Union Update

May 15 to June 2, 2006

Acrobat format

In this issue:

• The new president's priority: Quality Public Services
• Bargaining Update
• Negotiations broke off at Ekati Mine
• PSAC budget 2007-2009, dues increase and special strike fund dues
• Revised Meal & Mileage Rates

The new president's priority:
Quality Public Services

The newly elected PSAC President, John Gordon, made it clear from the start: the PSAC will fight to maintain the quality of public services the federal government delivers to the population.

“PSAC will be moving quickly to implement the plan to defend quality public services adopted at the convention,” said Gordon. “We don't intend to have the Conservative government's proposed budget ‘savings' come at the expense of needed public services and our members' jobs.”

The new president stated strongly that Canadians have a right to receive quality services from the government and that the services are best delivered when they are in the hands of the public sector workers. The PSAC, he said, has always been defending quality public services in the past, but this time, a multi-facetted campaign is about to be launched to protect the right of Canadians to receive good services from their government.

The plan adopted at the Convention provides broad direction for the union in various areas including research, collective bargaining, fightback campaigns, communications, political action, organizing, education and the Social Justice Fund. The adoption of this resolution increases PSAC dues by 18 cents per member monthly.

Following the adoption of this policy, Government Services Union President Mark Brunell immediately pledged $250K from the Component in support of fightback campaign activities.

John Gordon said partnerships with other public sector unions will be proposed in order to conduct more effective campaigns. The public services, he said, are being threatened as much at the provincial and municipal levels as they are at the federal level.

Prior to his election as President, Gordon was National Executive Vice-President from 2000 to 2006 and National President of the Union of Public Works Employees from 1982 to 1999. A PSAC activist since 1974, when he joined the federal public sector as a tradesperson with Public Works Canada, Gordon has held a variety of union positions in his Component.

Delegates at the Convention also elected Patty Ducharme as the union's National Executive Vice-President. For the past six years, Ducharme has been PSAC's Regional Executive Vice-President (REVP) for British Columbia.

Prior to her election as REVP in 2000, Ducharme had worked as a customs inspector in British Columbia and served as First Vice-President of Branch 20040 of the Customs Excise Union Douanes Accise (CEUDA). Patty Ducharme has been a PSAC activist for over 20 years holding a number of union positions.

In a two-way contest, Union of Postal Communications Employees President Richard Des Lauriers was elected alternate National Executive Vice-President.

Bargaining Update

The PSAC sent notices to bargain to: the City of Whitehorse, Aramak Canada in Edmonton, the Canada Councils for the Arts in Ottawa, the House of Commons on behalf of the employees in the Reporting, Text processing, Postal Services and the Administrative support sub-groups, the Kamlopps Airport, Atomic Energy of Canada in Mississauga and the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, Nova Scotia Division.

PSAC members ratified collective agreements at the Old Port of Montrreal Corporation, the Red Cross and at the Coral Harbour Housing Authority.

The PSAC welcomes into its ranks all commissionnaires working in Health Canada buildings in the National Capital Region. This union victory is part of an extensive recruiting campaign aimed at better defending the rights of these workers.  During the recruiting campaign, the union ran into opposition from the employer and was confronted by attempts to intimidate the employees. Health Canada commissionnaires will be grouped together in a new PSAC local in the National Capital Region which already represents over 48,000 workers.

Negotiations broke off at Ekati Mine

Negotiations broke off on May 31 when Ekati diamond mine owner BHP Billiton tabled a “final” offer called illegal by the PSAC.

Jean-François Des Lauriers, PSAC Executive Vice-President-North, said that despite a union counterproposal presented by the PSAC, BHP Billiton refused to move. “BHP Billiton does not want to settle this strike – that's why the employer tabled an agreement that contains provisions which are clearly illegal and then would not compromise – even though we were prepared to accept almost all of their other proposals.”

PSAC will file unfair labour practice charges against BHP Billiton under the Canada Labour Code. BHP tried to remove in its last offer articles that had previously been agreed to and signed off by both sides. It also tried to impose a ratification vote process that violates the Labour Code. “This company not only shows contempt for its own workers, it also shows contempt for the law, added Des Lauriers.” BHP Billiton has already been found guilty by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) for illegally changing workers' pensions.

PSAC National President, John Gordon, paid a visit recently to the 400 PSAC members at the Ekati diamond mine. During his visit, Gordon said that BHP Billiton is showing its contempt for Canadian workers by using scabs at its Ekati diamond mine and by refusing to bargain in good faith.

“If BHP Billiton wants to stay in Canada and continue to do business,” he said, “it has to respect Canadian workers.”

Despite having made 7.5 billion dollars in profit last year, BHP Billiton refuses to recognize the years of service of its employees and job security, is offering only a 1% wage increase. Furthermore, the company thinks that two weeks of holiday per year for such hard work is enough.

According to Gordon, “BHP loves to promote the fact that their diamonds are not tainted by blood as are diamonds produced in war-torn African countries like Sierra Leone, Angola and the Congo. But right now, BHP production from the Ekati mine is tainted by corporate greed and unfair corporate behaviour,” added the PSAC President.

Gordon also vowed to work with the Canadian labour movement for the adoption of federal anti-scab legislation. “There are currently two private members' bills proposing federal anti-scab legislation.  The PSAC will work relentlessly to have legislation adopted. We will continue to lobby MPs and will tell them that working men and women in this country want a fair level-playing field when they are in a dispute with their employer. We want this basic right entrenched in law and adopted during this Parliament.”

At their National Convention in Toronto PSAC members pledged over $55,000  for their sisters and brothers on strike at the Ekati mine.This amount came on top of the $100,000 the members of the Union of Northern Workers have provided to their hardship fund for the Ekati miners. The delegates also took to Toronto streets to show their support of Ekati diamond mine workers.

Support for Ekati miners also came from Canadian Labour Congress President Ken Georgetti who described the conflict at Ekati as an unfair fight that demonstrates the need for Canadian anti-scab legislation.

PSAC to stay at the Ekati mine

The CIRB has issued a decision confirming that the PSAC remains the bargaining agent for almost 400 workers at the Ekati diamond mine in the Northwest Territories.

The CIRB made the decision following an application seeking the revocation of a previous Board decision declaring the PSAC as the bargaining agent for these workers.

In its decision, the Board said that the union has satisfied the onus of having made a reasonable effort to enter into a collective agreement and has communicated with the employees in the bargaining unit.

PSAC budget 2007-2009, dues increase and special strike fund dues

The PSAC Triennial Convention, as the union's supreme governing body, has established clear priorities for the union for the next three years.  In order to meet these priorities, the Convention adopted a progressive budget and resolutions with dues increase that will allow the PSAC to better represent the interests of members, as well as all Canadians, at work and in their communities.

This means there will be an average dues increase of 29 cents per member per month.  The actual dues percentage will rise to 0.8963% from the current 0.8889%.  This increase will take effect on January 1, 2007.

The Strike Fund

Delegates at the 2003 PSAC Convention increased strike pay from $35 to $50 per day, without an increase in the current Strike Fund dues of 35 cents per member per month.  The National Board of Directors also approved to pay the necessary premiums to ensure that the health and dental benefits of our members continue during a strike.

The PSAC has the best general strike benefits of any union in Canada, which puts our members in a position of strength at the negotiating table.  In order to continue to pay for these benefits, delegates at the 2006 Convention gave direction to rebuild our Strike Fund through a special strike fund dues of  $5.00 per member per month between July 2006 and December 2006, and $2.75 per member per month from January 2007 until the Strike Fund has a positive balance of $25 million and then the regular strike fund dues will increase from the current 35 cents to $1.00 per member per month. Members who earn less than $30,000 will pay a reduced amount to help rebuild the strike fund. They will pay $2 per month from July 2006 until the strike fund has a positive balance of $25 million.

Revised Meal & Mileage Rates

Seventy-five percent (75%) of the meal and incidental allowances shall be paid starting on the thirty-first consecutive calendar day of travel status while at the same location when corporate residences and or apartment hotels are available to a traveller in the area surrounding the workplace, or the traveller chooses to stay in private accomodation. The 75% (31st day onward) figures are in parentheses.

These meal rates are effective April 1, 2006. Expenses are in Canadian dollars, taxes included. *Expenses in the USA
(including Alaska) are paid in US dollars.

Incidental Expense Allowance: $17.30 (13.00) – Private Accommodation Allowance: $50.00

Weekend travel home transportation allowances

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. (http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol
  /hrpubs/TBM_113/trkr-tkdv_e.asp)