Welcome to the PSAC e-mail news for the period of September 15-October 3, 2003

In this issue:

• Bargaining strategy sessions stress solidarity
• PSAC asks for conciliator at CFIA
• Another victory for the Social Justice Fund
• PSAC calls for redress for racist policies against Chinese-Canadians
• Significant gains for fishery officer members

Bargaining strategy sessions stress solidarity

Bargaining with Treasury Board has begun and our negotiating teams are raring to go. This message came through loud and clear at a joint meeting of team members for all four Treasury Board Tables held on Saturday, September 20, in Ottawa.

Tables 1 and 3 had their first meetings with the employer during the week of September 15 and were able to report on developments to date. Their information let the Table 2 and 5 team members know what they could expect at their meetings with Treasury Board during the week of September 22. (Reports from each of the Tables will be available on the PSAC's Web site.)

Initial impressions of Treasury Board's approach to bargaining in this round are not encouraging. Early positions indicate that the employer wants more control over its workers and less flexibility for our members.

The all-Table meeting also provided an opportunity for the team members to hear presentations on the importance of social justice funds by Hassan Yussuf, Canadian Labour Congress Vice-President, and by Roberto Miranda, a PSAC member. The need for international support was brought home by Miranda who faced certain death in Guatemala 10 years ago just for being a union leader.

The joint meetings of the Treasury Board Table negotiating team members will continue throughout the negotiation process as the teams share information and refine their strategies.

Strategy discussions continued with a meeting of the PSAC National Strategy Coordinating Committee for Treasury Board. The Committee, which is co-chaired by the two Regional Executive Vice-Presidents responsible for collective bargaining, is made up of a representative from each of the Table negotiating teams, several Component Presidents and assigned staff members. Keeping members informed about negotiations is an important part of our bargaining strategy and the Committee discussed the communication and mobilization tools that will be used in the upcoming weeks and months.

On Sunday, September 21, the members of the National Strategy Coordinating Committees for the PSAC bargaining units at CCRA, Parks Canada and CFIA, as well as Treasury Board, met together in a large-scale strategy session. Given that the federal government controls the purse strings for both Treasury Board and Agency workers, the participants recognized the need for solidarity, well-planned strategies and active support from all members.

Standing: Bob Kingston, Denis Lalancette, William Pynn, Mike Wing, Steve Pellerin-Fowlie, Barb Hall, David Lee, Céline Préfontaine, Denis Sicard, Yves Ducharme. Sitting: Tony Correia, Leslie Humber, Gerry Halabecki, Nycole Turmel, Betty Bannon, Jeannette Meunier-McKay, Heather Brooker.

PSAC asks for conciliator at CFIA

The PSAC has asked for a conciliation officer to assist in its negotiations with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in order not to disrupt one of Canada's most important public health protection systems. PSAC President, Nycole Turmel, says all options must be explored in order to reach a negotiated settlement between the CFIA and PSAC.

"We take the fact that Canadians trust the CFIA to ensure that the food they buy every day does not represent a risk to their health very seriously," Turmel said. "We will continue to do everything we can to reach a negotiated settlement, but CFIA management must be willing to meet us half-way."

Since the beginning of the negotiations in May 2003, the employer has refused to negotiate. While the union made significant efforts to present a package that could have led to a collective agreement for its 3,495 members at CFIA, the employer did not move on any of the key issues.

So far, management has offered a wage increase of 1% per year and said no to a long list of demands including the restructuring of the wage grid, national rates of pay for GLs and GSs, dirty work allowance, improved maternity/parental leave, increased wash-up time, 37.5 hour week for GLs and GSs, paid travel time and meal allowance for overtime on a day of rest or holiday. The Agency is even refusing to give its employees the benefits enjoyed by other PSAC members under collective agreements with the Treasury Board.

For Turmel, CFIA's refusal to address the union's priority issues could bring disruption within an organization that plays a most important role in protecting the health of Canadians.

"We are certainly not talking about a strike just yet," Turmel said. "But we will be taking a strike vote soon, and increasing our mobilization activities across the country. As a result of recent events such as Mad Cow disease and the investigation into questionable practices at an Aylmer, Ontario meat-processing plant, food safety is an issue that Canadians are very concerned about. We would encourage the CFIA to take these negotiations seriously."

The union now hopes to achieve a collective agreement through the conciliation process and to be able to continue to play its important role in protecting the health of all Canadians.

Another victory for the Social Justice Fund

Members of PSAC Local 70293 at the Canadian Labour and Business Center (CLBC) in Ottawa signed a new collective agreement and convinced their employer to make contributions to the PSAC Social Justice Fund.

Through this agreement, one cent for each hour worked by PSAC members will go to the PSAC Social Justice Fund to finance initiatives abroad and in Canada.

This is a significant recognition of the PSAC Social Justice Fund, as the CLBC is already involved in aid projects and international development. Jointly with CIDA, the CLBC supports projects in Brazil to address employment and poverty issues facing the underprivileged in Sao Paulo.

The new collective agreement also provides for salary increases, improved pension benefits and signing bonuses.

Members of this Local consider it a priority to participate in the PSAC Social Justice Fund because it is representative of the role of unions within the CLBC, both in Canada and abroad.

Did you move?

If you moved lately and want to remain on the PSAC mailing list, please send your new address to:

Membership administration, PSAC Headquarters,

233 Gilmour Street, Ottawa ON, K2P 0P1

You can also make the change of address on the PSAC Website at:

www.psac.com/address.e.shtml

PSAC calls for redress for racist policies against Chinese-Canadians

Yew Lee holds up a black-and-white photo taken on the eve of the 20th century, showing some men celebrating the last spike being driven into the Canadian Pacific Railway. None of the men are Chinese, despite the fact that thousands of them laboured, and many died, in building the railroad that would connect the scattered communities of Canada.

"For many Chinese," said Lee, during a press conference held by the Chinese Canadian National Council in September, "the last spike hasn't been driven in... yet."

In other words, many Chinese-Canadians feel no sense of closure in a significant part of Canada's history of nation building. After the CPR was completed, the government of Canada considered Chinese immigration to be "undesirable" and decided to introduce the Chinese Head Tax that collected up to $500 a head from any Chinese person entering Canada. In 1903, that amount of money was equivalent to two years' wages. In all, Canada collected about $23 million from the Head Tax. Two decades later, the government introduced the Chinese Exclusion Act, which severely limited the entrance of Chinese immigrants into Canada. No other group was similarly targeted. Now, the Chinese community and supporters from NGOs and labour groups, including the PSAC, are calling for redress and fair compensation for this historical injustice.

"We need to pressure the government to drive in that last spike," says Lee, who himself is a descendant of a Chinese Head Tax payer.

Ed Cashman, the PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President for the National Capital Region, expressed solidarity on behalf of the union.

"The government must be held accountable and responsible for these discriminatory acts," he said. "They must also be held accountable for the exploitation of the Chinese workers who came to Canada and built the railroads."

The press conference was held to mark the launch of The Last Spike Campaign . As part of the campaign, an actual railway spike will travel from Halifax to Vancouver as a symbol of the labour of Chinese railroad workers and the community's struggle against economic hardship and discrimination. The spike has been donated by Pierre Berton, author of The Last Spike , a book on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and a public supporter of redress.

From left to right: PSAC REVP (NCR) Ed Cashman, Racially Visible Action Committee Chair Dorothy Boulin, CCNC Chinese Head Tax Committee member Yew Lee and PSAC Regional Representative Philippe Célestin.

Significant gains for fishery officer members

The PSAC's Environment Component has been able to achieve significant re-classification gains for Fishery Officers in spite of the fact that classification remains a legislated management right. The Officer's UMC Committee, the members, Executive and staff of the Environment Component and a PSAC representative have worked tirelessly over the past years to address issues of concern raised by the Fishery Officers.

GT-03 positions are being reclassified to the GT-04 level and the PM-04 positions to the GT-05 level. Classification has been an issue with the membership since the early 1990s. The reclassifications will certainly have a major impact on the pensions of those members who are contemplating retirement in the foreseeable future, as well as on the salaries of Fishery Officers over the long term.

While the Fishery Officer's Career Progression Program was extended by 18 months (GT-03), there are many positive aspects to the overall changes. At the end of the 6 month cadet period, field training will now begin at the GT-02 level rather than the previous GT-01. After 18 months as a GT-02, promotion to the GT-03 level will now take place at exactly the same point as it did previously.

Throughout the past three years, discussions between the Environment Component and the employer also led to the elimination of seasonality which had and will continue to have a direct and positive impact on the pensions of Fishery Officers. With the elimination of seasonality, members will now receive full credit for the years they work as it relates to pensionable service.

These gains would not have been possible without membership support and involvement ­ and that means every member. While gains are sometimes a long time coming, the tenacity and the willingness of members to raise issues again and again ­ and indeed to walk a picket line ­ means that the union will continue to move forward and be successful in addressing the concerns of the membership.

Correction

Negotiations with CCRA are taking place from September 29 to October 5, not from September 19 as published earlier.

PSAC members who work at Parks Canada are not only getting ready for bargaining, they also want to increase union education and joint union-employer education in the workplace! A unique four-day facilitator training program was held from September 12 to September 15, to coincide with the PSAC Parks bargaining conference. Expect these skilled PSAC facilitators to make a difference in Parks workplaces!