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.
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 frameworkto 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.
[i] The World Bank (2018) Women, Business and the Law 2018. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
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."
When you vote YES to your group’s tentative agreement, your new contract will include all central bargaining wins. These wins include significant economic gains:
Wage Increase
You deserve wages that reflect the real cost of living. PIPSC members have successfully negotiated with the Treasury Board to secure a 7% base wage increase over the next 4 years for all groups. This is in addition to the wage increases negotiate at your group’s table.
Late Implementation Bonus
Once your contract is signed, you will receive $400 compensation for the extended implementation of this new contract. We knew that the employer would not be able to meet our implementation deadlines, so we secured a penalty payment right off the top.
Retroactive Pay Penalties
You must be compensated for the late delivery of your retro pay. If you are owed retroactive pay and you do not receive it within 180 days of your agreement’s signing, compensation of $50 will be awarded on day 181. Every 90 days after, another $50 will be awarded to a maximum of $450.
Vote YES to secure these wins.
Some groups have tentative agreements now and others continue their important work at the bargaining table. Find information on your group-specific negotiations at pipsc.ca/groups.
Letter to the Public Service Commission President about Employment Equity
I recently wrote to Public Service Commission (PSC) President Patrick Borbey about the Employment Equity Promotion Rate Study published by his organization in late May 2019.
Leaders in gender equality from across the globe gathered in Vancouver to attend the 2019 Women Deliver conference, including 12 PIPSC representatives from the Board of Directors, Human Rights Committee and staff team. Joined by a host of other Canadian union activists, the Canadian Labour Congress kicked off the conference with the Union Deliver pre-event.
The theme for this year's Women Deliver conference was Power. Progress. Change. A fitting theme for PIPSC, as we are committed to focusing our poweron progressing policies that deliver meaningful changein the lives of all our members.
President Debi Daviau and Vice President Norma Domey were two of PIPSC's representatives at the event. This conference was an opportunity for our leadership to reflect on how gender equality can strengthen our union and the labour movement.
“We have made significant progress to support women’s rights in the workforce; from leading the way on policies for family leave, to paid leave for victims and survivors of domestic violence — gender equality is a top priority,” Debi Daviau, PIPSC President, said.
Throughout the conference, PIPSC delegates heard from global leaders including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde, and the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kate Gilmore.
The event was educational and inspired delegates to ignite greater participation and engagement of women in all unions. The experience will be vital to VP Domey's work contributing to the Committee on Human Rights and Diversity and the Women in Science project.
“The Women Deliver Conference re-energized our PIPSC delegates and women globally to keep fighting to end gender-based violence, increase women’s economic empowerment, and ensure gender responsive health systems and services,” Domey said.
10 days of paid leave to survivors and victims of domestic violence
the first-ever harassment free workplace language in our collective agreement
These wins will help to support and empower women ensuring equal opportunities for everyone across the public sector.
There is still more work to do:
“We are committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment in Canada,” Daviau said. “We will ensure that the door for progress on these issues continues to remain open and that PIPSC is at the forefront of change.”
Canada’s unions are expressing solidarity with advocates in the United States who are fighting to protect reproductive rights.
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) commits to protecting our own hard-won gains and to fill the gaps in access to sexual and reproductive health and rights in Canada, including abortion.
We can’t take abortion rights in Canada for granted. There is an alarming and well-funded effort by anti-choice groups in Canada to elect politicians who support restrictions on reproductive health services and rights. As members of the CLC, we will resist any attempt to take us backwards and support the efforts to improve access.
Canada’s unions have a deep and longstanding commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights. Unions and labour activists joined the call to decriminalize birth control and abortion in the 60s and 70s. Since the 1988 Morgentaler decision, the labour movement has worked with feminist organizations and other allies to resist attempts to introduce new restrictions to abortion rights and access.
Canada’s unions have long called for public coverage of medical procedures and medication to allow people to decide whether and when to have children, promote maternal health, affirm their gender identity, and meet other sexual and reproductive health care needs. They have also called for better access to abortion services in regions where it remains difficult to obtain sexual and reproductive health care. Unions continue to support comprehensive sexuality education, access to health care for trans people, and protections for pregnant people in unsafe working conditions.
Access to abortion services remains a problem, especially in rural, remote and Indigenous communities, for young people, for those with precarious immigration status or who don’t have the means to travel. In some provinces, like New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island such services are virtually non-existent on account of provincial policies that restrict access or impose limits on funding. The lack of access to sexual and reproductive health care and rights has disproportionate impacts on people who experience various forms of marginalization, such as Indigenous women, Black and racialized women, women with disabilities, trans and non-binary folk, immigrant, migrant and refugee women.
Canada’s unions will not tolerate any attempt to roll back abortion rights.
Over 3,000 members, like you, participated in our recent union-wide telephone town hall on the Phoenix compensation agreement and our central bargaining wins.
For those who could not join us, you can listen to recordings of our three sessions:
We recommend that PC and MAC users download these files to their hard drive to avoid playback issues.
During the town hall, President Debi Daviau gave an overview on the steps being taken to replace Phoenix.
She also outlined the major announcements made on our Phoenix compensation agreement. This agreement is separate from our bargaining work.
Please note that you are not required to file a grievance to access compensation under the Phoenix Compensation agreement. We will provide details on how this claims process will work as soon as they are announced. Other questions you may have about this agreement are addressed in our FAQs.
Richard Beaulé, Director of Labour Relations joined the town hall to discuss the wins made at central bargaining table and to answer questions about group-specific tentative agreements.
Some groups have tentative agreements now and others continue their important work at the bargaining table. Find out where your group stands: pipsc.ca/groups.
Telephone town halls are an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas directly. We look forward to our next discussion in the months ahead.
