Vice-President Stéphane Aubry’s Report
Presented to the 101st Annual General Meeting
Dear Members,
I am honoured once again to present a short report on the issues I have been working on over the past year.
The lives of all Canadians were turned upside down in 2020, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected everyone. Some of us lost their health. Others lost a loved one. And for everyone, as well as for our labour movement, what we have had to do to prevent and adapt has impacted almost everything. Given that all of our in-person member events have been suspended since March 2020, we have had to adopt virtual tools to continue our activities.
The Better Together mobilization team continues to develop tools to support our members and the various groups still at the bargaining table. The “Here for you” awareness campaign was launched to let the public know about our members’ contributions to society (https://pipsc.ca/news-issues/pipsc-members-are-here-you). A pension protection campaign was also created to take action against the threat facing workers and increase awareness through webinars (https://pipsc.ca/news-issues/protecting-pensions).
Phoenix is an ongoing issue, but the system is much more stable, and we have seen few new problems. The employer continues to resolve pending transactions, which remain at around 200,000 files. The recovery of overpayments—which was suspended at the beginning of the year—will restart in the fall. The good news is that the government has launched the pilot department of the NextGen project to ultimately replace Phoenix with an integrated HR and pay management system (https://pipsc.ca/news-issues/phoenix-pay-system).
As Vice-President, I also sit on the PIPSC Board of Directors. We are still looking at ways to improve the organization’s operations, as well as our management and executive structure, so that we may continue to properly meet our members’ needs.
For example, a special committee was created this year to look into the use of the Board’s committees. Under the leadership of NCR Director Jennifer Carr, we have begun mapping out both the committees officially named in the PIPSC by-laws and the ad hoc committees formed over the years, so we can find ways to improve them.
In closing,
another busy year is done.
Thank you for your support in defending Canadian workers. Our affiliations with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Fédération des travailleuses et travailleurs du Québec (FTQ) have allowed us to add our voice to the collective demands. Through our efforts, we have been able to keep the government’s attention focused on the concerns and needs of Canadians, especially with respect to a universal pharmacare program, tax fairness, and environmental protection measures for future generations.
I consider it a privilege and an honour to continue serving you. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. You can always find me online at AubryS@ipfpc.ca, on Twitter at @StephAubry_GF, or on Facebook at facebook.com/stephane.aubry.GF.
Stéphane Aubry
National Vice-President