Union Update

June 2007

Acrobat format

In this issue:

• PSAC teams have first meetings with Treasury Board
• Rally for jobs
• Pension surplus trial concluded: judge's verdict expected in six months
• PSAC member wins Human Rights Award
• PSAC publication wins top award

PSAC teams have first meetings with Treasury Board

The PSAC negotiating teams for all five Treasury Board bargaining units were in Ottawa during the week of May 14 for their first face-to-face meetings with the employer teams.

The purpose of these meetings was to formally introduce the members of both teams and review the demands exchanged electronically last month.  The chief negotiator for each team read through the demands and entertained preliminary questions to clarify the intent of each demand.

During the week, all five PSAC teams took time to meet and exchange information and share their perspectives on the initial negotiating sessions.

On May 14, members of the teams joined in a demonstration in support of the elimination of regional rates of pay.  They joined thousands of other members who participated in similar activities across the country. 

The Technical Services unit negotiating team greatly appreciated the support of the Transportation Safety Board members of PSAC’s Union of Canadian Transportation Employees component who sent them a balloon-o-gram that really lifted their spirits.  Thank you!

The negotiating teams for the Program and Administrative Services and the Operational Services met with the employer fom June 5 to 8, and the teams for Technical Services, Frontière/Border Services and Education and Library Science met from June 12 to 15.

PSAC has established a timetable with the employer to meet in October, November and December 2007 to continue negotiations.  As the bargaining process unfolds, the union will be seeking further clarification of the employer’s demands.  Progress reports will be prepared and posted on the PSAC web site after each negotiation session with the employer.

Negotiations at the Canada Revenue Agency

PSAC's Union of Taxation Employees held its national bargaining conference from May 15 to 17 in Ottawa to prepare for the next round of bargaining with the CRA. UTE members had until March 31st to submit their suggestions for changes to their collective agreement.  Over 400 proposals were submitted for consideration. The demands package is in the process of being finalized and will be available on the PSAC web site after the union has exchanged demands with the employer.

PSAC will be serving notice to bargain on July 1, 2007, four months before the expiry date of the current agreement (October 31, 2007).  This is the earliest possible date that notice to bargain can be served under the new Public Service Labour Relations Act.

You can sign up now on the PSAC web site – www.psac-afpc.com to automatically receive Bargaining INFO bulletins as they are issued or by using the “Subscribe” feature on the UTE website at www.ute-sei.org.

First meetings held with Parks Canada

The first meetings with the employer for this round of negotiations took place on May 24 and 25. The first day, the union reviewed and explained its demands for the employer. On the second day, Parks Canada did the same. Both parties had an opportunity to ask questions and get clarification about each other's demands.

Negotiations will continue at the next set of meetings that are scheduled to take place from June 18 to 22. An update on the progress of bargaining will be published soon after these meetings.

PSAC/CFIA Bargaining Unit

The PSAC Bargaining Team met face-to-face with the CFIA Management Team for the first time on May 28 and 29th in Ottawa.

The parties discussed the procedures that would be followed during this round of negotiations and they explored the changes to the collective agreement made necessary by the new Public Service Labour Relations Act, such as the grievance procedure and leaves for union business. It is expected that the final language for those issues will be agreed upon soon.

The second series of meetings with CFIA representatives will be held during the week of June 18th.  

Other PSAC Bargaining Units

Twenty (20) civilian employees of the Anishinabek Police Service ("APS") have voted by an overwhelming majority of 16-2 in favour of joining PSAC. APS civilians were formerly represented by an unaffiliated independent trade union.

PSAC will assume the existing APS civilians' collective agreement and shall serve notice to bargain for a renewal collective agreement following receipt of the final certificate from the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

APS civilians were impressed by PSAC's record of representing civilian employees of the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service Board.

This campaign is the first step in PSAC's ongoing efforts to organize all employees (including the sixty-five officers) employed by APS.

Notice to bargain was served to Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Authority, and the Wequedong Lodge of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Rally for jobs

PSAC members and activists joined thousands of people who rallied in front of the Parliament Buildings on May 30, demanding action from the federal government on the loss of manufacturing jobs in Canada.

Since 2002, Canada has lost more than a quarter million manufacturing jobs, about one in ten positions, 50,000 of which have been lost this year alone. These jobs, on average, paid wages of $20.68/hour. Their disappearance is closely linked to Canada’s soaring deficit in the trade of manufactured goods, and the increased penetration of the Canadian domestic market and the US market for manufactured goods by exports from low-wage Asian countries. Two other factors have weakened our manufacturing sectors: high energy prices and a Canadian high dollar.

Statistics Canada recently concluded that Canadian workers displaced by closures and mass layoffs who find other jobs suffer an average decline of 25% in annual earnings, implying a loss of about $10,000 for a typical manufacturing worker. Given the disappearance of one-quarter of a million manufacturing jobs, the total loss of Canadian earnings is now probably around $2.5 billion annually.

Ken Georgetti, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress, was one of the speakers at the rally.  He called on the government to develop a “Made in Canada" Jobs Strategy.

Pension surplus trial concluded:
judge's verdict expected in six months

Final arguments in the pension surplus case were presented in an Ottawa court from May1 to May 3rd. Justice Panet will now look through information from 18 days of trial that have involved 10 witnesses and close to 60 exhibits. Justice Panet is expected to present his verdict in the fall of 2007, roughly in six months time.

The Crown lawyers claimed that there are no real assets in the superannuation accounts, that they are merely tracking accounts for bookkeeping purposes. The plaintiffs' lawyers gave six different examples supporting the argument that superannuation accounts have real assets. These examples range from internal reports to provisions in the three concerned superannuation acts indicating that Parliament intended the superannuation plans to operate on a full funding basis.

When asked by Justice Panet to clear up the matter of reality of assets, the Crown lawyers stated that the plaintiffs' expert witnesses were solely conveying an opinion that is not a standard in the industry and should not be of much value to the court. They further contended that this case is a question of law, and no one's opinions should be given that much weight in the final decision.

In defending their argument that the government has not breeched any duties it may have with employees, the Crown lawyers stated, “no moneys have ever been taken out of the superannuation accounts”. They also said that the government does not have any fiduciary duties, and even if it did, all debits and credits done in the accounts are done in line with legislation. These arguments were heavily refuted by the plaintiffs' lawyers.

The plaintiffs' lawyers disputed the argument that no funds had been removed from the superannuation accounts by stating that the funds were recorded into the fiscal framework, consisting of the government's anticipated revenues and expenditures. It was confirmed during trial that once any amount of surplus amortization was booked into the fiscal framework, it was effectively spent and could not be used for any other purpose.

One of the Crown lawyers' arguments was that no reference to surplus is made in any the three concerned superannuation acts and the government has not done anything wrong by passing Bill C-78, so there is no real legal issue at stake and this trial is just a “bargaining ploy” by the plaintiffs.

When asked how the employer can, on one hand, claim it is entitled to the surplus and, on the other hand, pretend that the employees are not, the Crown lawyers responded that was not the issue at hand. They claimed that everything the government has done was approved by legislation. They repeatedly argued that members of the Public Service, Canadian Forces and RCMP expect a pension at the end of their working lives; they will receive that pension no matter what the financial situation of the superannuation accounts is, and therefore there is no harm done if they do not have access to the surplus.

One of the plaintiffs' lawyers' main arguments during the final arguments was that the pension plan members have an equitable interest in the funds in the superannuation accounts because the contributions they made to these plans were true money taken from their salaries. All pension contributions were placed into specified purpose accounts designed, and annotated as such, for the specific and exclusive purpose of providing pension benefits to the plan members.

After the trial concluded, Justice Panet addressed both sides complementing them on their hard work, professional behaviour, and prompt responses to any additional queries he raised to them during the trial.

While Justice Panet reviews the case and prepares his verdict, don’t believe the rumour mill! All updates on this important case will be posted on the PSAC website.

PSAC member wins Human Rights Award

Nicole Ma, CEIU National Vice-President for Human Rights, is this year's winner of the Bromley Armstrong award given by the Toronto & York Region Labour Council.  The Bromley Armstrong award recognizes outstanding service in the cause of Labour and Human Rights. Ma was recognized for her work both within the union and internationally.

She was also instrumental in making changes within the PSAC that led to Aboriginal and Racially Visible groups having their own conferences to pursue human rights issues. "We recognize that Aboriginal and Racially Visible groups face similar human rights issues, but each has their own identity. Allowing them to address those issues within the context of their separate identities was a change we had to make" she said.

More broadly, Nicole has been active in support of international peace and women's issues, and has also supported the Haitian community through fund-raising and other activities.

PSAC publication wins top award

PSAC publication wins top award

Our Union Voice recentlyreceived the Canadian Association of Labour Media (CALM) award for best overall publication produced by the staff of a union during CALM's recent annual conference held at St-Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

According to the judge, “PSAC comes across in this newsletter as a modern, dynamic union with a rich history.”

The spring issue of Our Union Voice has been mailed to the homes of PSAC members.  Copies are also available in the PSAC’s regional offices and it can be read online at: www.psac-afpc.com.