PSAC members commit to defending workplace rights and benefits

PSAC’s Treasury Board Bargaining conference closed on a determined note Sunday, as more than 300 union members committed to defending workplace rights and benefits in the next round of bargaining. Only days after the government introduced a federal budget calling for even more cuts to crucial programs, participants pledged to stand up for public sector workers and the services they provide.
“This is about protecting the hard-won rights of our members over decades,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President, in her address to the conference. “And it is about keeping those rights in place not just for us but for the next generations of workers who have yet to join the public service.”
Benson criticized the federal budget for its attacks on public sector sick leave. She also took aim at the Conservatives for rushing Bill C-525 through Parliament, “another outrageous Conservative bill that proposes to put up major roadblocks to the unionization of workers, and that will also allow a minority of workers to get rid of a union even when the majority wants to stick with their union.”
Conference participants heard from PSAC’s experts on the important issues that members will be facing at the bargaining table with Treasury Board, including sick leave and job security. Delegates also heard from Paul Moist, National President of CUPE, Hassan Yussuf, the Secretary Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress, Debi Daviau, the President of PIPSC, and Sam Hammond, the President of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario on the importance of mobilizing the membership and sticking together to achieve fair collective agreements.

Delegates united in strengthening union outreach in the workplace

Delegates worked together on Saturday to develop concrete strategies for engaging members in the workplace and for building the communications and outreach plans that will be essential for success at the bargaining table.
“It was clear that delegates were united in their resolve to defend public services and the working conditions of those who provide them,” said Chris Aylward, National Executive Vice President of PSAC.
On the last day, delegates elected bargaining teams for the five PSAC Treasury Board groups: the PA group, the FB group, the TC group, the SV group and the EB group. Bargaining teams will be preparing the demands for each group in the coming weeks.
“When the government attacks the people who provide public services, they are attacking all Canadians,” said Benson. “I was inspired to see all our delegates unite in their commitment to stand in the way of the decimation of the public service.”