This info was forwarded to our Local
Executive today, and although I don't know a lot about the issue yet,
we'll be keeping this on our radar. Posted here for our members' info.
From UEW Local 20147 note Letter from National President enclosed
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Arrears pay: Coming to a workplace near you.
Posted by Megan Eliza ⋅ October 26, 2012 ⋅ 2 Comments
Your union local has just discovered that *all* Treasury Board employees will move to arrears pay in 2013 (possibly starting with the first cheque of the year). This means that each employee with a six month term to indeterminate will have a full two weeks recovered from their pay in 2013, to be returned only when they leave the federal government. This is pay for time already worked being taken. The employer has not released any details about how this is going to happen (all in one cheque? spread over the whole year?) except to say that moving in this direction will ease their compensation centralization efforts. At this time, there is no public information available from the employer or the union on this issue and we have put a call up through the union to get more hard facts on the matter.
We believe this so-called recovery constitutes a theft of wages, and we call on the PSAC to issue a strong response in opposition to this plan. We further ask you, the membership, to send us a message about what the loss of two weeks salary in 2013 would mean to you so that we underscore to both management and the union that this would have serious consequences for our membership. Since many of us do live paycheque-to-paycheque, any pay grab (even over several cheques) will leave people in difficult straits. (Responses to this new direction can be sent to megan.e.adam@gmail.com for collection by the union local).
Finally, we ask the membership to be alert to these changes and ready to respond to union calls for action in the near future. After a year of kicking by the Stephen Harper Conservatives, this move serves only to rub salt in the still-fresh wounds of WFA and re-organization. We hope that when the time comes you are ready to take action – and we will be keeping you informed as we hear more down the road to ensure you are as up-to-date as we are.
Todd Woytiuk
Regional Representative
London Regional Office
Public Service Alliance Of Canada
1-800-366-0539 ex 224
