Union Update

July 10 to August 4, 2006

Acrobat format

In this issue:

• Conference sends message: LGBT rights are human rights
• Swedish Unionists, PSAC, CUPE share strategies on the fight for pay equity
• PSAC/Treasury Board and Agency bargaining – It's just around the corner!
• Pay zones: it’s time for them to go!
• Bargaining Update
• Henriette Pollon marks an amazing four decades as union officer, 45 years as federal employee

Conference sends message: LGBT rights are human rights

Montréal had the privilege of hosting the third Workers’ Out Conference – the largest international gathering of over 200 workers from the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered (LGBT) communities from around the world. The Workers Out Conference was held from July 26 to 29, 2006, and was an integral part of the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights – the largest gathering of its kind, with over 1,500 delegates.

An impressive line-up of international guests included UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour; the Special Representative of the UN on the situation of Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani; a prominent scholar on homosexual rights in China, Dr. Yinhe Li; an openly gay judge of the Supreme Court of Australia, Michael Kirby; and many more.

Over 25 PSAC members and staff representatives from across Canada attended this milestone conference. PSAC also sponsored the attendance of two Latin-American workers – Sister Ivannia Monge Naranjo from Costa Rica and Brother Mario Alves de Oliveira from Brazil – to attend the conference and ensure the voices of the South are heard loud and clear in the debates and discussions on LGBT issues and strategies. PSAC-elected LGBT representatives to the Equal Opportunities Committee, Sister Karoline Klug and Brother Gerard Ennis, chaired the PSAC caucus during this Conference. PSAC National President John Gordon joined the PSAC participants for part of this Conference.

One key message at the conference was that LGBT rights are human rights which are not negotiable, and that injustices to our brothers and sisters in the LGBT communities affect us all. We were reminded that laws in over 80 countries still make homosexuality a criminal offence. We witnessed the courage and the resolve of LGBT activists from around the world – including Canada – that are fighting to build a better and fairer world.

Another highlight during the Workers Out Conference was the adoption of the Action Plan: Workers Out – Make a Difference! which calls on unions throughout the world to promote education on LGBT rights as human rights and workers rights, establish internal structures for LGBT members to address LGBT issues, negotiate collective bargaining demands and engage in political action in support of full equality and respect for LGBT workers. It also calls upon unions to forge links between the North and South in the struggle for workplaces and societies that are free of discrimination and respectful of the rights of LGBT workers.

For more information on the Workers Out and International Conference on LGBT Human Rights, visit: http://www.montreal2006.org/home.html.

Swedish Unionists, PSAC, CUPE share strategies on the fight for pay equity

Union activists from Sweden met with PSAC elected officers, members and staff to share experiences, strategies and ideas around the fight for pay equity and human rights.

Lena Svenaeus and Dolores Kandelin Mogard, accompanied by David Stromberg of the Swedish Embassy, visited PSAC headquarters on July 24 for a round-table discussion that included three representatives from CUPE. Svenaeus and Mogard are from Akademikerförbundet SSR, the Swedish Association of Graduates in Social Science, Personnel and Public Administration, Economics and Social Work, a union of mostly social workers in the public sector and an affiliate of the Public Services International.

The visitors listened to PSAC speakers recount their experiences from the pay equity court battles against Treasury Board and Canada Post, while CUPE representatives shared their experiences from their pay equity fight with Air Canada and their views on the Ontario pay equity legislation. Svenaeus, in turn, talked about some of the obstacles the Swedish labour movement faces in their struggles for pay equity and human rights, particularly the regime of laws under the European Union, the common employers’ argument about “market forces” and the practice of individual-worker-set wages.

The two-hour meeting, facilitated by PSAC National President John Gordon, also briefly touched on the fight for same-sex marriage rights in each country, as well as sharing strategies on defending quality public services. While we may live in different parts of the world, it is clear that our collective struggles are very similar.

PSAC/Treasury Board and Agency bargaining – It's just around the corner!

It’s that time again! PSAC/Treasury Board and Agency collective agreements begin to expire at the end of this year, and PSAC remains committed to start bargaining before these agreements expire.

Preparations are underway for the upcoming rounds of collective bargaining. One new feature of our negotiations preparation is a membership survey performed by Environics Research Group. The survey will help inform PSAC strategies and the issues that will be pursued in collective bargaining, as well as helping to frame our political action and lobbying program in support of these goals. It will be conducted by phone from mid-August until the end of September. More information about the survey can be found at www.psac-afpc.com.

Your Program of Demands

In the coming weeks, PSAC will be sending letters to Components with Treasury Board and Parks Canada members, requesting the start of the bargaining input process in their Locals/Branches. PSAC has also prepared a Program of Demands document for use by the Components and their Locals/Branches. It is being mailed directly to the presidents of all affected Locals/Branches in mid-August. Please look for this document in your union mail, as we want your input into the bargaining process.

The Program of Demands document has been developed to facilitate the work of the Locals/Branches, and includes a general outline of potential monetary and non-monetary bargaining demands. It also provides instructions about how to respond to the input call from your Component, information about using input forms, and information about what makes a good demand. Members are encouraged to attend their Local/Branch meetings to learn more about the upcoming round of negotiations, to discuss the issues outlined in the Program of Demands, and to develop bargaining demands that meet the needs of the membership.

All proposals for bargaining demands are to be submitted to your Local/Branch. Your Local/Branch will then send the proposed demands to the Component. Please do not send bargaining demands directly to the PSAC.

Stay involved and informed about your upcoming round of collective bargaining. For information on your Local/Branch bargaining input meeting, please contact a member of your Local/Branch executive. For members with Parks Canada and Treasury Board, these meetings are expected to be scheduled in September or October.

Getting to the Bargaining Table

Here is what's happening with our Treasury Board and Agency bargaining units as they prepare to get to the bargaining table:

Canadian Food Inspection Agency:

The input call process is currently underway, with the Program of Demands being finalized for CFIA members. Once this document is sent to the CFIA Locals, please review it and send your bargaining input to the Agriculture Component.
The CFIA National Bargaining Conference will be held from September 12-15, 2006 in Ottawa,

Treasury Board and Parks Canada Agency:

Two regional bargaining conferences for Treasury Board and Parks Canada members will be held this year. One will take place in Montreal on November 25-26, and the other in Vancouver on December 2-3, 2006.

The National Bargaining Conference for Treasury Board and Parks Canada members will be held in Ottawa, from February 1-4, 2007.

Canada Revenue Agency:

Our agreement with CRA expires on October 31, 2007. A Program of Demands will be developed and an input call issued later this year.

No matter what bargaining unit you belong to, it’s essential that we all work together to achieve the best possible outcomes in collective bargaining. Membership engagement and solidarity throughout the negotiations process are the key to our collective success.

Pay zones: it’s time for them to go!

Where did pay zones come from?

At the time collective bargaining commenced in 1967, there were some 27,000 “prevailing rate” employees. These employees were paid hundreds of different local rates of pay established in comparison with local market conditions. There were, for example, 320 GL pay zones. Collective bargaining resulted in the merger of “prevailing rate” employees with “classified” employees hired under the Civil Service Act. In the case of the GL group, for example, 71% of the 18,000 employees included in the bargaining unit at the time of certification (August 29, 1967) were prevailing rate employees. The other 29%, or 5,200 employees, were “classified” and were paid a national rate of pay.

The merger of these two different types of employees required considerable rationalization of the pay structure. The first GL and GS collective agreements thus established regional rates of pay for 36 zones. PSAC tried to correct this problem in the second round of bargaining, but an arbitration tribunal found the zone issue “too complex” to make any changes.

In 1972, PSAC proposed a reduction in zones from 36 to 18 in order to clear away anomalies in the 36-zone structure. In the end, a reduction to 25 zones was agreed upon. In 1975, the issue of pay zones resulted in a five week strike of GLs, the strike ending just hours before back-to-work legislation was to be introduced. Among the gains made was the reduction to 22 pay zones.

Pay zones were reduced to 16 in 1984; in 1987, the number of zones was reduced to 10, and then 7 a decade later. Finally, in 2000, the number of zones was reduced to three at Treasury Board and to only two at CRA. These reductions were achieved during rounds of negotiations where members retained the right to strike.

So how do we get rid of pay zones once and for all?

Since 1970, our goal has been to eliminate pay zones so that Operational Services workers, like the vast majority of the federal public service workers, are paid the same wages whether they work in St.John’s or in Victoria. The road has been long and painful, but the best gains were made when the members were ready to strike for their rights.

Bargaining Update

• PSAC members working at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa reached an agreement with their employer. It's a four-year deal that includes a no-lay-off clause and wage increases of 2.5%, 2.4%, 2.25% and 2%. Other improvements include increases to premiums and allowances and child-care related improvements.

• PSAC members ratified collective agreements with the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, the Staff of the Non-Public Funds (SNPF) Kingston and the Kamloops Airport Ltd.

Henriette Pollon marks an amazing four decades as union officer, 45 years as federal employee

The name Henriette Pollon is instantly recognizable to almost anyone who has been active in the Agriculture Union over the past four decades.

This year, Henriette marks two remarkable anniversaries: 40 years as a union officer, and 45 years as an employee of the federal government. Her achievement has challenged everyone – union and management alike – to find ways to suitably mark these virtually unprecedented feats.

The above photo was taken last May, when Henriette’s own Local 50073 paid tribute to her many achievements.

While the term ‘living legend’ is often overused, the description is most apt in Henriette’s case. Her involvement in union activities began in 1966, preceding the following year’s formal founding of the Agriculture Union and the arrival of limited collective bargaining in the federal public service.

She went on to hold almost every conceivable union office, culminating with her election in 1993 as the first-ever woman to hold the position of National Vice-President. In recognition of her long service, Henriette was awarded a Life Membership at the 2005 Agriculture Union Convention..

Henriette joined the federal public service in 1961, working as a seed analyst in the Winnipeg laboratory of what is now the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Her personal contribution to this area of work was recognized by the Manitoba Branch of The Canadian Seed Growers Association, which made Henriette a Honourary Life Member of that organization.

After ‘only’ 24 years in the seed analyst position, Henriette traded the indoors for the great outdoors in becoming an agriculture inputs inspector. She has now held this ‘new’ job for a mere 21 years!

Typically, Henriette celebrated her anniversary date as a government worker tramping through the timothy fields of Manitoba, doing what she has done for 45 years – providing a quality public service to Canadians in the field of food safety. Congratulations, Henriette!