On July 8, 2023,  the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Committee (the Committee) finalized its revised methodology for the calculation of the Shelter Cost Differential (SCD) contained in the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive (IPGHD). 

Since 2013, the Committee's methodology involved adjusting the SCD rate annually, proportionally with increases to the territorial Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The purpose of the SCD is to provide an allowance to employees who are at an isolated post where the cost of renting private accommodation or government housing is higher than the national average threshold. However, as of August 1, 2023, the revised methodology for the calculation of the SCD came into effect. 

What does this mean for you?

There are now 20 qualifying locations instead of 5 and the same methodology has been applied to all locations. Once a location qualifies, the rate will be adjusted annually by the provincial or territorial Consumer Price Index (CPI), as application, until the next Census results are available. 

For employees in locations where the SCD rate is decreasing (Inuvik, Iqaluit, and Yellowknife), or who will no longer be eligible to receive the SCD (Norman Wells), transitional provisions for the reductions have been put in place. 

Employees who were receiving the SCD at a location which no longer qualifies or if the rate is decreasing will continue to receive the August 1, 2022 amount until December 1, 2023.  On December 1, the amount will decrease by 50% of the amount of the decrease and on September 1, 2024, the amount will decrease by the other 50%. 

If there are any changes to your allowance, the employer should provide you with written notification. This is in accordance with subsection 2.13.2 of the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive (IPGHD).

Can I file a grievance? 

Because the SCD calculation and other changes made to the IPGHD are agreed upon through the National Joint Council, the changes cannot be grieved as long as they respect the directive. 

More information or questions?

For other questions, we encourage you to review the FAQ below and visit the following links: New Shelter Cost Differential (SCD) Methodology - Highlights of Changes - IPGHD – August 1, 2023

Revised Methodology for the Shelter Cost Differential (SCD) - FAQ - August 1, 2023

We also encourage you to look at our FAQs below.

Members can also contact their local PIPSC steward if they have any questions.

FAQ:

Steven Raphael is a PIPSC member and has been a First Nation Health Authority (FNHA) worker since 2011. He has been part of the PIPSC union community for 4 years and works with nurses, health managers, and medical office assistants to connect them to the networks of care they need.

“Sometimes there is a lot of stress for nurses trying to get access to medical records, so when I’m helping to troubleshoot a problem in our records system, I try to use positive language to help nurses feel like they’ve had a “win” in their day,” he says.

Through his work, Steven helps improve access to electronic clinical documentation systems, like Panorama Health Records, that help get British Columbians the care they need. Panorama gives nurses in BC communities direct access to individuals’ public health records. Steven’s work is important because he ensures healthcare providers get timely access to correct healthcare data for the individuals they care for.

He is proud of the relationships he has developed with nurses and healthcare providers at different First Nations health services organizations. Grassroots-level relationships are what drive positive change most in the communities Steven works with. He is also proud of the connections he has developed with stakeholders at the FNHA, and with provincial-level partners. Without these strong relationships, Steven says that developing better healthcare systems for First Nations wouldn’t be possible.

“Working with nurses and health managers directly as well as medical office assistants, those are all relationships. Without those relationships you don’t get buy-in and they don’t get that support, so it’s important.”

As a community member, dad and public service worker, Steven knows that community is at the center of good healthcare.

“It’s about the circle of care. The client is in the middle of that circle, and the healthcare providers focus on that inner circle, the client. I get to be a part of that,” he says.

Strong union support is a big part of making the healthcare circle work. Unions make sure that workers like Steven are able to get the support they need to deliver important services that impact patient care. During the pandemic, a big part of that was making sure Steven and his coworkers had what they needed to work and assist healthcare providers from home.

“If I had the same job offered to me, if I would do this exact same work for the exact same pay but not have the union benefit plan, I wouldn’t do it. This union has supported me, but it has also supported my employer,” he says. “I’m proud to be a PIPSC member because I’ve experienced their support directly.”

In 2013, Steven’s wife was diagnosed with cancer. Because of this, Steven’s employer and union came together to make sure he had everything he needed to continue being able to work while also looking after his wife and four daughters.

“It was thanks to the family support leave with PIPSC that I was able to leverage that time and support my family during that cancer fight,” he says.

Steven’s wife, Rochelle, passed away in 2019 after fighting cancer bravely for six years. 

“Without union, hospice and other support from family, we probably wouldn’t have been so successful in keeping our lives together,” he added. “The union really helped me change my working hours, allowed me time to get my kids to school, walk with my youngest and support them in grieving the loss of their mom.”

Steven has experienced the healthcare system inside and out, and he knows how much hard work and dedication goes into creating a system that helps and supports families in times of need.

His primary goal is to ensure healthcare services continue to be developed by First Nations people for First Nations people, and as a union we stand by him. PIPSC will be there to support important public servants like Steven who make a difference in people’s lives every day. 

On July 26, 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new cabinet. This highly anticipated shuffle is Trudeau’s largest one since October 2021, and a new Treasury Board President has been appointed.

PIPSC is eager to welcome the Honourable Anita Anand as the new Treasury Board President. There’s a lot to get done, and we’re ready to get to work. We are looking forward to a more collaborative approach from the employer.

PIPSC members have been working tirelessly to support this government during the most unprecedented times but they have also been continuously undermined. We urge Minister Anand to commit to collaborative efforts with unions, and to work to build a more modern and inclusive workplace within the federal government.

PIPSC represents over 72,000 public service professionals working for the federal government as well as some provincial departments and agencies. We are better together and we are ready to work with all newly appointed ministers to rectify the key issues our members are dealing with. As they settle into their new roles, we hope to continue making strides on the following points:

• Prompt correction of on-going pay errors due to Phoenix, which have plagued our members for 7 years
• A review of the return-to-office (RTO) orders to focus on 'presence with purpose’
• Pay rates that reflect the value of public servants’ work and the skyrocketing cost of living
• Recognition and respect for expertise and professional roles our members play
• Reducing outsourcing within the federal government
• Address critical shortage of health care professionals including Northern nurses
• And more

Although we’ve had some setbacks with the hasty return-to-office order and witnessed the largest strike in Canadian history, we wish the Honourable Mona Fortier well in continuing to serve her constituents in Ottawa–Vanier.

PIPSC thanks all the ministers for their impactful work in their previous roles. We are looking forward to also working with Ministers Jean-Yves Duclos (Public Services and Procurement) and Marie-Claude Bibeau (National Revenue) as they transition into their new roles.

In a long-awaited and unequivocal decision, the federal Pay Equity Commissioner has ruled in favour of all the unions that opposed Treasury Board's June 2022 request for a multiple pay equity plan.

The pay equity exercise for some 252,000 employees will have to be carried out by comparing all female-predominant job classes with male-predominant classes, regardless of whether the job is within the same bargaining unit or not.

Originally, Treasury Board had requested authorization from Commissioner Straznicky to divide job categories into three distinct plans:

• Public Service Alliance of Canada
• The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
• All other unions and unrepresented employees.

Had it been granted, such authorization would have limited the comparison of the female job categories represented by the Institute to the male job categories also represented by PIPSC.

It should be remembered that the purpose of pay equity legislation is to correct the wage gap between men and women by ensuring that the total remuneration of predominantly female jobs is compared with equivalent predominantly male jobs. 

By forcing Treasury Board to create a single-pay equity committee, the committee will be able to ensure that it is not limited in its choice of male comparator jobs, and select those that are most appropriate, regardless of its original accreditation.

This is a major victory for the recognition of work performed mainly by women, and the first step towards closing the wage gap that still persists!

It’s with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and colleague, Martine Lacroix.

Martine passed away on June 11, 2023 at 61 years old.

Martine was a dedicated union member. Before her retirement, Martine worked as a nurse within Correctional Services Canada (CSC) and was a steward for many years.  During those years, she contributed to the dynamism and vitality of the union as a member of the Quebec Regional Executive and of the Regional Training Committee. She was also an active member of the CSC union-management consultation team. 

Martine will be dearly missed. The Institute extends its condolences to Martine’s family, friends, colleagues, and fellow union members. 

The Lacroix family welcomes you to pay your respects on Sunday, July 2, 2023 from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Magnus Poirier Funeral Home located at 2480 Boul. du Curé-Labelle, Prévost, QC J0R 1T0.

Donations to the Canadian Cancer Society will be collected in Martine's honour. 

Sympathy wishes can be sent online.

Ottawa, June 15, 2023 – More than one-third of public service professionals are so unhappy with the government's one-size-fits-all return to office order that they are considering leaving their roles. For workers under 30 – a demographic most concerned with cost of living, childcare and the environment – that number jumps to almost 50%.

“When nearly one in five members of the federal public service is over the age of 55, approaching retirement age, we cannot afford to lose half of our youngest workers,” said PIPSC President Jennifer Carr. “The government won’t be able to deliver the services Canadians rely on if it’s not able to address the major recruitment and retention problem it’s created with its own flawed return to office policy. These numbers add up to a public service in peril.”

In his statement in support of National Public Service Week this year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is supporting the career development of Indigenous, Black, and racialized employees, and building an inclusive and equitable public service. But workers who identify as Black are more than twice as likely to be concerned with discrimination and harassment now that they have been ordered back to the office. 

People with Disabilities are also twice as likely to be concerned with discrimination and harassment in the office, and more than twice as likely to report that their workstations do not meet their needs. Seventy percent said that their mental well-being has gotten worse as a result of not being able to work remotely. 

The RTO policy also puts an increased burden on women workers, who are more likely to be balancing caregiving responsibilities at home – often responsible for both their children and their aging parents. More than half of women report their caregiving responsibilities have gotten worse under RTO. 

“This government claims it wants to prioritize recruiting younger workers, workers with disabilities, Black workers, and women,” said Carr. “But at the same time, they are implementing an RTO policy that makes it harder for these groups to be successful in the workplace.”

PIPSC believes in the principle of “presence with purpose” – being at the office when justified by operational needs. The union continues to advocate for what was originally promised by the government: a hybrid-by-design approach that considers employees’ unique circumstances and job requirements. 

“Flexibility is now the centerpiece of a modern and progressive workplace,” said Carr. “Our union is ready to work with the government to develop policies that make sense.” 

In May 2023, PIPSC conducted an online survey of more than 68,000 of its members working for Federal Departments or Agencies, to assess how the members feel after returning to the office. More than 17% responded to the survey.

PIPSC represents over 72,000 public service professionals working for the federal government as well as some provincial departments and agencies.

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For more information: Johanne Fillion, 613-883-4900 (mobile), jfillion@pipsc.ca