CEIU.net News Feed

The Passing of a Union Sister

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:49:55 -0400

It is with great sadness I write this notice of the passing of one of our former presidents, Sister Jacky Smith, on Wedneday 14 July 2010. Jacky was the president of the Saanich local for many years and then continued when the local became the Greater Victoria local. The service for Jacky will be held on Friday, July 23rd at 2pm at the Langford Legion at 761Station Ave.

Jacky will be missed by all of her brothers and sisters in the union as well as by the leadership in the Victoria area offices.

Pat

Unsafe buildings threaten government workers’ health and safety, says PSAC

Tue, 19 May 2009 15:36:47 -0400

Posted May 19, 2009

OTTAWA --The federal government is failing to ensure the safety of thousands of workers and the public by not properly enforcing fire safety rules and regulations, says the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the union representing more than 100,000 federal public sector workers.

PSAC is sounding the alarm in response to the release of the 2009 Spring Report of the Auditor General. The report highlights the government’s widespread failure to comply with key requirements of the Treasury Board’s Standard for Fire Safety Planning and Fire Emergency Organization.

“The Auditor General has issued a very troublesome report,” says Patty Ducharme, PSAC’s National Executive Vice-President.

Auditor General Sheila Fraser points out that less than 20 per cent of government buildings’ fire safety plans comply with Treasury Board’s fire safety requirements. This means that more than 80 per cent of federal government workplaces have either no fire safety plans or are relying on plans that have not been approved by Labour Canada � putting thousands of PSAC members and the public at risk.

In addition, Fraser notes that although all federal departments are required to conduct annual fire drills, one-third of the 54 buildings that were examined for her report did not comply with this basic requirement.

Fraser is also critical of the lack of enforcement and the government’s reliance on voluntary compliance: “In our view, this is not sufficient to administer and enforce the Standard,” says Fraser.

“PSAC agrees with the Auditor General’s assertion that voluntary compliance doesn’t work when it comes to protecting the safety of people working in and accessing government buildings,” says Ducharme. “We demand that the federal government take action now and not wait for a major catastrophe or loss of life before it starts enforcing its own rules and regulations regarding the safety of its employees and members of the public.”

My Olympic Diary by District Director Francine Baxter

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:31:30 -0400

Published June 7th, 2009

Francine and a few others had all the right stuff to be selected to represent Service Canada in Whister, BC for the 2010 Winter Olympics. See her great pictures and fascinating story here.

PSAC takes action on AS Compensation Issues

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:37:32 -0400

From the PSAC National Site
PSAC President John Gordon and members of the Compensation Community appeared before a House of Commons committee last week to put forward solutions regarding the challenges facing the compensation function in the federal government.

Day hints at two-tiered federal pensions

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:37:15 -0400

Posted March 23rd, 2010

BILL CURRY OTTAWA

Treasury Board President says he won't go after the benefits of �€�existing' federal employees

Stockwell Day has opened the door to a two-tier pension system for civil servants, saying he won�€™t go after the benefits of �€œexisting�€� federal employees. The Treasury Board President is the man holding the knife in Ottawa as the federal cabinet looks for ways to save money. So far reluctant to offer specifics, Mr. Day�€™s words are closely parsed for signs of where the Conservative government will cut.

He is facing a campaign of rallies and workplace stickers by unionized federal employees vowing to protect their pensions in the face of the government�€™s five year plan to erase the $53-billion deficit. (More)

Government overhauling handling of depression in public service

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:54:05 -0400

By Kathryn May, Ottawa Citizen

Posted March 20th, 2010

OTTAWA � The Harper government is taking steps to promote “workforce wellness” in the public service, as records show depression, stress and other mental illnesses account for nearly 45 per cent of all disability claims.

The Treasury Board quietly kicked off a disability initiative several years ago and is expected to have a business plan ready within the year � a critical first step in turning around the escalating number of mental-health claims that are taking employees off the job. (More)

Government's public service cuts slammed

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:50:29 -0400

MIRANDA MINASSIAN

FOR METRO OTTAWA Posted March 20th, 2010

The head of Canada’s largest public service has criticized the government for continuing to strip away at regulatory policies after Treasury Board president Stockwell Day announced 245 federal positions were eliminated yesterday. (More)

We can't fix the public sector in one budget

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:12:30 -0500

Karim Bardeesy

From Thursday's Globe and Mail Published on Wednesday, Mar. 03, 2010 5:30PM EST

Co-operation, not confrontation, is the path to fiscal salvation

For a hint of the turmoil to come between Canada's public-sector workers and government, look to Europe.

The centrepiece of Ireland's recent budget was salary cuts across the board: Nurses, the national police force and parliamentarians were all caught in the dragnet. The British government is trying to trim its public payroll, while austerity measures aimed at resolving a debt crisis in Greece have led to riots. (More)

Public service bracing for cuts

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:02:39 -0500

By Kathryn May, Ottawa Citizen March 3, 2010

OTTAWA The Harper government targeted the public service with "aggressive" plans to freeze salaries, the operations of all departments and launch a major spending review that many predict will cut jobs and services to Canadians.

The plans, laid out in the federal government's throne speech Wednesday, came as no surprise for Canada's bureaucrats who were braced for the government to turn to its own employees, along with their pay and pensions, for savings. (More)

Civil servant unions pushing back on feared cuts to pensions

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:06:54 -0500

Civil servant unions pushing back on feared cuts to pensions

By Kathryn May, Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA �€” Canada's bureaucrats are steeled for this week's budget to reduce the value of the deluxe pension plan that the government pitches to new recruits as a reason to join the public service.

While the two largest federal unions and the Canadian Labour Congress showed a united front Tuesday to fight any cuts to federal pensions, the government is wrapping up a recruitment campaign partly built around "attractive compensation," including one of the best pension plans in the country.

Departments have a target to hire 4,000 new graduates by the end of March.

But the uncertainty over pensions could deter new recruits and spark a stampede of retiring workers who may opt to leave before the government guts their pensions, said Gary Corbett, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service. He said the union is getting calls from workers pleading to know whether they should retire now before pensions are cut. (More)