People Social Forum Ottawa -Thursday August 21 to Sunday August 24, 2014

Greetings Sisters and Brothers,

 

The Peoples’ Social Forum taking place in Ottawa is shaping up to be the largest gathering of progressive organizations, unions and activists, Canada-wide.

The Forum will take place from Thursday August 21 to Sunday August 24, 2014, with a large rally planned on Parliament Hill on the 21st at 3pm. 

 

PSAC will be offering 1 day of Leave Without Pay and the $25 registration fee for the Forum for a total of 25 members throughout the Ontario Region.

This partial funding is to help offset the financial burden for members who will take part in the Forum and will be based on the responses from interested members to the following 2 questions:

1. Why are you interested in attending the Peoples’ Social Forum?
2. How are you involved in your community promoting issues of social justice?

 

Each answer to the above questions should be no longer than 200 words each. Please reply back directly to this Regional Office email no later than August 6, 2014 by 3pm with your responses. 

 

Note that accommodations and expenses are not being provided, however, the Peoples’ Social Forum does have caravans and special accommodation rates listed here: http://www.peoplessocialforum.org/ottawa

In Solidarity,

Sharon DeSousa,
Regional Executive Vice-President – Ontario
Public Service Alliance of Canada

Federal court upholds PSAC alternation victory

The Federal Court of Canada recently confirmed the PSAC’s alternation victory by dismissing Treasury Board’s application.
In February 2014, the Federal Court heard an application for judicial review brought forward by Treasury Board challenging the alternation policy grievance decision issued by the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB), which was in favour of PSAC.
The court rejected Treasury Board’s argument that employees about to lose their jobs had limited rights when it comes to alternation. The PSAC successfully argued that Treasury Board’s view made no sense and directly violated the key WFAA objective of maximizing employment opportunities for affected employees.
This decision confirms PSAC’s policy grievance and strengthens the employer’s obligation to establish an effective alternation system.
Treasury Board now must take responsibility for its failure on alternation and immediately ensure all departments respect the collective agreement.
The PSAC will continue to make sure that employees who wish to find an alternate have been given every possible opportunity to do so under the terms of the collective agreement.

http://psacunion.ca/federal-court-upholds-psac-alternation-victory?_ga=1.82238101.207852667.1405361863

TB Negotiation Video

http://psacunion.ca/standing-together-bargaining-standing-together-public-services

Tony's lies | Les mensonges de Tony

Hello / Bonjour

Today, the Parliamentary Budget Office dealt a blow to another of Tony Clement’s lies. A report released today echoed what we’ve been saying all along: federal public service sick leave costs almost nothing!

You can find out more about today’s vindicating report by consulting the following articles:

Civil servant sick leave costs minimal for taxpayers, report says – Globe and Mail
Public Servants’ sick days immaterial to Ottawa’s bottom line, report says – CBC

-------------------------------

Aujourd’hui, le Directeur parlementaire du Budget a porté un coup à l’un des mensonges de Tony Clement. Un rapport, publié aujourd’hui, a fait écho à ce que nous disons depuis le début : les congés de maladie dans la fonction publique fédérale ne coûtent presque rien!

Vous pouvez en savoir davantage sur ce rapport en consultant les articles suivants :

Les congés de maladie des fonctionnaires ne coûtent rien aux contribuables – La Presse
Les congés de maladie des fonctionnaires représentent des coûts minimes – Le Journal de Québec

Doug Marshall

National President / Président national
Union of National Employees - PSAC / Syndicat des employées et employés nationaux - AFPC

La version conservatrice des régimes à prestations cibles compromet la sécurité du revenu à la retraite

Le gouvernement conservateur vient de terminer à une consultation sur son projet de réforme de la Loi sur les normes de prestation de pension (LNPP). Son but : y inclure les régimes à prestations cibles. Son enthousiasme pour cette formule nous incite à la vigilance.

Des membres de l’AFPC seraient touchés

Les sociétés d’État et les employeurs du secteur privé sous réglementation fédérale (les aéroports, par ex.) sont assujettis à la LNPP.

• Aperçu des régimes à prestations cibles et de la proposition des conservateurs
• Le mémoire de l’AFPC

Le gouvernement a déclaré, bien sûr, que sa proposition ne s’appliquait pas à la Loi sur la pension de la fonction publique (LPFP). Mais en enchâssant les prestations cibles dans une loi, on ouvre la porte à d’autres réformes législatives, visant, cette fois, les régimes de retraite de la fonction publique.

La proposition du gouvernement met en danger les revenus de retraite

Un régime à prestations cibles c’est mieux que rien, n’est-ce pas? Peut-être. Mais cela ne compense pas tous les problèmes qu’engendrera la proposition du gouvernement. En voici quelques-uns :

• les employeurs pourraient niveler par le bas les régimes à prestations déterminées existants;
• les employeurs pourraient réduire les prestations de retraite versées aux personnes retraitées. Or, selon la loi fédérale en vigueur, corroborée par des décisions judiciaires, il est INTERDIT de procéder ainsi sauf si le régime est déficitaire;
• les contributions seraient plafonnées, et ce, même si l’employeur et les employés sont prêts à payer davantage, ce qui mènera fort probablement à la réduction des prestations;
• chaque employé devrait assumer une grande part du risque.

Prochaine étape : légiférer les régimes à prestations cibles

Le gouvernement affirme que les commentaires recueillis dans le cadre de la consultation menée par le ministère des Finances le guideront au moment de rédiger la nouvelle loi. Entretemps, il continue à nous vendre sa salade.
L’AFPC, d’autres syndicats et le Congrès du travail du Canada ont démoli la proposition du gouvernement, sachant pertinemment qu’elle profitera uniquement aux employeurs. Pourquoi? Parce qu’il n’y a absolument rien dans cette proposition qui inciterait les employeurs à implanter de nouveaux régimes, ou à bonifier un régime à cotisations déterminées déjà en place. Au contraire, ils voudront plutôt réduire leur part du risque et les prestations de retraite des employés.

L’AFPC ripostera

En plus de faire connaître notre position au gouvernement, l’AFPC, de concert avec d’autres syndicats, ripostera à cette nouvelle attaque du gouvernement contre les pensions.
Notre stratégie : montrer au grand jour les failles de la proposition du gouvernement et les dangers qu’elle recèle. Nous proposerons aussi d’autres solutions pour améliorer la sécurité de la retraite de tous les Canadiens.

Conservatives’ version of target benefit pension plans a threat to retirement security

The Conservative government has just finished a consultation process about their proposal to change the federal Pension Benefits Standards Act to include target benefit pension plans. They’re enthusiastic about this type of pension plan which is a good reason to pay attention.

• Quick facts about target benefit pension plans and what the Conservatives have planned
• Read PSAC’s submission

PSAC members would be affected

The federal Pension Benefits Standards Act applies to federally-regulated private sector employers (such as airports) and Crown Corporations.
While the government has said that this proposal does not apply to the Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA), if their proposal becomes law it would set the stage for similar changes to the PSSA and federal public service pensions.

The government’s proposal makes retirement income less secure

Target benefit pension plans might be better than no pension at all. But that doesn’t compensate for all the problems the government’s proposal will create. The government’s version of a target benefit pension plan:

• will give employers an opportunity to downgrade existing defined benefit pension plans;
• will allow employers to reduce pension benefits being paid to retirees; existing federal law, supported by court decisions, does NOT allow employers to reduce retirees’ pensions except when a plan is in bankruptcy;
• will put a limit on contributions, even if the employer and employees want to pay more, virtually guaranteeing that benefits would be reduced at some point;
• will shift a lot of the pension plan risk from employers to individual employees

The next step is to legislate target benefit pension plans

The government says that the input received through the Department of Finance consultation process will guide it when preparing the new legislation. Meanwhile it continues to spin the supposed benefits of its proposal.
PSAC, other unions and the Canadian Labour Congress have panned the government’s proposal because we know that only employers will benefit. There are no incentives for employers to create new pension plans or improve existing defined contribution plans. They’ll just be encouraged to reduce their risk and reduce employees’ pension benefits.

PSAC will be organizing against this new attack on pensions

In addition to making our position known to the government, PSAC is working with others in the labour movement to push back the government’s proposal.
We’re working to counteract the government’s rosy spin and make members aware of the real pitfalls of the government’s plan. And, we’re working to promote alternatives that will improve retirement security for all Canadians.

Federal government mulling ‘Buro’ scheme to make public service more efficient

The federal government hopes to address a problem in the bureaucracy of “stretched and stressed resources” during busy periods, and “sub-optimal resource use” during slow times.

The Conservative government is examining a whole new business model to effectively buy, sell and use the time and skills of federal employees: Meet the BURO-crat.
The government has been planning a pilot project at some federal agencies that would apply “market principles” to more efficiently use federal bureaucrats and help smooth out busy and slow work periods, according to government records.
The three-year pilot project is based on a model called “The Buro,” which the government explains is “like the Euro for bureaucrats,” according to a presentation deck prepared for the federal government’s deputy ministers’ committee on policy innovation. (The Euro is the currency used by many European Union countries.)
The Buro concept, which would face its first test at the government’s regional economic agencies, would “establish an electronic market and currency (the Buro) to allow bureaucrats to ‘sell’ their time to each other in a pinch,” say the documents, obtained by the Ottawa Citizen using the access to information law.

The government hopes to address a problem in the bureaucracy of “stretched and stressed resources” during busy periods, and “sub-optimal resource use” during slow times.

Busy work groups within the federal government could post micro-contracts on a website, according to the presentation, which is titled “The Buro: Using Market Principles for Efficient Human Resource Allocation.”
Employees working in other areas or departments who have some extra time could accept the additional work, and their section could earn some Buros back from that group.
Some of the advantages of the Buro, according to the presentation, are that it’s more flexible than current human resources tools, because secondments, co-ops, new hires and casual employees “are impractical for short-term needs.”
Also, because the Buros use market forces and have value, “people respond to incentives,” say the documents, which were prepared between August, 2013 and February, 2014.
The documents say that, depending on rollout, there would be “variable costs” for the government, including incentives, oversight and maintenance.
But there would also be significant overtime savings, as well as “fewer stressed-out employees,” better work and more deadlines met. Buros would also mitigate the effects of temporary employee absences, according to the presentation. The government would then reinvest the savings, the documents say.
The Conservative government has been planning the pilot project as it cuts billions of dollars and thousands of federal employees in an effort to balance the books by 2015-16.

The Buro market would largely be self-policing, with ratings for all parties in transactions, ‘like eBay,’ and dispute resolution ‘as last resort’

The government’s three-year pilot project is proposed first for policy analysts at regional development agencies, such as the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, Western Economic Diversification Canada and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
The skills, knowledge and economic analysis required at the various regional agencies are all similar, says the government.
However, other potential target groups include administrative services, communications, IT services, finance, legal and human resources staff.
The pilot project, as envisioned, would see a working group spend six months on research, consultations and business-case development.
If the initial work confirms that the pilot project is feasible, the government would then take one year to design the system for the pilot (including develop software, rules of use), followed by a one-year trial run, then a post-mortem to measure its effectiveness.
The pilot project would then inform the government on “potential wider deployment.”
The system could potentially be modelled after blueprints such as eBay, InnoCentive (a company that crowdsources innovative solutions) and Google Answers (a former online knowledge market), the documents say.
The Buro market, while requiring rules, would largely be self-policing, with ratings for all parties in transactions, “like eBay,” and dispute resolution “as last resort.”
Buro transactions would be transparent under the planned model, to allow monitoring for misuse via a “panopticon effect: visibility keeps people honest.”
The deputy ministers’ committee on policy innovation that is examining the changes was created in November 2012. It was initially mandated to consider links between social media and policy-making, including new models for policy development and public engagement.
As of December 2013, the committee was asked to move beyond social media to examine trends and new technologies to help improve policy development.

Jason Fekete, Postmedia News | July 9, 2014

PSAC stands strong as negotiations with Treasury Board kick off

This week, PSAC began bargaining with Treasury Board, negotiations that will impact more than 100,000 members.
Before sitting down at the table with the employer, we held meetings with our members all across the country. We heard loud and clear that PSAC members want to protect strong public services for all Canadians.
The following principles will guide us at the bargaining table:

• We will continue to work to ensure for high quality public services to improve the quality of life for all Canadians.
• We will take a strong, principled and determined stand that protects fair working conditions and decent living standards for our members and for all workers.
• We will work hard to secure decent working conditions and quality public services that leave every future generation better off.

There is no doubt that this is an unprecedented round of bargaining – one that will challenge all of us to work together strategically, sometimes in new and creative ways.
Top of mind among all federal public sector workers is the government’s attempts to dismantle our sick leave system and replace it with a short-term disability plan.
Paid sick leave is enshrined in our collective agreements and we believe Treasury Board’s effort to unilaterally push it’s “wellness strategy” constitutes bad faith bargaining, interference and a potential violation of the Public Service Labour Relations Act.
This is in addition to the legal action that we are taking against the government’s attacks on collective bargaining in Bill C-4 and Bill C-31.

Topics:

• Bargaining

Employers:

• Treasury Board
• EB group
• FB group
• PA group
• SV group
• TC group

 

July 10, 2014

Todd Woytiuk
Regional Representative
London Regional Office
Public Service Alliance Of Canada
1-800-366-0539 ex 224