The PIPSC Human Rights and Diversity Committee held an anti-Black racism webinar on September 30, 2020. The event was opened by Jennie Esnard, PIPSC NCR Regional Director and Chair of the Human Rights and Diversity Committee, and moderated by the PIPSC Education staff.

The panelists were:

• Emilie Nicolas, award-winning Human Rights advocate and anthropologist
• Larry Rousseau, Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress

Participants got a sense of how anti-Black racism impacts Black families throughout Canada. We were reminded of the importance of listening to Black voices who speak up about injustice, and combating systemic racism in our institutions by standing up and demanding change. 

A rich question and answer period ensued. 

Watch the video recording of the session below. 

You may need to disconnect from the employer’s VPN to view the video, or try accessing the page from a personal device. 

Have questions about how to combat anti-Black racism in your workplace? Contact the PIPSC Black caucus.

As the PIPSC Vice-President responsible for the implementation of the Canadian Psychological Health Standard in our members’ workplaces, I encourage you to attend the upcoming Canada School of Public Service webinar, Bill C-65 and Its Impact on Workplace Harassment, Violence and Safety, which will be held on November 16^th from 1:30 pm to 3pm (Eastern).

Register for this important virtual event and don’t miss this excellent learning opportunity for members at all levels and occupations.

In these challenging times, our mental health must remain a priority. Be sure to look after yourself or reach out if you need help!  

Norma Domey
Vice-President, PIPSC

Members of the public service pension plan and benefits plans can sign up for a newly launched email notification system.

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This service will provide subscribers with important updates to the Public Service Pension Plan, the Public Service Health Care Plan, the Public Service Dental Plan, the Pensioners’ Dental Plan, and any other important employee or retiree benefit offered by the Treasury Board to federal public servants.

This notification service only provides general updates, not personalized information. If you have questions about your individual account, please review our pensions and benefits page for more information. PIPSC recommends that you consult the Treasury Board benefits information page before making any financial decision with respect to your pension, dental, and healthcare plans.

This new service is available for current and retired PIPSC members who belonged to a Treasury Board pension or benefits plans. If you are employed outside of the federal service, please visit our pensions and benefits page for more information.

On November 2, National Joint Council bargaining agents sent a strongly worded letter to Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos expressing their anger over the recent introduction of new guidelines on the use of “Other Leave With Pay (699)”.  

This is our third letter to senior government ministers on this issue over the past few weeks. We first brought it to their attention in late August, and followed up in early October. While some improvements were made to the original draft guidelines, they still fail to take into account the very difficult circumstances that so many of our members still find themselves in. 

As unions, we have a responsibility to stand up for all our members, particularly the most vulnerable amongst us. We are asking the employer to hold off implementing these changes until at least January 2021 so our members can carry on with their existing parental or caregiver commitments, and to allow for further discussions with bargaining agents over that period.

If the government fails to address our remaining concerns over Code 699, public service bargaining agents will have little choice but to pursue formal recourse. We remain hopeful, however, that what should have been an entirely avoidable dispute will be resolved soon. Our members’ focus should be on continuing to serve Canadians, not on having to choose between work and personal or family obligations.

COVID-19 has put unprecedented stress on members like you. Balancing work and life responsibilities, setting up workspaces at home, dealing with school and daycare closures, and caring for loved ones has been a very difficult transition. 

The vast majority of federal public servants have been able to work through this crisis requiring no extra leave. However, those who needed more flexibility to attend to caregiving duties or deal with health risks, or those who could not perform their tasks at home when their offices closed, accessed ‘Other Leave With Pay (Code 699).’

To date, the use of Code 699 has been minimal. When it's needed – it's needed

Women, caregivers and those with health risks still need access to Code 699 leave to cope with the pandemic. 

It is a great disappointment that the Treasury Board has decided to change its guidance for management on the use of Code 699.  Even after conducting a GBA+ analysis on this change – identifying that the burden of child care and financial repercussions in the COVID era has disproportionately fallen on women – they decided to move forward. 

This updated guidance, which will be effective November 9, 2020, sets up new barriers that make this type of leave less accessible to employees. It emphasizes that Code 699 should be granted on a case-by-case basis, and only after remote or alternate work, or flexible work hours have been considered, and generally only after other relevant paid leave has first been used by the employee. 

Once all available options have been considered, and managers have consulted with their Labour Relations advisors, Code 699 could be available to an employee. 

However, this leaves it up to individual managers to force employees to exhaust other forms of leave, such as vacation, sick leave, or leave without pay, inappropriately. 

Get the help you need

We’re extremely concerned about the decision and limited access to Code 699. 

If you have been denied access to Code 699 or forced to use inappropriate leave such as vacation, sick leave, or leave without pay, please reach out for support: 

COVID-19 HELP FORM 

We’re fighting back

Public servants are fundamental to a successful recovery from the pandemic. We must support these workers to support Canadians. 

Last week we sent a letter to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, and Minister for Women and Gender Equality, The Honourable Maryam Monsef, urging them to insist that this decision is reversed. The government’s response to the pandemic and its treatment of federal workers has been very commendable so far – this approach must not be changed now to the detriment of women and families. 

Throughout this pandemic, you have fought for Canadians, and your union has fought for you. For months, we have pushed back against the Treasury Board when they initially proposed to eliminate Code 699 entirely. Though progressive changes have been made we are disappointed with the conclusion they’ve come to and we are ready to push back again.

There is still time for key government ministers or the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer to step in and stop this change. 

If this policy is implemented as is, we will take legal action by filing a policy grievance to demand this change be halted.

Code 699 is rarely used – we must ensure those who need to access it are provided with fair access. We must protect those who are vulnerable to discrimination.

Women are being pushed out of the labour market across the globe, we cannot allow that to happen here. We must stand up for each other through this crisis.

 PIPSC members who are paid by the failed Phoenix pay system have experienced overpayments to their paycheques, as well as miscalculated pension contributions.

In April 2020, the pay centre suspended the recovery of salary overpayments and missed pension contributions as a temporary measure due to COVID-19.

The recovery of overpayments is resuming in October 2020. If you are facing financial difficulties, you may request that recovery payments be established at less than 10% of your gross bi-weekly pay when establishing a repayment plan. The repayment period of pension arrears can also be made over a period equal to three times the period of the deficiency. Call the government’s Client Contact Centre at 1-855-686-4729 for more information.

We’re continuing our advocacy to get you the compensation you deserve for Phoenix’s failures. Learn more about the Phoenix compensation that’s already available and expected, as well as what to do if you have a pay issue. Learn more about the days of leave that PIPSC members received in 2019 as compensation for damage done.

You know your pension is important. You work hard now, and your pension is your deferred salary working to protect your future.

But do you completely understand how your pension works? Do you know what type of pension you have? How can we make sure that your pension is going to be there for you when you retire?

In this video our experts from the PIPSC Compensation Team will share how your Public Service Pension works, as well as the basics of retirement security.

You know your pension is important. You work hard now, and your pension is your deferred salary working to protect your future.

But do you completely understand how your pension works? Do you know what type of pension you have? How can we make sure that your pension is going to be there for you when you retire?

In this video our experts from the PIPSC Compensation Team will share how your defined contribution pension plan works, as well as the basics of retirement security.

Please note that in 2023, members at CRPEG, WPEG, and WTEG moved to the CAAT DB plus pension plan -  a variable formula defined benefits pension plan.

If you’re not sure what type of pension you have, visit our pension webpage.