a reminder that ORWC Applications are due

Just a friendly reminder that ORWC Applications and Resolutions 

are due by 4:00 p.m. on Friday (Good Friday) March 29, 2013.

The 2013 PSAC Ontario Regional Womens Conference will be held on May 31 - June 2, 2013 in Toronto.

The Conference theme is Reach, Mobilize and Get Involved. 

Delegates to the Conference will be selected based on the criteria outlined in the registration application. 

Sisters from Components, Directly Chartered Locals, Area Councils, Human Rights Committees, Regional or National Officers and who are members of the PSAC Ontario Regional Council are encouraged to attend.

Please see the attached application or visit our site: www.psac.com/ontario. The deadline for applications and resolutions is March 29th, 2013.

In Sisterhood and Solidarity,

Colleen Wice,
Regional Womens Committee Representative, PSAC Ontario Council

Sharon DeSousa,
PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President, Ontario

a response to "Tories put PS sick leave in sights"

Learn from past mistakes-a response to Tories put PS sick leave in sights (Ottawa Citizen - March 15)

The government appears to be threatening to use the federal budget to tamper with our members' negotiated sick leave benefits. They might want to think twice about that.
Dalton McGuinty did that to teachers in Ontario: he unilaterally announced changes to freely negotiated collective agreements that took away teachers' sick leave and replaced it with a short-term disability plan. In the process, he destroyed labour relations with the teachers and left a sour taste in the mouth of every student in the province.

Note that McGuinty is no longer premier, and the new premier is still trying to undo the damage. The government is entitled to announce its plans for future collective bargaining all it wants, but those plans don't belong in the federal budget or the budget bill. Most of our membership already has contracts in place through to the middle of 2014. There is no interest on their part for a discussion about the sick leave provisions of their agreements and they are sending a strong message: we won't trade it, sell it, swap it, lose it or give it away.

PSAC has said many times that we are very concerned about the high occurrence of illness among our members. Our members tell us the situation is only getting worse as this government slashes jobs, services and programs, leaving them with impossible workloads, worried about the public they serve, and anxious that they may be the next to go.

An announcement from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty about sick leave benefits will only make that situation worse.
Now let's hope that he will demonstrate that he has been thinking about the well-being of all Canadians and that this week's budget finally recognizes that cutting jobs and services isn't promoting the health of our members, protecting services the public rely on, or building the Canadian economy.

by Robyn Benson, National President, Public Service Alliance of Canada

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Learn+from+past+mistakes/8123373/story.html#ixzz2O5vYlWh6

Notice of National Executive Meeting//Avis de réunion de l'exécutif national

TO:      ALL LOCALS

This is to advise that the National Executive of this Component will be meeting on April 8-10, 2013 in Ottawa following the All President Conference. The first session will commence at 9:00 a.m. in the UNE Boardroom.

In accordance with the Union of National Employees Policy CC 8, all expenses incurred by observers attending any executive meeting are the responsibility of the individual observer or his or her local.

Should your Local have any items to be placed on the agenda for this meeting, please contact your Regional Vice-President and provide him/her with the necessary information in order that he/she will be in a position to place this matter before the Executive.

************************************************************************ FRANÇAIS *********************************************************************

À:            TOUTES LES SECTIONS LOCALES,

Par la présente, je vous avise que l'Exécutif de l'Élément national se réunira à Ottawa du 8 au 10 avril 2013 après la conférence de tous les présidentes et présidents des sections locales. La première session débutera à 9 h dans la salle de conférence du Syndicat des employées et employés nationaux. H

Conformément à la politique CC 8 du Syndicat des employées et employés nationaux, toutes les dépenses engagées pour la participation des observatrices et observateurs à une réunion de l’exécutif doivent être prises en charge par ses personnes elles-mêmes ou par leur section locale.         

S=il y a des points que votre section locale voudrait faire inscrire à l=ordre du jour de cette réunion, veuillez les faire parvenir à votre vice-président(e) régional(e) et lui communiquer les renseignements nécessaires pour qu=il (elle) puisse présenter ces questions à l=exécutif.

Call to action! La grève a assez duré!

Call to action! A six-month strike is six months too long
 
Tomorrow, Monday March 11, 2013, is the six month anniversary of the
strike by 85 PSAC/UCTE members who work at St. John’s International
Airport.  In solidarity with their struggle for fairness and workers’
rights, PSAC is calling on union members and allies from coast to coast
to contact airport CEO Keith Collins and his board of directors to
demand the employer return to the bargaining table with a new mandate to
negotiate a fair collective agreement. 

We ask that you undertake this initiative in such a way to create a
wave across the country from Newfoundland to British Columbia. 

Send your message at the following times (your time zone):
Newfoundland : 9:00 a.m.
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island  : 9:00 a.m.
Quebec and Ontario  :  10:00 a.m.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan  : 11:00 a.m.
Alberta : 12 pm
and our wave will end in BC at 1 p.m.

Please take on short minute to send this email
http://psacatlantic.ca/bargaining/email/call-action-it-s-time-end-strike-st-john-s-airport


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Appel à l’action! La grève a assez duré!

 Il y a six mois demain, le 11 mars 2013, 85 membres de l’AFPC/UCET
travaillant à l’aéroport international de St. John’s déclenchaient
la grève. L’AFPC demande à tous les syndiqués et à ses alliés de tous
les coins du pays de faire preuve de solidarité envers ces membres qui
réclament la justice et défendent les droits des travailleuses et des
travailleurs. Communiquez avec Keith Collins, directeur général de
l’aéroport et avec les membres de son conseil
d’administration. Insistez auprès d’eux pour qu’ils reprennent
les pourparlers, dotés du mandat de négocier une convention équitable.

 Nous vous demandons de créer une énorme vague d’un bout à l’autre
du pays, en partant de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador jusqu’en
Colombie-Britannique.

 Envoyez votre message aux heures suivantes (heure locale) :
Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador : 9 h
Nouvelle-Écosse, Nouveau-Brunswick et Île-du-Prince-Édouard : 9 h
Québec et Ontario : 10 h
Manitoba et Saskatchewan : 11 h
Alberta : midi
Colombie-Britannique : 13 h, marquant la fin de la vague.

Prenez une minute pour envoyer ce courriel
http://afpcatlantique.ca/n-gociation/email/mobilisons-nous-le-temps-est-venu-de-mettre-fin-la-gr-ve-l-roport-de-st-john-s