Catch up on the latest PIPSC news. Read stories of interest to your union group or profession.
The following articles have recently appeared in various media across the country.
Catch up on the latest PIPSC news. Read stories of interest to your union group or profession.
The following articles have recently appeared in various media across the country.
Background
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada and the Treasury Board have reached a tentative deal on a Memorandum of Agreement to support employee wellness.
When this round of negotiations began in 2014, the employer tabled proposals to eliminate the existing sick leave system and replace it with a short-term disability program. PIPSC, along with other federal public service unions, firmly stated that we would only negotiate improvements to the current system.
The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Employee Wellness Support Program (EWSP) is a significant improvement over the current system. It is a system designed to improve employee wellness and the safe and successful reintegration of employees into the workplace following a prolonged absence due to illnesses or injury.
What are the weaknesses of the current system?
To make improvements to the current plan, we needed to clearly understand areas where the system could be improved. An analysis of the usage of sick leave and the distribution of sick leave banks was done for PIPSC’s Treasury Board groups. It was found that the needs of many of our members are not being served by the current system, especially for members in certain demographic groups.
PIPSC’s analysis revealed the following:
How the EWSP would improve on the current system
The EWSP was negotiated to improve on the current plan. A number of key features were included that make the system more adaptable to the diverse needs of our members. The program includes several major improvements over the current plan, including:
The EWSP is a big improvement over the current system. The program will address the current system’s shortcomings while ensuring that PIPSC members have a sick leave system that provides full income protection when our members are away from the workplace due to illness or injury.
The PIPSC EWSP technical and steering committees met several times with Treasury Board in late 2018 and early 2019 to finalize the proposed employee wellness support program that would replace our current sick leave regime.
Significant progress has been made in developing the EWSP plan document and we are working now to secure provisions agreed to by the parties.
When a final agreement is reached, we anticipate that proposed contract wording will be written over the summer followed by ratification information sessions in late fall.
Ratification votes will be held separate from other collective bargaining ratification votes and the results will be separated by group.
Your EWSP Advisory Team
The PIPSC EWSP Advisory team has moved to a more intensive meeting schedule, with meetings now occurring every three weeks to coincide with, and provide support to the Technical Committee, that is meeting with Treasury Board to develop the proposed new wellness regime.
The Advisory Team is providing input to the Technical Committee on key elements of the plan, and Plan Design, in order to ensure all matters identified in the MOA are addressed by the end of the year. With this deadline quickly closing in, your representatives are concentrating on this advisory role. Once the currently scheduled in-person presentations are complete, an online presentation will be made available for those who have been unable to attend an in-person session.
Although significant progress is being made in crafting the new wellness regime, the specific content can only be shared with your delegates involved in the discussion at this point, as any other bargaining discussion. Current topics under discussion include chronic and episodic illnesses, internal case management and return to work services, definitions, and eligibility among other topics from the MOA."
Thanks,
Vance Coulas, Q. Arb.
Employment Relations Officer – National Capital Region
PIPSC
The PIPSC EWSP Advisory Team has been meeting since last August, providing advice and guidance for the Technical Committee that is working with Treasury Board to develop the proposed new wellness regime. The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed between PIPSC and Treasury Board in late 2016 sets out the key EWSP features and the process for developing the program.
We have developed the EWSP Vision and Guiding Principles and are working on program design features including flowcharts and definitions. To ensure that we have the best information to develop the EWSP, we’ve received presentations on case management and other topics from a number of organizations. Our target date for completion is September 2018 but this can be extended by mutual agreement with Treasury Board.
While all of this work has been going on, we’ve received feedback from members saying that they need more information about the EWSP MOA and how it will impact our upcoming negotiations. To ensure that our members have factual and accurate information, our EWSP Advisory Team are now delivering, upon request, presentations about the current status of EWSP to subgroups and branches.
The PIPSC Advisory Team continues to play a key role in developing and providing specific direction to the Technical Committee, as well as approving their work on a monthly basis. Since November, the Advisory Team has been mapping the processes, from the initial leave requests through to either a return to work, or transition to Long Term Disability. The Advisory Team will continue with this thorough approach over the next few months to make sure the vision and guiding principles are embodied in the EWSP.
The Steering Committee, responsible for developing the Employee Wellness and Support Program (EWSP), met on Thursday February 1, 2018 to review and approve the Technical Committee’s work to date. Under the guidance of the PIPSC Advisory Team, the Technical Committee developed the vision and guiding Principles for the EWSP. This program, that addresses individual employee needs and circumstances, will provide prompt and ongoing support to employees on leave for medical reasons, and facilitate a sage and successful reintegration into the workplace.
September 2018 is the current target date for completion. No changes will be made to the current sick leave plan without ratification by the members of each group for their respective group.
For more information, please click on the following link:
In support of the Memorandum of Agreement on the Employee Wellness Support Program (EWSP), the Professional Institute of the Public Service has established this committee to direct the negotiations of a new EWSP.
The PIPSC Technical Committee will provide the tentative EWSP language and program design to SBC representatives who will take the text to the respective group bargaining team for ratification and inclusion in their collective agreement.
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