July 2024


Planning on Attending Pride and Community events this summer? Volunteer at a PSAC BC Info Booth! 

Do you like engaging with the public and promoting the union? Do you enjoy attending community events? Do you want to meet more PSAC BC members in your area? Join PSAC BC at a variety of upcoming summer community events where we’ll be hosting information booths and connecting with the public.

Volunteers are needed for events across BC over summer months. Specific event details and contact info for the volunteer coordinator can be found at the PSAC BC regional website.


PSAC BC Summer Event Details



 



PSAC in the News




 



Canada Life: PSAC pleased parliamentary committee recommends compensation to members






PSAC welcomes several of the recommendations from the parliamentary committee investigating the Canada Life fiasco, which support the union's calls for federal public service workers to be compensated for issues with the health care plan change.  

The Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates presented its report earlier this month on the changeover of the Public Service Health Care Plan from Sun Life to Canada Life in July 2023. 

 

The committee presented nine recommendations which further highlighted a concerning pattern of issues by the federal government in the implementation of critical services for workers. 


Read more here



 



Navigating the Phoenix adjudication process under the 2020 damages agreement






Beginning June 24, a new adjudication process is available for current and former Treasury Board employees affected by the 2020 Phoenix pay system damages agreement. This process was negotiated by PSAC and is designed to resolve disputes quickly and efficiently if your claim for severe impact has been denied. 

PSAC also continues to call on Treasury Board to begin negotiating an extension of the Phoenix general damages agreements and the severe damages claims process to compensate workers until they are paid properly and on time - every time.


Read More Here



 



2024 National Triennial Convention: Update on Membership Dues






The 2024 PSAC National Convention took place in Ottawa in late May. In addition to the national leadership elections that took place there, convention delegates voted to adopt several resolutions with costs associated to them. Some of the resolutions adopted will incur a one-time cost for the three-year cycle starting in 2025, while others will have an ongoing cost.  

Resolutions passed that are tied to campaigns, like the anti-privatization of health care, the commitment to the revitalization and preservation of Indigenous languages and a mental health support study, have a one-time cost associated to them. These one-time costs will increase dues on average by $0.04 per member per month for the cycle.  

Other resolutions, like a commitment to provide more anti-harassment training, an increase of delegates to convention from equity-seeking groups, and a new convention in the North, will initiate a permanent increase to dues. These ongoing costs will increase membership dues on average by $0.09 per member per month.  

Finally, delegates adopted a resolution to increase the daily and maximum weekly strike pay amount by 33.33%. For the majority of PSAC members, this would increase the daily strike pay from $75 to $100, although amounts will vary in some regions. Members’ monthly contributions to PSAC’s strike fund will increase from $1 to $2.20 per month. 


Read More Here



 



Bargaining Updates


Treasury Board - Dental Plan: PSAC made its case to improve the Public Service Dental Care Plan (PSDCP) at an arbitration hearing between the union and Treasury Board on June 14, after negotiations to improve the plan for over 185,000 federal public service workers broke down earlier this year.  PSAC presented its arguments, and we feel confident the arbitration process will result in gains to the PSDCP. At this time, it’s not clear when the arbitration panel will issue its decision.   Read more here

Treasury Board - FB Group: After more than two years without a contract, PSAC and CIU reached a tentative agreement for more than 9,000 CBSA workers. Ratification votes began June 20 and will conclude July 4 at 9 PM Pacific. The ratification vote is being conducted using the same online voting platform used for strikes earlier this year.   Read more here

NAV CANADA: The NAV Canada bargaining team met and exchanged proposals with the employer for the first time on June 18-20. While wages have not yet been addressed, the bargaining team put forward proposals that reflect the strong mandate that we received from members to address key priorities including better work-life balance and improvements to collective agreement language around telework, leave, and job security.  Read more here

BWXT Vancouver: The first set of bargaining dates with the employer took place June 24-28. The parties were able to get through all non-monetary proposal during those dates. The monetary package is still outstanding. Additional dates have been tentatively scheduled for later this month.

CMHC Granville Island: The bargaining team met to review and prioritize their demands in advance of their first meeting dates with the employer. That meeting is scheduled for July 9-11.

PLH Dublin: The bargaining team met with the employer for their second set of dates on June 3-7. The union provided their monetary proposal package to the employer following discussions on outstanding non-monetary items. The parties were unable to make significant progress and the Union has applied for a mediator to be appointed. The next set of dates with the employer is scheduled for the end of August.



 



2024 BC Provincial Election: Update from your PSAC BC Political Action Committee






With a provincial election this fall and a federal election on the horizon, there’s a lot at stake for working people.

The BC Federation of Labour has launched a new website that provides workers with information on each party's record when it comes to the issues that matter to families. The website, checktherecord.ca, looks at actions and position taken by the three main BC political parties regarding housing, health care, affordability, workplace safety and fighting for workers.

We encourage you to take a look and 'check the record' before you vote for a new provincial government this October.


Visit CheckTheRecord.ca



 



Union Education






While school is wrapping up for many at this time, PSAC BC's is eagerly preparing for our highly anticipated 2024 Fall Union Education schedule. Here's the list of the upcoming courses and their catchments:

While we wait for the fall to arrive, members have the option of taking our online offerings that are available on the national website here. The PSAC online program offers union training at your own pace and time. These introductory courses provide a solid overview on a range of topics.

A trained membership is an active membership and active members build a strong union! 


 Education Program details here



 



Upcoming Events & Regularly Scheduled Meetings


Here are our upcoming events and regularly scheduled meetings: