once each Committee has dealt with its first three priorities.

Credentials Committee Report

Accredited delegates: 439
Guests: 37
Observers: 258
Total: 734

Celebrating successes, continuing the struggle for labour rights

After 120 years of celebrating International Workers' Day, workers are still fighting to protect their hard-won rights to organize, to bargain collectively and to strike.

PSAC members are no stranger to this struggle. Recently, it took an occupation by PSAC activists in Yellowknife to convince a contractor not to provide scab labour at BHP Billiton's Ekati mine. Convention delegates, other PSAC members and allies will also be rallying on Wednesday in support of the PSAC members on strike at BHP Billiton.

In its May Day statement read out to delegates, the PSAC pledged to continue to be part of labour's campaign to enact federal anti-scab legislation and first contract arbitration.

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