If you receive disability payments currently or have received disability payments in the past, you may be entitled to a retroactive benefit payment adjustment from the Sunlife or Industrial Alliance disability plan. 

New collective agreements mean retroactive salary increases for many members. This entitles some members to retroactive increase in disability pay.

This retroactive payment will be automatically calculated and you do not need to apply.

MORE INFORMATION

The retroactive payment project is extensive and will run to the end of the year. If you have not received a retroactive payment that you believe you are entitled to, it may be issued later this year.  

Should you not have received an expected adjustment by January 2020, please reach out to your union representative. 

The RCMP Civilian Member (CM) bargaining team has finalized a memorandum of agreement to transition RCMP CMs into PIPSC collective agreements upon deeming.

On July 19, a webinar was held to go over the highlights of the agreement and answer your questions. If you were unable to join us live, watch the recording.

RCMP Civilian Member Webinar - July 19, 2019 - 11 AM session.

RCMP Civilian Member Webinar - July 19, 2019 - 3 PM session.

Webinaire avec les membres de la GRC - 19 juillet 2019.

The recent adoption in Québec of Bill 21, which is ostensibly aimed at imposing “secularism” on the province’s public service and on the people who receive them, is a disgrace and a blatant violation of civil liberties and basic human rights. The law should immediately be repealed.

While current employees have been given some exemptions, the law prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by new public servants in positions of “authority”, such as teachers and police officers.

Not only does this law create two classes of pubIic servants, it violates unionized workers’ collective agreements by permitting discrimination based on prohibited grounds. Worse, it can only lead to further isolation and marginalisation of visible minorities in the province.

Canadians know that legal cover does not legitimize systemic discrimination of minorities on one pretext or another. That is why Canada has acknowledged the dark chapters in our history and has apologized for the Residential Schools of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, the head tax on Chinese immigrants under the Chinese Immigration Act (1885), the turning away of the Komagata Maru with 376 South Asians in 1914 and the internment of Canadians of Japanese origin in the 1940s. In the 21^st Century, Canada can ill afford to enact and implement a regressive and discriminatory law like Bill 21 that targets Canadians of Jewish, Muslim and Sikh faiths, who are guaranteed the freedom of practicing their religion and culture by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

As a staunch supporter of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), PIPSC applauds the campaign led by progressive organisations and labour unions who refuse to accept second-class citizenship for thousands of individuals across the cultural and religious spectrum.

Each year the Treasury Board undertakes the Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) of employees across the federal public service. You now have the opportunity to provide feedback on engagement, leadership, workplace well-being, harassment, compensation and other important areas.

Because informed data is useful to effect change, we support the full participation of our members in the 2019 PSES.

The 2019 PSES will be conducted from July 22 to August 30, 2019. The survey will be administered by Advanis, on behalf of the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board of Canada. Responses will be treated in a confidential manner.

LEARN MORE

This data is useful in our work advocating for you. For example, consistently survey respondents indicate that there are high levels of harassment in the workplace, this data was very useful for us in the last round of collective bargaining negotiations. You may be interested to review the results of the 2018 survey.

PIPSC welcomes the landmark class action win for current and former employees who experienced harassment, assault, and discrimination while working at the Department of National Defence, Canadian Armed Forces, Non-Public Funds or Canadian Forces.

We hope this class action will bring closure and acknowledge the pain and suffering of all those who experienced a toxic work environment. This is a strong reminder that we must continue advocating for workplaces free from harassment and violence. This case is one step forward in recognizing that all workers should be treated with respect at work.

This class action lawsuit may affect you if:

• You are a current or former employee of the Department of National Defence, a current or former member of the Canadian Armed Forces or Staff of the Non-Public Funds, Canadian Forces.
• You have experienced sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination based on your sex, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation in connection with your military service or employment.

For more information or to find out if you’re included in the proposed settlement:

Visit: https://www.classaction.deloitte.ca/en-ca/Pages/CAF-DNDsexualmisconductclassaction.aspx

Email: cafdndmisconduct@deloitte.ca

Call: 1-888-626-2611

The Institute is saddened to report the untimely passing of our friend and colleague Christine Lemay.

Christine’s commitment to Institute members was deep and unwavering. We will miss her very much.

A loyal and hard-working member of the AFS Group, Christine liked to come to the aid of her colleagues. Christine helped members deal with issues such as difficult work situations, getting answers to their questions and obtaining information concerning issues that affect them.

Christine served Institute members with distinction in a number of capacities over many years, notably as a union steward in the Laval, Sherbrooke, and Montréal Tax Services offices of the Canada Revenue Agency.

Christine was president of the AFS Laval Sub-Group and vice-president of the Laval Branch.

For many years, Christine served as a delegate to the PIPSC AGM.  She also served on the Professional Recognition and Qualifications Committee and on the Elections Committee.

Professional Institute members extend their heartfelt condolences to Christine’s family and to the many friends who were privileged to know her.

More information can be found on this web page.

Together with the Canadian Labour Congress and other unions, President Debi Daviau wrote to the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food with respect to last month’s decision by the Chinese government to halt imports of Canadian pork and beef.

We urge the Canadian government to work quickly and diligently to restore exports to China.

The letter calls the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to ensure that food safety inspectors, veterinarians and food scientists are adequately staffed and resourced to restore trust and confidence in the high quality of Canadian exports.

Support must be provided to workers impacted by this ban. We are calling on the government to work with unions to prepare employment benefits and labour adjustment measures to protect affected private-sector workers in the event of a protracted dispute that results in plant closures and layoffs.

READ THE LETTER

The Canadian Labour Congress has also submitted specific recommendations to the federal government to inform their response to this ban. It is essential that work-sharing, extension of EI benefits, training and employer assistance services and industry assistance all be employed to support workers and impacted communities (especially newcomers and Indigenous Canadians).

After years of collaboration between governments, employers and workers, the International Labour Organization adopted a new framework to end violence and harassment in the world of work. This will be a global minimum standard to prevent and address violence and harassment in the world of work.

Governments that ratify the treaty will be required to:

• develop national laws prohibiting workplace violence
• take preventive measures
• require employers to have workplace policies on violence.

The treaty also obligates governments to monitor situations of harassment and violence as well as provide complaint mechanisms for those who experience it. Additionally they must create protections and services to workers experiencing harassment or violence.

The Canadian Labour Congress’ Secretary-Treasurer Marie Clarke Walker served as Worker Vice-Chair for the negotiations. We are proud of the Canadian labour movement’s contributions to this historic work. We continue to fight to ensure safe and healthy workplaces for all of our members.

Previously, there was no international standard specifically addressing violence and harassment in the world of work. In 2018, the World Bank found that 59 out of the 189 countries studied had no specific legal provisions covering sexual harassment in employment.[i]

The new ILO convention and recommendation provide an opportunity to shape a future of work based on dignity and respect, free from violence and harassment.

The convention will enter into force one year after at least two countries have ratified it.

PIPSC welcomes the new Departmental Science Advisor (DSA) at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Dr. Shawn J. Marshall. This appointment acknowledges the important work performed by our dedicated public scientists working at ECCC and across the Government of Canada. A Science Advisor at the departmental level provides excellent opportunities for the development of significant scientific relationships and connections. PIPSC looks forward to a strong collaborative relationship with Dr. Marshall.

We believe that the appointment of a DSA at ECCC signals what Canadians already know – that climate change requires immediate action. Canada needs more, not less, public science. The work of public federal scientists is key to tackling the environmental challenges our country faces.

PIPSC has long championed the need for Science Advisors and called for the creation of the role in the years leading up to the appointment of government-wide Chief Science Advisor, Dr. Mona Nemer. The Institute worked closely with Dr. Nemer and her staff on developing the model and departmental scientific integrity policies and procedures, and continues to collaborate with her towards the ongoing protection and promotion of scientific integrity in the federal government.

We are also pleased that other Departmental Science Advisors have been appointed, including at the National Research Council and the Canadian Space Agency. We look forward to further announcements of new Science Advisors at other Departments and Agencies.

After six years of attempted wage freezes from the Ontario provincial government, Carrie Gerdes had enough. She led the charge to have the radiation department at the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton certified with PIPSC in 2012. 

“From that moment, I’ve become more involved in labour activism and being involved in the union as a whole,” she says. “I’m proud to be a labour activist. Being part of a union means we have the power of a group to address the concerns of our profession.”
 

Things have been a lot better since they joined PIPSC, but she still finds her work challenging. Like many health care workers, her department is stretched, and is relying too heavily on temporary workers for her comfort.

“We have a large number of precarious workers in our department,” Carrie explains. “I bring a spotlight to what it does to a profession when people are living pay cheque to pay cheque and are uncertain about their future.”

What that means is that younger people entering the field aren’t able to qualify for mortgages or qualify for maternity leave. This uncertainty also impacts patients.

As a radiation therapist, Carrie’s work is largely about building strong relationships with patients undergoing treatment for cancer. She says it’s the best – and the hardest — part of her job.

“We’re here to provide emotional support for them as well as provide quality, compassionate care,” Carrie explains.  “Radiation is a scary word for everyone. One of the greatest satisfactions we have is talking patients though exactly what we’re doing – from the CT scan to the daily treatment – alleviating all the fears that they have and continuing to build that relationship day after day.”

Most of the patients who come through the cancer centre are being treated for prostate and breast cancer, which often have good outcomes, but they also do pediatric care and treat brain tumours. On any given day, she’s doing CT scans, tattooing patients, educating them on their treatment plan and helping them deal with the often painful side effects of radiation.  “Consider it the worst sunburn you’ve ever had,” she says.

Carrie is especially proud of the advances her team has been able to make in radiation treatment with the newest technology, “The cyber-knife machine has made it possible to avoid whole brain treatment.”

Radiation treatment is always an emotional journey for the patients, but also for those who are providing their care.

“One of the hardest parts is developing emotional connections without taking on the emotional consequences ourselves.”

But the hardest part is also the most rewarding part for Carrie. Unlike many other health care providers who see patients occasionally, Carrie sees the same people daily – often over holidays – which makes for strong bonds.

“We get to spend day after day with the same patients and counsel them through everything in the acute phase of their treatment. We become family."