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Governments must prioritize vaccinations for front-line workers

April 15, 2021

PSAC is pressing governments to prioritize vaccinations for critical front-line workers across Canada to limit the spread of COVID-19.

PSAC represents thousands of front-line workers doing critical work at Canada’s borders, in federal penitentiaries, day shelters and group homes, community parole officers, firefighters, Coast Guard staff and employees on military bases, meat-packing plant workers, food inspectors and many more.

Their close contact with the public and other employees while performing their work puts them at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 and contributing to outbreaks in their communities. That’s why it’s crucial that all provinces and territories provide access to vaccinations for front-line essential workers as soon as possible, as per Stage 2 of the Government of Canada’s vaccine schedule.

“The federal government has an obligation to safeguard the health and safety of all its employees during the pandemic,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president. “Federal ministers must step in and mandate provinces and territories to accelerate vaccinations for front-line essential workers as soon as possible, as recommended in the federal government’s own vaccination schedule.”

PSAC and components, including the Customs and Immigration Union and the Union of Safety and Justice Employees, have been lobbying both the federal and provincial governments, including Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, to prioritize vaccinations for our members.

“Canada Border Services Agency personnel have continued to perform critical work despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jean-Pierre Fortin, CIU national president, representing more than 11,000 CBSA officers and workers across the country. “With a third wave now well underway and the growing threat of COVID variants, it’s imperative for frontline Border Services officers to be prioritized for vaccinations equally across the country, alongside other first responders and law enforcement personnel.”

Some provinces have prioritized vaccinations for front-line workers early on, while others still refuse to consider many front-line workers essential under their vaccination plans, creating a patchwork system that puts workers and the Canadians they serve at risk. Two workers, doing the same job and facing the same risk of exposure to COVID-19, could be vaccinated months apart under the current provincial arrangement.

“By not quickly moving to vaccinate all front-line staff who work day in and day out with federal offenders, we put thousands of Canadians and employees at continued high risk of COVID-19 outbreaks,” said Stan Stapleton, national president of the Union of Safety and Justice Employees representing all federal employees working in rehabilitative, parole, maintenance, food service and related support roles in federal minimum, medium and maximum security penitentiaries, as well as Community Correctional Centres and parole offices across Canada.

PSAC will continue to pressure the federal government to work collaboratively with provincial public health authorities and ensure all front-line workers are equally prioritized as part of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

Source: Governments must prioritize vaccinations for front-line workers | Public Service Alliance of Canada (psacunion.ca)

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PSAC begins talks to improve the Public Service Health Care Plan

April 8, 2021

PSAC is launching a new round of negotiations with Treasury Board to update and strengthen the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP). The much-delayed talks are starting after PSAC, other federal public service unions, and the National Association of Federal Retirees threatened legal action earlier this year to compel the government to come to the table.

The health care plan, which covers most federal public service workers and retirees, has not been meaningfully updated since 2006 and needs significant updates to reflect recent medical advances, increases in the cost of health services, and emerging technologies. Supported by the results of a membership survey on the health care plan and other extensive research, PSAC is ready to advocate for a comprehensive set of proposals to improve the health care plan, including:

  • greater coverage for vision care (including laser eye surgery)
  • increased coverage for all paramedical services (such as physiotherapy, massage therapy, chiropractic care)
  • improved coverage for psychological services (including higher claimable maximum and access to a wider range of practitioners)
  • removal of prescription requirements for paramedical benefits claims
  • new coverage for acupuncture services
  • new coverage for medical cannabis

A full list of our proposals to improve the health care plan is available.

Please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive more updates as our negotiations proceed.

About the Public Service Health Care Plan

The Public Service Health Care Plan provides coverage for a wide variety of health-related products and services for a majority of federal public service workers. PSAC negotiates the health care plan directly with Treasury Board, together with other bargaining agents of the National Joint Council  and the National Association of Federal Retirees, representing retired members. This is done outside of the regular bargaining process for collective agreements.

Source: PSAC begins talks to improve the Public Service Health Care Plan | Public Service Alliance of Canada (psacunion.ca)

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World Autism Awareness Day 2021

By Michael Freeman

People with autism find aspects of everyday life challenging. Interaction and communication with people, even people that are closest, may be difficult. These situations can be confusing to others and stress inducing to the person with autism.

Restricted interests, repetitive behaviours and difficulty with interactions and communications all affect a person with autism’s ability to function effectively in everyday life.

World Autism Awareness Day was established in December of 2007 to bring awareness of Autism to the fore and to ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) in 2013.

Autism can be diagnosed at any age but is referred to as a “developmental disorder” because signs and symptoms typically appear before the age of two.  Statistics show that autism is 4.3 times more prevalent in boys than girls.

Autism continues to be a focus of study, creating new developments in understanding aspects of the “disorder”.

Please take a few minutes to read or research about autism. Increase your knowledge. Develop your understanding. Discuss with friends and colleagues; some of whom may be living with autism or have family members that do.

Michael Freeman is the UNE National Equity Representative for People with Disabilities.

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National Indigenous Languages Day, March 31

March 31, 2021

The Indigenous peoples in Canada have celebrated March 31st to honour the strength and endurance of our languages. There are thousands of Indigenous Language Champions creating and delivering Indigenous languages programs every day.

I celebrate the work of our Indigenous Language Champions who are revitalizing and are seeking ways to sustain the survival of our languages. I acknowledge the difficult burden they are carrying to reverse more than a century of attempts to erase our languages and identity, mostly through residential schools.

Our communities now have opportunities to live and learn our Mother tongues through Language Nests, Immersion Programs, Language and Cultural Camps, and to offer Master-Apprentice Programs as well as degree programs for our Teachers and those who want to become fluent speakers and Language Teachers. Across the country we have asserted greater determination to use our languages, our identities, and to seek equitable recognition and support to that which is provided to the official languages in this country.

At this time I wish to acknowledge the importance of language and culture for the well-being and resilience of Indigenous communities around the world. It’s also a day to lift up our hands to the many language champions working to address the language crisis facing Indigenous peoples.

Lenora Maracle
UNE National Equity Representative for Aboriginal Peoples

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Retro pay and economic increase schedule announced for Parks members

March 26, 2021

The Parks Canada Agency has announced the payment schedule for the implementation of monetary provisions in the recently signed collective agreement. 

Signature Economic increase and adjustments paycheque dateRetro paycheque   $500 lump sum paycheque 
Parks Canada Workers  January 14, 2021  April 14, 2021 May 12, 2021  May 26, 2021  

This schedule is tentative, and Parks Canada may still make changes. Note that Phoenix damages payments were made on March 3. 

Please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to continue receiving information about the implementation of collective agreements and the Phoenix settlement. 

Help us prepare for the next round of bargaining 

PSAC is getting ready to negotiate your next collective agreement with Parks Canada. This next round of talks will be all about the future of work in the federal public service and you can help decide what your union bargaining team brings to the table by completing our member survey.  

Please take 15 minutes to fill out the Parks Canada survey to make sure we address your workplace concerns at the table. Your input is essential. We need to hear directly from you about what has changed over the last year. And we need to know more about you so that we can make the case for a contract that equitably addresses our members’ diverse needs. The survey will be open until April 9, 2021. 

Source: Retro pay and economic increase schedule announced for Parks members | Public Service Alliance of Canada (psacunion.ca)

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UPDATE – Passport Program Job Content and Classification Exercise at PSAC

March 23, 2021

PSAC has finally had the ability to assign this matter to a job content and classification analyst and had its most recent meeting regarding the Passport Officer job description on March 9, 2021.

PSAC had invited Passport Program employees, selected within UNE, to participate:

  • Rose Touhey, in-person Passport Officer (NCR)
  • Kate Hart, in-person Passport Officer (AB)
  • Nathalie Lynda, mail-in Passport Officer (QC)
  • Jonathan McMullen, in-person Passport Officer (QC)
  • Fred Kelih, in-person Passport Officer (BC)
  • Vanny Del Bianco, in-person Passport Officer (BC)

PSAC is planning on having additional meetings with Passport members selected by UNE between now and end of April 2021.

PSAC also had the chance to discuss with the Employer representative in Classification on Feb 12, 2021 , who confirmed that they are currently working on a workplace review.  

If their review is in PSAC’s favour, the Passport Officer position’s classification may be adjusted through that process by the Employer. 

If their review is not in PSAC’s favour, PSAC will establish its position regarding the representation of this matter.

PSAC is not putting the process on any hold while the Employer is working on their review as the classification section will be working with the members – as suggested and assigned by UNE – to prepare for a potential representation and gather as much information as possible to determine defensible arguments to support an upward classification.

The project is expected to conclude around the end of April 2021, and by then, PSAC will be able to analyse its ability to represent this matter.

We await a fulsome analysis from PSAC, and hope for positive news and will communicate further on this classification project.

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International Francophonie Day

March 18, 2021

To celebrate the International Francophonie Day taking place on March 20, 2021, the Committee members of the Francophone Committee of the Union of National Employees (UNE), part of PSAC, wish to underscore the exceptional contribution of the allies of its component regarding the respect of the official languages.

To safeguard your rights, we recommend that you take action in your workplaces.

For more information on the activities taking place in your region, click here: https://rvf.ca/en

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Parks & CFIA survey: You can shape the future of work in the public service

March 15, 2021

The pandemic has radically changed the way many PSAC members work. We have experienced the challenges of working remotely from home or having to work onsite with new protection measures; the impact of technological changes; the effect of an uncertain economy on job security; and the major inequalities that remain for women, racialized workers, and many other marginalized groups. These are some of the key issues that can be addressed in the next round of bargaining that begins this summer. 

This next round of talks will be all about the future of work in the federal public service and you can help decide what your union bargaining team brings to the table by completing our member surveys. 

Each survey is for PSAC members in the Parks Canada Agency and Canada Food Inspection Agency groups. They will be open until April 9th, 2021. 

Take 15 minutes to fill out our Parks Canada survey or CFIA survey to make sure we address your workplace concerns at the table. Your input is essential. We need to hear directly from you about what has changed over the last year. And we need to know more about you so that we can make the case for a contract that equitably addresses our members’ diverse needs. 

Your participation in the Parks Canada survey or CFIA survey and the broader bargaining process is key to our success in the next round of talks. 

Your component union and PSAC will review your proposals and they, along with the survey’s results, will be discussed at a bargaining conference of member delegates from across the country who will decide the bargaining priorities. 

The current collective agreements expire on the following dates: 

Parks: August 4, 2021 
CFIA: December 31, 2021 

Please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive more updates as we prepare to negotiate your next contract. 

Source: Parks & CFIA survey: You can shape the future of work in the public service | Public Service Alliance of Canada (psacunion.ca)

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Statement by UNE National President following the Radio-Canada Article on Racism and Discrimination within CIRNAC, ISC and CanNor

March 15, 2021

The Radio-Canada investigation about racism and discrimination within departments dedicated to services towards First Nations, Inuit and Métis is not news to UNE.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs (CIRNAC), Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) still operate on a postcolonial-based approach.

The dramatic staffing situations and the abject lack of career progression opportunities that our Indigenous members are facing, while working in these departments, and regional development agencies, illustrate a disconnect with realities of Indigenous peoples in Canada’s public service and lack of recognition of their work.

We are encouraged to see that upper management is fully aware of the situation and plans to address it.

UNE will always be there to defend their members against racism, discrimination and any form of harassment within these federal workplaces.

Promoting Indigenous voices to deliver services in Indigenous communities across the country will be a breath of fresh air within the federal public service and UNE offers to be involved in the planning process to make it happen, at all of these work locations throughout Canada; from coast to coast, to coast.

Kevin King
UNE National President