The government says the goal of Service Canada is to provide better, one-stop service to more Canadians in more communities, delivered with the right service attitude. 

The PSAC is concerned about how this new initiative will affect the quality of service to the public and to our members who provide those services. 

We are getting a picture from our members in the field.  Here are some examples that contradict the employer’s claims:

The employer insists that Service Canada will improve front-line service to the public.  But…

• many members are telling us that their managers have instructed them to direct more citizens to computers and that the quality of person-to-person service is being undermined;
• managers have told some of our members that jobs in the new agency will be generic and demand less specialized knowledge, raising concerns that de-skilled front-line jobs may be reduced to that of “Wal-Mart greeting”;
• unrealistic time limits are placed on workers who serve clients, mostly at call-centres, affecting our members’ workload and the depth and quality of service to the public.

The employer claims that most job losses will be fair and mostly through attrition.  But…

• term workers are already being terminated, and casual workers and students are being hired to do their work.

The employer claims that front-line jobs at Service Canada will be interesting and rewarding. But…

• we’ve heard workers are being asked to serve the public supported only with one-page reference sheets provided by departments and agencies; 
• we’ve heard reports that in some cases as little as two hours of training is being provided.

The employer has said that they will not privatize.  But…

• members are concerned about privatization and that more of their work will be transferred to private sector employers like Quantum, a private company that currently operates 1-800-O-Canada. 

As the PSAC develops a strong and effective action plan to protect our members and the quality of services to the public, we will need to know from you, our members in the field, what is being done in your workplaces. 

If you have examples similar to the ones outlined above or other examples that contradict the employer’s claims about protecting the quality of your jobs and of the service to the public, we urge you to forward the information to your Component or nearest Regional Office.

Please include what managers have said and the exact workplace locations where these instructions are being given.  It would also be helpful if you can provide us with documents, where they exist, in which these instructions have been written down.  You can also forward your information to workingforcanadians@psac.com

Any information you provide will be treated in strict confidence and used only to ensure our members’ rights are protected.

Quality public services begins with quality jobs,
and the PSAC is committed to ensuring that our members have secure, quality jobs.