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Welcome to the PSAC e-mail news for the period of August 25 to September 12, 2003
Pay equity battle at Canada Post now longest in Canadian history Twenty years after the complaint was filed with the Canada Human Rights Commission, the final hearing before the Human Rights Tribunal took place on August 27. It will likely take at least another year after the end of the hearings before the Tribunal releases its decision. The case is now the longest-running complaint of its kind in the history of Canada. The PSAC members and former members are determined in their fight, as they prepare for a union-wide event on Sept. 24 to mark the 20th anniversary of the complaint. The event will gather union members and activists in some Locals, Regional Offices and the Ottawa head office to receive the message from union leaders that members are "miles closer to bridging the wage gap." "We are holding the event to let our members and Canada Post know that the union is not ever going to back down," says the PSAC National President Nycole Turmel. "No matter how long it takes, we will fight for justice and equity for our members." The complaint, which involves clerical workers, was filed in September1983 took the CHRC six years to investigate before it went to the Tribunal. It took about 10 years for the Tribunal to gather evidence which involved approximately 50 witnesses, 900 exhibits and more than 40,000 pages of transcripts. On Aug. 27, the Tribunal heard arguments from the union and Canada Post on the impact on this case of the recent Supreme Court decision against Bell Canada. In June 2003, the Supreme Court dismissed a claim by Bell Canada that the Human Rights Tribunal hearing a long-standing pay equity complaint against Bell lacked the impartiality to rule on the complaint. "The Bell case was one example of the legal roadblocks that employers, including Canada Post, will put up to delay justice," says Luc Guevremont, the President of the Union of Postal and Communications Employees, a PSAC component. "But, in the end, they still have to pay."
Working during the black out in Ontario to ensure our food remained safePower in a small part of Hamilton where I live came on at around 5:30 this morning, so I got up and went to work. The power at the slaughterhouse in Burlington didn't come on until 6:05 a.m. The plant had not been cleaned from the previous day as power went out at 4:09 p.m. The hogs in the cooler from Thursday's kill had obviously not been cooled down overnight and by 6:30 in the morning the temperature of the hogs in the coolers was 26° C. We had to condemn 7,000 hogs and 1,800 were put under detention for testing of bacteria loads. The kill for Friday was cancelled and all trucks of live hogs were sent back. Our inspection staff mostly monitored clean up of the plant, temperatures of product from shipping department and the disposal of "a lot of product"! (It really was a tragic waste.) Friday night, 10:00 p.m. I'm sitting at home with my fans blowing, as I am complying with the request from Ontario Hydro not to use air conditioning. My thought of the day: We think we are slaves to corporations. As I have learned from the last 24 hours, they too, like the rest of us, are slaves to electricity! - A CFIA/PSAC member
Organized Labour Stronger in QuebecIn Quebec, 40.4% of the workforce is unionized, making it the province with the strongest union presence in Canada, and even North America. This rate, which remains unchanged from 2001, makes Quebec number one, ahead of Newfoundland with 39.1% and Manitoba with 36.1% (see chart). Meanwhile, the Canadian average sits at 32.2%. However, the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ), which released these figures on August 18, indicated that there is a wide gap between unionization rates in the public and private sectors, both in Quebec and in Canada. No less than 82% of Quebec public sector workers are unionized, compared to a mere 27.4% in the private sector. This situation explains why the Quebec labour federation, to which the PSAC is affiliated, continues to fight to improve labour legislation in order to make union membership more accessible. Still by far the largest labour organization in Quebec with its 520,000 members, the FTQ represents 42.5% of organized workers in the province. Based on data obtained from Statistics Canada, the FTQ also noted that unionized workers in Canada earn on average $19.60 an hour, whereas non-unionized workers are being paid $15.19, a difference of 30%.
Bargaining UpdateSecurity, Sanity and Solidarity at the Museum of NatureNegotiations started on July 3 for PSAC members at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa. There were other meetings on August 25 and 26 and on September 3 and 4. Through the negotiations, PSAC members will try to achieve job security, balance between work and personal lives and equality among the Museum's employees. Bargaining in Nunavut: Many issues on the tableThe Bargaining Committee for PSAC members working for the Nunavut Government is preparing a final package for presentation to the employer. A number of issues must be addressed in the upcoming round of negotiations including Maternity and Parental leave, the Northern Benefit package, recruitment and retention, as well as dealing with the lengthy grievance process. The committee is preparing to meet with the employer in October to begin negotiating and expects an aggressive timeline of meetings to reach a new agreement early in the new year. The unit comprises 2,500 members of the Nunavut Employees Union and the PSAC. The last collective agreement expired March 31. National Capital Commission: Ready to goThe Strategy Committee for PSAC members working for the National Capital Commission held a meeting at the end of July. Their collective agreement expires on December 31 and they intend to file Notice to bargain by September 31, the earliest possible date to file. Notice for input has already been sent to the membership and it was agreed that the final bargaining demands package will consist of 25 bargaining demands, excluding union demands such as the Social Justice Fund. City of Iqaluit: New agreementSeventy-five PSAC members working for the City of Iqaluit have reached a second collective agreement. It is a three-year agreement taking effect on July 1, 2003, and expiring on June 30, 2006. The contract provides for monetary increases of 3.0% each year and increases in the shift premium and in the Standby pay. Childcare expense payments go from $25 a day per child to $35. The housing allowance was changed to be more equitable for all employees. Non- monetary issues include the addition of the definition of 'Partner' and the addition of the word 'Partner' wherever definitions of spouse were used. There is an improvement in the apprenticeship rates as well as in the language for the bilingual bonus.
Back to school...with all the toolsPSAC members in the Prairies are helping children who are going back to school by making sure that they have the tools needed. Pat Mason, National Vice-President of the Union of Veterans' Affairs Employees in the Prairies recently launched a campaign to collect school supplies for children in downtown Winnipeg. Mason first ran this idea by members of the PSAC Women's Committee and the Area Council and they responded enthusiastically. She then called upon Locals within her region and once again, was strongly supported. Wanting to publicize her campaign, Mason then got in touch with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The football organization agreed to ask fans to bring school supplies to a recent game. Mason is confident that this campaign will be successful as one of Winnipeg's social solidarity causes. She hopes that other Locals will follow her lead and organize similar activities in their region.
PSAC urges CCRA to pick up the bargaining paceToo few sessions with too few days is the way the PSAC is describing the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency’s approach to this round of bargaining. According to PSAC National President Nycole Turmel, “the union wanted this round of bargaining to be different. We felt it was time the Agency agreed to a more modern and streamlined way to bargain and we wanted to be well on the way to a new agreement before the current one had expired.” The PSAC and CCRA negotiating teams met on August 27 and 28 to review the demands which had been exchanged electronically on August 19. Both parties explained and provided some rationale for each demand and time was allotted for questions and answers to clarify the demands. The agreement with CCRA expires on October 31 and the employer has only agreed to two more short sessions so far. Negotiations will resume on September 19 and continue until October 5. The parties will meet again in November for five days, starting November 10. The PSAC CCRA team isn’t satisfied with this approach and the union will continue to talk to CCRA about accelerating the process of negotiations. PSAC has tabled a wide range of demands. Wage proposals include an economic increase and cost of living allowance clause, the elimination of the remaining regional rates of pay in favour of national rates and a continuation of the harmonization process. The negotiation of rates of pay as a result of the CCRA’s new Agency Classification System (ACS) may also be on the table. Other union proposals include a comprehensive package of demands related to the Officer Powers given to Customs Officers as a result of Bill C-18 (1998), job security in the form of no lay-offs and no-contracting out, better benefits for term employees including the three-year conversion to indeterminate status, improvements to a variety of leaves and an employer contribution to the PSAC’s Social Justice Fund. More information on the progress of negotiations with CCRA can be found on the PSAC’s web site. Visit the site to sign up to receive the union’s Bargaining INFO – PSAC/CCRA bulletins electronically.
50 Years of ServiceThe Union of Veterans' Affairs Employees has just celebrated fifty years of existence and, as you will see, it is rich in historyClose to 1,700,000 men and women served their country during both World Wars and the Korean War. Canada has developed programs to look after veterans and their families. In 1916, a military convalescent hospital was established at Deer Lodge for returning WWI soldiers. After World War II, a plan was developed to assist in the re-establishment of a million young veterans by the newly-formed Department of Veterans Affairs and its predecessor, the Department of Pensions and National Health. In the early days, the hospitals and offices of the newly formed department were staffed by veterans only, but as those veterans aged a new and professional corps of caring Canadians was needed to serve those who had served their country so well. As the need grew, so too did the Department and soon those who worked for the Department began to form loose organizations of staff. Finally in 1952, the Department of Veterans' Affairs Employees' National Association, part of the Civil Service Federation of Canada, was formed. In 1954, this association became the first federal employees association to be recognized by the federal government. The next 12 years of our association were very exciting and organizing meetings were being held to sign up members from coast to coast. In 1964, discussions were opened to create one national organization of veterans' affairs employees. As President of the Department of Veterans' Affairs Employees' National Association, J.C. Carlo convened a meeting of all other federal government association leaders, the majority of which were veterans, in early 1966, to discuss the formation of one union to represent all federal workers. Later that year, founding conventions were held for our new Component, the Department of Veterans' Affairs Component and our new union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada. We changed our name in 1990 to the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees. We saw a large portion of our members regionalized to picturesque Prince Edward Island and lovely Kirkland Lake and the Department changed its name to Veteran Affairs Canada. Our soldiers have taken part in several dangerous missions during modern wars and Canadian peacekeeping duties. Today, many of them suffer from what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder. A clinic to treat this disorder recently opened in Ste-Anne's with eight patients. Within three months, there were 87 patients in the clinic, and in two years there will be approximately 500. To read the full text on the history of the Union of Veterans' Affairs Employees, check out the Web site at: http://www.uvae-seac.ca. |
No one has had to hold their breaths longer than members of the Public
Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) who are fighting for pay equity
against Canada Post.