Atlantic Summer Newsletter 2018

ATLANTIC NEWS

YOUR PIPSC ATLANTIC REGIONAL NEWSLETTER

Summer 2018

 

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75th Atlantic Regional Council

The Atlantic Regional Council was held May 25th and 26th in Moncton, NB at the Delta Beauséjour.  Friday afternoon’s session started with a welcome from Atlantic Regional Director, Kimberley Skanes. The Council continued with nominations for the regional executive, followed by the presentation “What Happened to my Meeting?” which included a short skit with members of the regional executive, followed by a presentation on how to conduct meetings and ending with a group activity and plenary session.  Friday concluded with the presentation of the Executive of the Year Award and the regional executive candidates’ address.

Friday night the Executive hosted a “bingo night” where delegates won prizes donated by the Delta Beauséjour and PIPSC Service Plus.  

Saturday morning’s session contained addresses by the Regional Director and PIPSC President, Debi Daviau as well as reports from the Training Committee, the regional office and regional finances.  Mike Pauley provided a presentation on the NB Shared Risk Pension and the morning concluded with regional executive elections.

The Saturday afternoon session began with the results of the regional executive elections.  The newly elected/re-elected candidates are:

• Mike Pauley
• Manny Costain
• Scott McConaghy
• Christine Newhook
• Jason Rioux

After the ballots were destroyed the business session commenced where several resolutions were debated.  Special guest, Acting Full Time Vice President Sean O’Reilly, provided an update on PIPSC finances, the current PIPSC budget followed by a question and answer period.  

The Council concluded with Scott McConaghy providing a breakdown of the delegate seat allotment for the PIPSC AGM, Branch report summary by Marcel Journeay and NB Group report summary by Misty Matthews-Emery.

The Executive thanks outgoing Executive members Cathy Hebert and Gerry Saunders for their work and dedication during their time as part of the Atlantic Regional Executive.

New Brunswick Group News

Submitted by Mike Pauley, NB Engineering Group

Pensions

PIPSC continues with its legal challenge. Both sides have exchanged affidavits and a fall discovery hearing is tentative with the NB Government. PIPSC has been working hard with the NB Pension Council to put together the best effort for our members.

A pension information campaign is in the works to aid PIPSC members, that were the greatest affected GNB employees, plan for retirement and make career decisions. PIPSC has hired an independent actuarial firm, Eckler Ltd., to provide information based upon normal career progressions for the groups. The results will be sent to all PIPSC members, both Federal and Provincial, to show the detrimental effects to our members upon completion.

Negotiations

It has been difficult bargaining with the employer during the last round of bargaining for all of our groups. However, its nearing the time again to head back to the bargaining table. Below are the expiry dates of the various group contracts:

NB Crown Counsel contract expires June, 2018.

NB Crown Prosecutors contract expires September, 2018.

NB EN, VS and AG contract expires May, 2019

NB Legal Aid contract expires November, 2019

A fall provincial election is scheduled for September, 2018. It is anticipated there will be no mandate by the employer until after the results of the election. The groups have asked PIPSC for a bargaining conference but it has not happened as of yet.

NB Pension – As Viewed by a Young Professional

Submitted by Atlantic Young Professionals Committee

On January 1, 2014, Bill 11 came into force in New Brunswick. Disingenuously cited as “An Act Respecting Public Service Pensions”, the actual contents were less than respectful to the public service pensions of New Brunswick provincial employees. Its effect was to repeal regulations under the Public Service Superannuation Act, which entitled public service employees to a defined benefit pension plan and converted them to a shared risk model. 

The name “shared risk” is as misleading as the name of the Act from which it came, as the majority of the risk is actually transferred to the contributors. For example, this is how things changed for a New Brunswick member following the conversion from a defined benefit to a shared risk plan: it resulted in the pension being based on an employee’s total career average rather than their best five years’ salary, the age of retirement without penalty being raised from 60 to 65, with the penalty for early retirement increasing from 3% per year to 5%, and contributors paying 35% more to receive 30% less in benefits from their pension in the long run. This speaks nothing to what happens in the event that market downturns result in the curbing of cost-of-living adjustments. 

From a young professional standpoint, there is sometimes an assumption that young workers are not interested in such long-term planning as to consider pension models in their career selection process. On the contrary, the Atlantic Young Professionals Committee recently conducted a survey that posed the question “What do you think is the biggest issue for young workers in PIPSC?” Pension planning was among the top 5 responses (out of 10). Young professionals are clearly preparing for the future, and those preparations are supported by a healthy defined benefit pension plan. 

There is still hope for the future of pensions in New Brunswick; there are currently legal challenges against the Province, including one from PIPSC. However, the Province of New Brunswick is steadfast in its resolve to justify its legislation and is fighting hard to maintain the pension reforms it unilaterally imposed in 2014. If there is anything good that has arisen from this situation, it is that pension awareness across the country has been heightened. There was an article in the previous publication regarding Bill C-27; hopefully many were able to get educated on the implications of this Bill and sent in their post cards. An old adage states that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure; remain vigil around pension issues, do not wait until the government is fighting the court challenges with your own tax dollars. 

Winter/Spring Training

The Atlantic Region hosted two training events over the winter and spring.  The first was Basic Steward Training held February 15th - 17th in Halifax, NS at the Delta Halifax.  Fifteen new stewards were trained and now are the eyes and ears of the Institute in their offices.  

The second was our annual Atlantic Training School held April 12th - 14th in Oak Island, NS at the Atlantica Oak Island Marina and Resort. There was treasure found in the form of knowledge for our steward network!  

Courses at the Atlantic Training School were Advanced Grievance Handling, Valuing Human Rights and Diversity, Bullying and Harassment and Building Effective Consultation Teams.  There were 44 stewards in attendance for the training with mainly first-time school participants and newer stewards attending the 2 day Advanced Grievance Handling course and the 1 day Building Effective Consultation Teams course.   More experienced stewards attended the 2 day Valuing Human Rights and Diversity course and the one-day Bullying and Harassment session. 

The Atlantic Regional Executive and the Atlantic Regional Training Committee thanks all participants at both training sessions as well as the Atlantic Regional office staff who prepared and facilitated the training.  A special thank you to Sean Kemball, Employment Relations Officer from the Prairie Region (Winnipeg office) who helped facilitate the Advance Grievance Handling and Building Effective Consultation Teams courses.

Branch Profile

Submitted by the St John’s Branch Executive

The St. John’s Branch was established July 2006, representing 509 members and RANDS. Currently the branch is comprised of 628 members from 12 groups. The SP, CS, AFS and AV represent 72% the membership, with the remaining 28% held by SH, NRC, RE, NR, CFIA groups and retired members. As of May 2018 we have 23 RAND members; and 24 retired members. Brian MacPhee, a retired branch member successfully established a St. John’s Retired Members chapter in 2017 and they held their first AGM in May 2018.

In July 2006, the executive committee approved the Branch boundaries to include Clark’s Beach-Conception Bay-Donovan-Goulds-Kelligrews-Mt. Pearl- Paradise-Portugal Cove-East of Clarenville and Torbay. Currently, the Branch is entitled to 11 executive members. The current executive includes: Carolyn Hynes (SH), President; Roger Johnson (SP), Vice President; Marilyn Best (AFS), Treasurer; Terry Fleet (SP), secretary and 7 members at large: Jim Meade (SP); Susan Harris (SH); Christine Newhook (CS); Mike Lester (CS); Leslie White (AFS); John O’Rourke (SP) and Travis Kendall (AFS).  The Branch is proud of its many accomplishments. Of note: 

Advertising Campaigns

In response to the Harper Government’s negative media campaign and attack on public servants, the St. John’s Branch joined forces with PSAC to run a Billboard campaign in 2013 and 2014. The aim of the campaign was to increase the public’s awareness of the services we provide and to increase our visibility in the community. The initiative was well received and in 2015 Moncton and Halifax adopted a similar campaign. In addition to the billboard campaign, the branch placed articles in the local Coffee News, a paper that is distributed to over 340 outlets across the province. While the branch cannot take credit for the election results of 2015 we believe our campaigns had some influence on reframing the negative view of public servants.

Building Relationships and Community Involvement

The branch joined District Labour Council (DLC) in 2015, an organization which focuses on lobbying, education, and the community. Since joining the DLC we have become more visible at community events including Labour Family Fun Day; Day of Mourning; Pride Parade, Pharmacare Town halls, and rallies. The branch has built a working relationship with PSAC by showing our support at Phoenix, sick leave, and pension rallies and co-hosting workplace events (e.g., NPSW BBQ, desk drops, etc.). In addition, the branch has committed to supporting local charities by asking for donations at all branch sponsored events.

Union Management Consultation and Steward Recruitment

Branch members in various departments have been successful in recruiting new stewards; building solid relationships with management (e.g., co-chairing UMC and OHS committees); and having a strong presence at “onboarding” events for new staff. 
Membership engagement remains our biggest challenge. While we have 628 members, on average we get 25 members to an AGM; 30 to special events (e.g., C-27 presentation); and approximately 55 to the seasonal social. We will continue to promote member engagement this year with activities that are aimed at educating members as well as giving back to the community. Phoenix, contracting out, and workplace 2.0/activity-based work remain key issues for our members.

Any discussion of the St. John’s Branch would not be complete without a discussion of our “Founding Father” – George McGuire. George was PIPSC at DFO in Newfoundland and was well known by all in the St. John’s Branch, Atlantic Region and Nationally. A tireless organizer, a brilliant story-teller and a great friend to all in the labour movement, members, activists and even management knew they could depend on George. The St. John’s Branch lost one of its greatest members early in 2018. He will be missed but the memory of his dedication to the labour movement strengthens our resolve and pushes us to continue to advance his many initiatives.

In solidarity,
St. John’s Branch Executive

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Your Regional Executive