Union Update
January 2008
- Pay equity court hearings finally scheduled
- Bargaining Update
- Compensation issues still a major concern for Parliamentary committee
- New Federal Regulations Address Ergonomics Hazards
- PSHCP Pay Direct Drug Card Implementation Delayed
- Discrimination against Medical Adjudicators
- PSAC Rates - Meal & Incidental allowances
Pay equity court hearings finally scheduled
Almost eight years after the PSAC filed a Statement of Claim for pay equity on behalf of current and former members working for a number of separate employers, the case is finally going to court.
The Federal Court (Trial Division) has set aside 40 days, starting October 20, 2008, to hear the case. The hearings come after an extended period of Discovery as well as a series of unsuccessful legal challenges by the federal government to have the case dismissed.
The Claim was filed in November 2000 and covers the Auditor General, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Communications Security Establishment, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Statistical Survey Operations and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (formerly the Medical Research Council). Current and former members affected are those in the CR, DA-CON, ST, and LS classifications, as well as those in the PE group at the Office of the Auditor General.
A separate complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission concerning a much larger number of separate employers is still in abeyance pending the outcome of this cas
Bargaining Update
New bargaining dates for negotiations with Treasury Board
PSAC will be negotiating with Treasury Board from January 29 to February 1 and from February 26 to 29 for our Technical Services (TC), Operational Services (SV) and Frontière/Border Services (FB) bargaining units.
Negotiations for the Program and Administrative Services (PA) and Education and Library Science (EB) units are scheduled from February 5 to 8 and from March 4 to 7.
At the CFIA, the PSAC negotiating team met with the employer's representatives January 15 and 16 for a short 1.5 day session, to exchange bargaining demands. They also had the opportunity to seek some clarifications over the package the employer presented
Before meeting with the employer, the team caucused on January 14 to discuss the upcoming round of bargaining. The team reviewed the previous round of negotiations and the issues that had arisen at the time and prepared an extensive list of available dates for future meetings with the employer.
The next meeting with the employer is scheduled for the end of March.
It is possible to sign up on the PSAC website to receive the information bulletins that will be issued by the PSAC negotiating teams as bargaining progresses.
Corps of Commissionaires
The Commissionaires providing security services to Health Canada buildings in Ottawa rejected the employer's latest offer. They have been on strike for ten weeks. Their employer, the Corps of Commissionaires, was asking for wage reduction and a two-tier wage structure. The Commissionaires earn in average $12, 25. Many of them are veterans.
Notice to bargain was served to Deer Lodge Centre in Winnipeg, to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in Ottawa, the Marine Atlantic Inc, in St. John's NL.
Congratulations to our Bank of Canada members, who ratified their first collective agreement December 21, 2007.
Tentative agreements were also ratified by PSAC members at the Deninoo Community Council in the Northwest Territories, the Yukon Energy Corporation, and the Whitehorse General Hospital (Yukon Hospital Corporation).
Compensation issues still a major concern for Parliamentary committee
With the House of Commons back in session, the newly appointed Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) is once again looking at problems facing the federal government compensation community.
In October, the re-appointed chair of the Committee, Diane Marleau (L- Sudbury), met with PSAC members and AS Compensation Advisors Jill Ronan, Michael Brandimore and Diane Melançon, to discuss the continued lack of action by the employer on several aspects of the problems facing the compensation community, in particular pay and classification.
On December 12th, the Committee called as witnesses several officials from the Canada Public Service Agency (CPSA) and Treasury Board. Members of Parliament questioned the officials on continued problems with paying people on time, on why the CPSA has refused to move forward on some of the recommendations in the report from the PSAC’s AS Roundtable Report, and on recent internal survey results showing that only 66% of departments are meeting timelines for service delivery.
PSAC continues to encourage all members who are experiencing problems getting paid on time, as well as AS Compensation Advisors frustrated with the lack of action on the recruitment and retention problems facing the community, to contact their Members of Parliament, particularly those sitting on the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. Keeping this issue in front of the political leadership of the government is key to getting action on the issues which PSAC and AS members have long been advocating.
New Federal Regulations Address Ergonomics Hazards
New regulations addressing ergonomics hazards in federal workplaces came into effect to better evaluate health and safety hazards in workplaces. Poor workplace ergonomics contribute to the development of musculoskeletal injuries, which account for about 30 per cent of all work-related injuries in federally-regulated workplaces.
In development since 2002, new measures to combat ergonomics hazards have been incorporated into the “Hazard Prevention Program,” Part XIX of Canada Health and Safety Regulation made under Part II of the Canada Labour Code.
Adding ergonomics considerations to the existing Hazard Prevention Program (HPP) means that these hazards must now be addressed systematically by the employer with the participation of the Joint Health and Safety Committee or designated Health and Safety Representative.
One of the amendments to the HPP specifies that once ergonomics-related hazards are identified they must be eliminated or reduced as much as is reasonably possible. Also, new training requirements spelled out in the HPP require that any person assigned to identify and assess ergonomics-related hazards has the necessary instruction and training.
The new regulations specify that when ergonomics hazards are assessed a number of factors will have to be considered, including: the physical demands of the work activities; the work environment; the work procedures; the organization of work and the circumstances in which the work activities are performed; and, the characteristics of the materials, goods, persons, animals, things and work spaces and the features of the tools and equipment.
If you have questions about ergonomics or the Hazard Prevention Program, ask your health and safety representative or a joint health and safety committee member.
What is ergonomics?
Ergonomics is the science and the process of adapting and redesigning work, including the tools used, the processes employed and the work environment – including the psychosocial environment - to suit human capabilities.
PSHCP Pay Direct Drug Card Implementation Delayed
Unfortunately, the implementation of a Pay Direct Card for members of the Public Service Health Care Plan has been further delayed. The Card was the major priority flowing from the 2005 renegotiation of the Public Service Health Care Plan, however there are still a number of steps to be completed before the Card will be introduced.
Treasury Board originally committed to an implementation date of 2008, however it is still in the preliminary process of tendering the renewal of the contract with Sun Life for the ongoing administration of the Plan. That process is bogged down in the RFI (Request for Information) and RFP (Request for Proposal) processes currently being administered by PWGSC.
As a result, the card will not be introduced until this contract has been awarded and then the administrator will have to finalize the Positive Enrollment (registration) process. Essentially, the administrator will have to identify all the plan members (more than 500,000 members) and their dependents for a total of more than 1.1 million participants. The Card will probably not be introduced until sometime next year.
The PSAC leadership is frustrated by the delay and has indicated so to Treasury Board officials. Updates on the status will be provided when they become available.
Discrimination against Medical Adjudicators
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal confirmed that the Treasury Board, Social Development Canada and PSHRMAC (now the Canada Public Service Agency, or CPSA) engaged in discrimination on the basis of gender because Medical Advisors – doctors, predominantly men – had significantly higher wages and employment opportunities than the Medical Adjudicators – nurses, predominantly women – who administer CPP disability benefits.
A group of 431 medical adjudicators filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission. The complainants argued that medical adjudicators (95% women) were discriminated against when compared to medical advisors (80% men) who are recognized as health professionals. They sought to be recognized as professional nurses the same way medical advisors administering the CPP Disability Benefits Program are recognized as professional doctors.
The medical adjudicators working for CPP Disability Benefits Program are currently classified as PM-4s within the Program Administration (PA) Group, and are PSAC members. Medical advisors are classified as MDs within the Health Services Group and are represented by PIPSC.
The Tribunal found that the employer's classification system supports gender-based discrimination. The Tribunal acknowledges that while there are some differences in the functions of the medical adjudicators and advisors, the core function of both groups is to apply professional knowledge to assess medical fitness in order to determine eligibility for CPP disability benefits.
The Tribunal decision grants all stakeholders three months to negotiate the appropriate measures to rectify the existing gender discrimination. PSAC has been invited to be part of these discussions, and will be represented by legal counsel.
Treasury Board has filed for a judicial review of the Tribunal decision.
PSAC Rates - Meal & Incidental allowances
Effective: Jan 01, 2008 - 23.1
1. TRAVEL IN CANADA |
Canadian $ (taxes included) |
|||
|
Canada & USA |
Yukon & Alaska |
N.W.T. |
Nunavut |
1.1 Composite meal and incidental allowances |
79.30 |
92.50 |
101.25 |
119.95 |
1.2 Meal allowances |
||||
– breakfast |
13.45 |
15.00 |
15.90 |
19.65 |
1.3 Incidental expense allowances |
||||
– commercial accommodation |
|
|
|
|
2. TRAVEL IN USA |
||||
Private non-commercial |
50.00 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
Kilometric rates
The rates payable in cents per kilometre for authorized official use of private cars within and outside the headquarters area during the calendar year are shown below:
|
Employer requested rate |
— Alberta |
50.0 |
Notes:
- Rates are always paid in Canadian funds. The daily minimum kilometric allowance remains unchanged at $2.35.
- The kilometric rate payable when a Canadian registered vehicle is driven on PSAC 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.
- Traveller requested kilometric rates (lower rates) no longer apply to the PSAC Travel Directive except for Isolated Posts and Relocation Directives
PLEASE NOTE: These rates may not be in accordance with NJC rates.
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Date Modified : 2008/06/09
Public Service Alliance of Canada | 233, Gilmour Street, Ottawa, ONTARIO CANADA, K2P 0P1, Tel.: 1 888 604-7722 (PSAC)