Category: Collective Bargaining

After more than 300 days, the PSAC-UNE members at Best Theratronics have finally reached a tentative agreement with their employer.

These courageous workers have been on strike since May 2024 and have refused to back down in the face of an employer who has been consistently disrespectful during the bargaining process.

This tentative agreement includes an 11.458% wage increase over the life of the 4-year agreement.  Other highlights include changes to the vacation leave process, flexible start and finish times for hours of work, and a trial introduction of compressed shifts. The contract also does not include any of the concessions sought by the employer.

These members have been steadfast in the face of an employer who engaged in disrespectful behaviours throughout the entirety of the bargaining process. PSAC filed numerous Unfair Labour Practice (ULP) complaints with the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). The CIRB found that Best Theratronics failed to bargain in good faith with our members. Krishnan Suthanthiran, the owner of the company, did not give representatives authority to bargain on his behalf and released misleading communications to influence the bargaining process.

Even after the tentative agreement was reached, PSAC had to file another ULP complaint against Best Theratronics relating to continued efforts for misinformation relating to the bargaining process.

The members at Best Theratronics have displayed powerful solidarity and a commitment to fighting for a contract they deserve through a challenging job action. PSAC NCR and the Union of National Employees are happy that these members have been able to achieve a satisfactory tentative agreement and will be able to return to work in the coming weeks.

PSAC has filed a policy grievance against Treasury Board over Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) failure to follow the Workforce Adjustment Appendix when implementing its Voluntary Departure Program. 

PSAC and component unions representing workers at IRCC — the Canada Employment and Immigration Union and Union of National Employees — have serious concerns about the department’s mishandling of workforce reductions as the department pushes ahead with its plan to cut 3,300 jobs. 

Some affected employees were misled to believe a Voluntary Departure Program was in place, yet IRCC failed to properly establish it through the required consultation process. The department also refused to provide staff reduction targets before launching the program, as required under the collective agreement, preventing the union from ensuring it is applied fairly and preventing our members from having access to information that may inform their decision about whether to participate in the program. 

Making matters worse, IRCC is limiting eligibility to the program to workers impacted by workforce adjustment in the first year and excluding those slated for layoffs in years two and three of the plan. This directly violates the Workforce Adjustment Appendix, which requires all affected employees in units of five or more at the same group and level to be given the option to participate. 

PSAC calls for IRCC to temporarily suspend workforce adjustment  

In response, PSAC has filed a grievance demanding that workforce adjustment be suspended until IRCC provides the required reduction targets. The union is also calling for the Voluntary Departure Program to be made available to all affected employees, not just those facing immediate cuts. 

IRCC workers are essential to the processing of Canada’s immigration and citizenship programs, including permanent and temporary residency applications, issuing passports, and ensuring Canada can attract the talent needed to strengthen our economy.  

Our union will continue to fight back against these reckless job cuts and hold the employer accountable for its failure to respect our members’ collective agreement rights. 

This week, PSAC served notice to begin bargaining with Treasury Board on behalf of more than 125,000 federal public service workers across the country in the Program and Administrative Services (PA) and Technical Services (TC) bargaining groups. 

In the coming weeks, notice to bargain will also be served for 12,000 members of the Operational Services (SV) and Education and Library Science (EB) bargaining groups. 

Members are united and mobilized heading into this round of bargaining on the heels of PSAC’s historic national strike in 2023. Over the past week, more than 200 Treasury Board members gathered at the national bargaining conference in Montreal to discuss members’ priorities and elect bargaining teams for the next round of negotiations. 

This marks the first step toward securing new collective agreements that recognize the critical services federal public service workers deliver for Canada.  

The current collective agreements expire on the following dates: 

• PA: June 20, 2025 
• TC: June 21, 2025 
• EB: June 30, 2025 
• SV: August 4, 2025 

Federal public service workers deliver essential public services that keep our country running — delivering vital programs like Employment Insurance and child care benefits, protecting our coasts and waterways, supporting our veterans, and keeping our communities safe. 

The Treasury Board PA, TC, SV and EB collective agreements will expire in 2025. 

• Program and Administrative (PA) group expiry date: June 20, 2025 
• Technical Services (TC) group expiry date: June 21, 2025 
• Operational Services (SV) group expiry date: August 04, 2025 
• Education and Library (EB) group expiry date: June 30, 2025 

In preparation for the next round of bargaining, PSAC will host a bargaining conference for PA, TC, SV, and EB group members on February 19-23, 2025, in Montréal. 

The conference will bring members together to review, discuss, and prioritize issues for bargaining with Treasury Board. Conference delegates will also be electing their bargaining team. 

PSAC is issuing a call-out for equity group members to attend the Treasury Board national bargaining conference.   

The participation of all groups in collective bargaining is critical and we encourage equity group members – Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, Access (members with disabilities), women and young workers (35 years old or younger) – to participate. 

• Applicants must be a member of the PA, TC, SV, or EB bargaining unit as well as hold office in their Local and demonstrate evidence of union activism. 

Please submit your application before December 16 to be considered for the upcoming bargaining conference. 

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has the primary responsibility for collective bargaining.

However, the Union of National Employees (UNE) supports this process in several ways:

• Before negotiations begin, the UNE is responsible for soliciting bargaining demands from its members.
• This is your chance to have your say and address specific issues that require improvement in your collective agreement.
• Your PSAC bargaining teams, which include UNE members, negotiate with your employer to bring about the change that the members demand.
• This Input Call is your chance to make your voice heard and submit demands for the upcoming round of bargaining.

The primary purpose of this communiqué is to explain what you or your Local members need to do, to submit your demands and how local members can get involved in the process.

Key Dates:

Deadline for Submission of Bargaining Demands through the PSAC portal – November 15, 2024.

Deadline for National Bargaining Conference Applications – December 13, 2024.

How Can I Submit Demands?

• Locals are encouraged to schedule a membership meeting to discuss their priorities and proposed bargaining demands.
• Individual members are also permitted to submit demands
• Once bargaining demands are agreed upon or crafted, members are encouraged to submit their bargaining input by submitting them to:

Proposal for Collective Bargaining | Public Service Alliance of Canada (psacunion.ca)

What Happens After I Submit My Demands?

• The UNE reviews all the demands submitted.
• During this review process, the UNE ensures that the demands conform to the needs and values of the union.
• The UNE also conducts basic editing and establishes a priority list based on the bargaining demands submitted.
• For the upcoming round of bargaining, PSAC has established that demands will be capped at 25 demands per bargaining unit (25 for PA, 25 for TC, 25 for SV and 25 for EB).
• Therefore, all demands will be evaluated to ensure they represent the interests of the membership, as a whole.

How Does PSAC Prioritize Demands?

• PSAC holds a National Bargaining Conference, currently scheduled for February 19-23, 2025, at the Westin Montréal.
• It’s during this bargaining conference that delegates review bargaining demands, identify priorities, and plan the upcoming round of bargaining.
•  

How Can I Get Involved?

• National Bargaining Conferences are where members of the bargaining team are elected.
• If you attend this conference as a delegate, you may decide to run for a spot on the bargaining team.
• If you would like to attend this conference, please submit your name to the UNE for consideration by filling out the attached questionnaire.
• The UNE national officers will review all applications and select delegates to the bargaining conference.
• Please note that UNE Policy NG 1 dictates that when delegates are selected by UNE to attend national bargaining conferences, priority will be given to delegates from locals that have submitted bargaining proposals.
• Space is limited! Therefore, selection is conducted with the goal of ensuring geographic, occupational and equity group diversity.

Please send applications to Emily Gault-Due at Emily.Gault-Due@une-sen.org

The Federal Court will hold a full hearing to review PSAC’s application to quash the federal government’s decision to force federal public service workers back into ill-equipped offices three days a week beginning September 9.  

This is an important victory for workers and unions who have been pushing back against the government’s unilateral decision announced in May that has had sweeping impacts on federal workers and led to mass protests, legal challenges and a wave of individual grievances. 

“The Federal Court’s decision to hear our case is an important win for federal workers fighting for a fair and transparent approach to telework,” said PSAC National President Sharon DeSousa. “Remote work is the future of work, and we won’t let the government off the hook for breaking their commitments and ignoring the voices of federal public service workers.” 

The government attempted to have the case thrown out or delayed by the Court until existing legal challenges – including several policy grievances and unfair labour practice complaints disputing the mandate – are heard by a federal board. 

But the Federal Court judge ruled that Treasury Board failed to deliver the “knock-out punch” to the grounds for PSAC’s application to warrant dismissal. 

The hearing will be a major step for unions and workers looking for transparency around its decision to bring workers back into the office three days a week, as the government will now need to make their case and present their reasoning for making the decision to bring workers back to the office. 

Although this does not mean that the Federal Court endorses PSAC’s position, it will allow us to fully argue our case in court. This is part of PSAC’s broader effort to demonstrate that telework is the way of the future and hold the government accountable for its misguided mandate. 

What members can do 

This is just one of several ways PSAC is continuing the fight for fair telework. Members can take action by: 

• Filing an individual grievance on remote work;  
• Signing our petition; 
• Answering our brief mobilization survey;  
• Getting involved with your local.  

This fall, PSAC will be launching a national joint telework campaign alongside other unions. But to win this fight, we will need the support of members from coast to coast to coast organizing and making noise in their workplaces. Together, we will show the government, decision-makers and the public that #RemoteWorks. 

Calling all UNE members in the National Capital Region! 

Location: Les Terrasses de la Chaudière

Date: Thursday, August 8, 2024

Time: 12:00 – 13:00 ET

Please aim to arrive to the rally 15 minutes early if possible (11:45) and feel free to bring your UNE, PSAC and other union-related flags. Please also distribute this notice as widely as possible.

Following brief speeches at 12:00 at the main entrance of Les Terrasses de la Chaudière, we will be operating an information picket, passing out RT(N)O buttons and leaflets about the negative effects of return to office.

The goal is to broaden the discussion, and everyone is welcome. We would like to cover as many doors as possible to hand out buttons and literature.

Context: On May 1, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat mandated that all federal public service employees must be at the physical work site a minimum of 3 days per week, starting in September 2024. This generic policy continues to lack nuance in terms of an individual’s work realities and ignores the widely used technological innovations already in place.

Like many public service employees across Canada, members of PSAC-NCR successfully demonstrated their ability to conduct their duties remotely throughout the pandemic. We’ve seen how federal public service employees continue to deliver for Canadians with a hybrid work arrangement.

Numerous studies have proven the benefits of working remotely, including a more dynamic workforce, less time wasted commuting to the work site, a safer work environment and a smaller carbon footprint with fewer cars on the road.

Studies also show that many employees are more productive at home without office distractions and regularly work more hours because they have greater flexibility.

Since 2022, PSAC-NCR along with the PSAC National, the individual Components of PSAC, and our ally unions in the public service (CAPE, PIPSC, and ACFO, amongst many others) have strongly opposed the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s uniform approach to mandating employee presence at work site.

At this rally, we will show our dissatisfaction with the unexplained, uncosted and unplanned return to office. Detrimental effects include offices that often fail to meet safety requirements on air quality, mould, rodent and insect infestation. In addition, the employer has burdened tax payers and public service employees (who also pay taxes nationally, provincially and locally) with the cost to reinvigorate the downtown cores of Ottawa and Gatineau, as well as their transit systems. We say this is unacceptable!

PSAC-NCR is willing to have a discussion of rejuvenation of the city, but there must be a reason for it. Further enriching landlords and business owners while city services continue to collapse under the stress of underfunding are not the solution.

We hope to see you on the August 8 at Les Terrasses de la Chaudière !