OTTAWA, April 6, 2022 – Jennifer Carr, President of The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), will be available to talk about how Budget 2022 will impact the delivery of public services Canadians rely on and the priorities of public service workers.

 “PIPSC has been calling for progress on building a more diverse and inclusive public service. We need to learn the right lessons from our experience during two years of pandemic and remote work,” said Carr. “Public servants are now looking for a coherent and coordinated approach for a safe return to offices.”

PIPSC has called for new investments in training and upskilling, so today’s public service professionals are prepared to succeed in the jobs of tomorrow. Carr added that PIPSC has been raising concerns about increasing expenditures on outsourcing and is looking to the budget for action to reduce this practice.

“Over-reliance on outsourcing to costly consultants creates lower quality services for Canadians. This has led to debacles like the Phoenix pay scandal,” said Carr. “The outsourcing bill for Phoenix is now over $650 million, for a system that never worked.”

PIPSC previously released its pre-budget submission outlining priorities for its members and for all Canadians.

This included calling for investments in health care and making life more affordable while making real progress towards fairer taxation. PIPSC is also looking to the government to restore $800 million in science funding to federal departments and agencies to bring in-house spending back to 2010-2011 levels.

What:         President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service available for comment on Budget 2022

Where:       By phone or by ZOOM 

When:        April 7, 2022 or in advance of the budget

Who:          Jennifer Carr, PIPSC President

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For more information: Johanne Fillion, 613-883-4900 (mobile), jfillion@pipsc.ca

Overview of the changes

For Treasury Board employees in the CP (formerly AV), IT (formerly CS), NR, RE, SH and SP groups, a new agreement provides for 20% of your excess vacation and compensatory leave to be cashed out for five years in a row on March 31 each year (from 2022 to 2026). The amount cashed out will be calculated based on the value of 20% of your excess leave hours on March 31 of each year. On March 31, 2026 (the last cash-out) all remaining excess hours in your leave banks will be cashed-out.

One of the goals of this agreement is to inspire PIPSC members to take the leave that they were unable to take during the pandemic, thus reducing the amount of banked excess leave. Another goal is to alleviate the tax impacts of your cash-out by gradually liquidating your bank by 20% each year rather than 100% of the excess leave all at once.

To begin, there are two important questions you need answered, and the answers are different depending on which bargaining unit (group) you belong to:

Sample vacation leave cash-out calculation

Applies to: CP (formerly AV), IT (formerly CS), NR, RE and SP groups

The following sample calculation depicts a vacation leave bank cash-out:

1. On March 31, 2021 – let’s say your vacation leave bank had a total of 362.5 hours. This means that on top of your allowable carryover of 262.5 vacation hours – you had 100 excess vacation leave hours in your bank.
2. Let’s also say you used 20 hours of this excess vacation leave throughout the 2021-22 fiscal year, leaving you with 80 excess hours on March 31, 2022.
3. And finally, let’s not forget that you also earned your regular allotment of 187.5 vacation hours during the fiscal year (2021-22) and, for the purposes of this example, used 100 hours, leaving an excess of 87.5 hours for the 2021-22 fiscal year. 
4. There are two steps to calculate your cash-out on March 31, 2022:
   • The first step is a March 31, 2022 cash-out of the 87.5 hours of excess leave you earned during the 2021-22 fiscal year (as per item 3 above). 
   • The second step is a March 31, 2022 cash-out of 20% of all unused excess leave (earned prior to March 31, 2021). In this sample calculation, that’s 16 hours (20% of 80 hours as per item 2 above), leaving you with 64 excess hours to carry over to the next fiscal year.
   • You will be paid at the applicable salary rate effective on March 31, 2022.
5. After the cash-out, on April 1, 2022 you will have 64 hours excess leave (earned prior to March 31, 2021).
6. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, let’s say you do not use any of your excess leave hours (earned prior to March 31, 2021), but you do use your entire entitlement of 187.5 new vacation leave hours earned during the 2022-23 fiscal year.
7. On March 31, 2023 you will still have 64 excess hours (earned prior to March 31, 2021). The system will cash-out 20% of that amount, meaning 12.8 hours will be cashed out. You will be paid at the applicable salary rate effective on March 31, 2023.
8. On April 1, 2023 you will have 51.2 hours excess leave.
9. The two processes (the normal annual cash-out and the 20% cash-out of hours earned prior to March 31, 2021) will repeat annually until March 31, 2026. On that date, all remaining excess hours earned before March 31, 2021 will be cashed out.

Sample compensatory leave cash-out calculation

Applies to: CP (formerly AV), IT (formerly CS), NR, RE, SH and SP groups

The following sample calculation depicts a compensatory leave bank cash-out.

NOTE: For the IT group (formerly CS group) the compensatory leave carry-over limit is 37.5 hours. For all other groups, there is no carryover allowed, so all compensatory hours unused at the end of a fiscal year are “excess”.

1. On March 31, 2021 – let’s say your compensatory leave bank had an excess of 50 hours (remember, for IT members this would mean you had a balance of 87.5 hours because you are allowed to carryover 37.5 hours).
2. Let’s also say you used 20 hours of this excess leave throughout the fiscal year, leaving you with 30 excess compensatory hours on March 31, 2022.
3. And finally, let’s say that you also earned 20 more compensatory hours throughout the fiscal year (2021-22) and, for the purposes of this example, used 10 hours, leaving an excess of 10 hours for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
4. There are two steps to understand your cash-out on March 31, 2022:
   • The first step is to think about the 10 hours of excess compensatory leave you accumulated during the fiscal year (per item 3 above).  All our collective agreements have provisions allowing a little extra time for us to use compensatory leave accrued each fiscal year. So, unlike the vacation leave cash-out, you should not be receiving a March 31, 2022 cash-out of unused compensatory leave credits earned during the 2021-22 fiscal year. You will have the normal amount of time to use these credits each year before cash-outs occur in the normal manner.  Here is a chart that explains when unused compensatory leave credits (earned each fiscal year) will be cashed out for each group: 
     
     ANNUAL (NORMAL) COMPENSATORY LEAVE CASH-OUTS

     Group	Compensatory  carryover max	Compensatory accumulation cut-off date	Compensatory pay-out date
     AV, NR	0	Mar 31	Next Dec 31
     CS	37.5	Mar 31	Next Sep 30
     RE, SP, SH	0	Mar 31	Next Sep 30

   • The second step is a March 31, 2022 cash-out of 20% of all unused excess compensatory leave (earned prior to March 31, 2021). In this sample calculation, that’s 6 hours (20% of 30 hours, per item 2 above), leaving you with 24 excess hours to carry over to the next fiscal year.
   • You will be paid at the applicable salary rate effective on March 31, 2022.
5. After the cash-out, on April 1, 2022 you will have 24 hours excess compensatory leave (earned prior to March 31, 2021).
6. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, let’s say you use 12 hours of your excess compensatory leave (earned prior to March 31, 2021).
7. On March 31, 2023 you will still have 12 unused excess hours (earned prior to March 31, 2021). The cash-out will be 20% of that amount, meaning 2.4 hours will be cashed out. You will be paid at the applicable salary rate effective on March 31, 2023.
8. NOTE: Any unused excess compensatory leave earned in all subsequent fiscal years will be managed per item 4. i. above.
9. On April 1, 2023 you will have 9.6 hours excess compensatory leave.
10. The 20% cash-out of excess hours (earned prior to March 31, 2021) will repeat annually until March 31, 2026, when all remaining unused excess hours will be cashed out. 

General FAQs

The Board of Directors would like to thank all members for their efforts to create a safe workplace and community over the past two years.

Since the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) announced their vaccination policy last summer, PIPSC has had issues with both the policy and its implementation. There was no proper consultation, nor a comprehensive process of correctly identifying all the possible circumstances faced by our members. Appropriate solutions were not developed by the employer to deal with many individual situations.

It is unacceptable that the employer implemented a policy with such harsh impacts on our members without appropriate consultation. Our Employment Relations Officers have been, and continue to be, available to support members who find themselves in an unjust situation.

As we view the policy as a temporary measure, and with the high vaccination rates achieved across Canada, we urge the employer to determine when the policy will no longer be required. As provinces ease restrictions, the employer must do the same and allow members on Leave Without Pay (LWOP) to come back to work. Furthermore, the employer needs to ensure appropriate health and safety measures for all. Once the employer lifts the vaccine policy, PIPSC will, of course, continue to work with members that have any active grievances that arose while the policy was in place.

We will also continue to insist that the employer respect the Privacy Act and ensure that information related to a member's proof of vaccination be restricted to those with a “need to know.” Access to personal and private information must be limited only to those who are responsible for obtaining and verifying the vaccination information. The employer must also inform our members when they will dispose of private records.

We will continue to engage the TBS in talks related to vaccinations, masking and returning to the workplace. We demand that any future changes to your working conditions are made in collaboration with PIPSC and unions.

Together, we will get through this and ensure a safe and secure future.

CHALK RIVER, March 25, 2022 – The Chalk River Professional Employees Group (CRPEG), represented by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) reached a deal and voted in favour of a new collective agreement with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL).

The three-year collective agreement resolves a year-long impasse over pay, job outsourcing, and working conditions. The new contract provides a wage increase of 3.5% in each year and new remote working terms and conditions.

CRPEG President Jonathan Fitzpatrick said that “This agreement would not have been possible with the strong support of our members. We have been without a collective agreement since January 2021 and last month, members had given us the strongest mandate for job action – including a strike – in the history of the Chalk River Professional Employees Group.”

CRPEG represents more than 660 engineers and scientists at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ Chalk River campus, ensuring the safe operation of nuclear reactors, and supporting safe radioactive waste management and environmental remediation projects across Canada. CRPEG members contribute to the health of Canadians through research on nuclear medicine. 

Jennifer Carr, the President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) congratulated both parties and extended her thanks to each and every member of the CRPEG group on this new agreement. 

With over 60,000 members, PIPSC is the largest union in Canada representing scientists and professionals employed at the federal and some provincial and territorial levels of government.

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For more information: Johanne Fillion, 613-883-4900 (mobile), jfillion@pipsc.ca

Everybody knows that huge corporations and the ultra-rich don’t pay their fair share.

PIPSC members have been calling for change for years, and Canadians agree. According to a 2021 survey, 70% of Canadians think that large corporations and the ultra-wealthy don’t pay enough taxes. 92% support changes to make it harder for corporations to use tax loopholes.

We assembled an expert, non-partisan panel to brief Parliamentarians on this key issue on March 4, 2022, including:

• Jennifer Carr, PIPSC President
• John Anderson, PIPSC Senior Research Officer
• Denise Byrnes, Director General of Oxfam Québec
• David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data

Watch the video below to learn more about tax fairness issues and the solutions we’re advocating for. If you want to learn more about the issue, contact the Office of the President.

Did you miss PIPSC’s Black History Month webinar?

Historically, Black Canadians faced systemic barriers to integrating into many professional disciplines and sports. Our event screened the short film, “Ice Breakers,”  that told the story of Josh Crooks, a leader who was the sole Black hockey player on his team in Atlantic Canada.

Our panelists, Eric Pierre-Louis (police sergeant and former NCAA football player) and Marie Clarke Walker (consultant and former secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress) discussed the many accomplishments Black Canadians can be proud. They provided their unique perspectives on how Black Candians have broken barriers to representation throughout society. As a union, we can learn from these experiences.

Tune in now to watch the video. If you want to learn more or get involved with the PIPSC Black caucus, contact the caucus now.

On February 28, 2022, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier announced updates to occupational health guidance for the federal public service, paving the way for our members’ gradual return to the workplace (RTW). No formal timelines have been introduced to date.

The Minister had previously indicated that the future of the public service will be based on a hybrid model (part telework and part office).

Our ongoing discussions with the Employer are an excellent opportunity to promote innovative and flexible work solutions for our members.

Many have expressed a preference for working from home at least part of the time, because it provides them with a better work-life balance with no loss of productivity or effectiveness.

With new technologies, public servants no longer need to be “tied to their desks.” Our members have amply demonstrated their ability to continue providing the services and programs that Canadians depend on despite the professional and personal impacts of COVID.

Hybrid and telework arrangements that accommodate member preferences and respect the right to disconnect are the way of the future for the public service. We continue to push for  creative and ground-breaking workplace solutions for our members that will help define the “new normal” going forward.

If you’re affected by the ongoing convoy protest in downtown Ottawa, your safety is the utmost priority.

If your worksite is in the protest zone, try and arrange safe work arrangements with your manager. If you are required to enter the downtown Ottawa protest zone, but you are still unable to safely access your office, your manager can consider using “Other Leave with Pay” (Code 699), for paid leave during this exceptional time.

If needed, you can retroactively use Code 699.

These instructions were sent to managers following discussions between PIPSC and the Treasury Board. If you’re unsure if you need to use Code 699 due your worksite being inaccessible, contact a steward in your workplace.

CHALK RIVER, February 21, 2022 – Members of the Chalk River Professional Employees Group (CRPEG), represented by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) are considering their options as conciliation with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) failed to resolve a year-long impasse over fair pay, job outsourcing, and working conditions.

The bargaining team entered into conciliation with the intent of reaching a negotiated agreement that recognizes the professional work of CRPEG’s nuclear scientists and engineers. The bargaining team is disappointed with the company’s last offer.

CRPEG President Jonathan Fitzpatrick said that “We kept Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) strong during the pandemic, and according to the company, exceeded their expectations. In return, when the increase in the cost of living is well over 5%, what the company is offering is effectively a rollback in wages.”

“Now more than ever, we stand united and we will continue to fight to get fair pay, improve working conditions, and prevent outsourcing of our professional work. The employer must do better,” Mr. Fitzpatrick continued.

CRPEG workers will be in a legal strike position at 12:01 AM on March 14, 2022. While the Group remains focused on reaching a fair deal without a work stoppage, the option of job action remains on the table.

Mr. Fitzpatrick stated, “We have been without a collective agreement since January 2021 and our nuclear scientists and engineers are running out of patience. They have given us the strongest mandate for job action – including a strike –  in the history of the Chalk River Professional Employees Group. Our members deserve fair pay and we are prepared to walk off the job site if that’s what it takes.”

Jennifer Carr, the President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) stated that the union's 60 000 professionals across Canada’s public sector, fully support the 700 engineers and scientists at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ Chalk River campus.

CRPEG members ensure the safe operation of nuclear reactors, and support safe radioactive waste management as well as environmental remediation projects across Canada. CRPEG members contribute to the health of Canadians through research on nuclear medicine.

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For more information: Johanne Fillion, 613-883-4900 (mobile), jfillion@pipsc.ca

In 2020 the Women in Science (WiS) team conducted a survey to learn about real-world experiences of parental and family leave in the federal public sector. The team surveyed members from the Applied Science and Patent Examination (SP) Group, the Audit, Commerce and Purchasing (AV) Group, the Architecture, Engineering and Land Survey (NR) Group, the Health Services (SH) Group, and the Research (RE) Group.

What they found is a broken system – one that runs on ad hoc managerial decisions, forces employees into making impossible decisions, and disproportionately penalizes women and gender diverse people. 

The findings underscore the need, and the work ahead, to build a culture that values care: a culture that fosters inclusive and friendly workplaces for all people with care work responsibilities. They also reinforce the strength of our position and continued advocacy for better, clearer, and more accessible sick leave, parental leave, and Code 699 leave guidelines.

We know that many of the issues that the survey surfaced aren’t exclusive to the public service, or the groups that participated. We encourage everyone – all of our members, as well as employers, other unions, and decision-makers at every level – to read the full report. 

Here’s a snapshot of the results:

"I have chosen not to have children as I don’t feel that I would be able to meet my position requirements if I had a child."

• 48% of the respondents expressed concern over the impact of family care responsibilities on their career
• 34% have considered delaying having a child because they believe it will negatively impact their career

“I acted in a manager role for 4 years. I declined to take the position permanently because of the lack of flexibility to balance family responsibilities with work during COVID-19.”

• 41% said they believe that maternity and parental leave can negatively affect career trajectory
• 22% of the researchers we surveyed said that their funding was impacted by their maternity or parental leave

“I feel like there is no one to call to ask for help. I am not sure where to start, besides talking to my manager. I have received very little information from my employer.”

• Only 2% of the respondents who needed support said they had childcare provisions at work
• Only 45% believe that the parental leave entitlements in their group’s collective agreement provide adequate support for families and new parents

Next steps

Care leave is a top priority for PIPSC members, which is why we’re building a multi-pronged campaign to address the issues highlighted in the survey, and to advance the recommendations made in the final report. We’re starting with education and awareness. Webinars will continue to be offered to members on leave options, how to access them, and what to do if denied. 

We’re also building evidence for collective bargaining. Beginning with the work from the WiS team, PIPSC will expand its research to the whole membership, and then work with negotiators and bargaining teams to build the evidence-based proposals we need to effectively support and advocate for these issues at the bargaining table. 

READ THE FULL REPORT