Letter to the Chief Human Resources Officer about the PSES (2)

October 18, 2018

Nancy Chahwan
Chief Human Resources Officer
OCHRO, Treasury Board Secretariat
219 Laurier, Ottawa ON K1P 5J6
By email: nancy.chahwan@tbs-sct.gc.ca

Dear Ms. Chahwan,

I am writing today as a follow-up to my October 15, 2018 letter about the most recent Public Service Employee Survey (PSES).

Since I first wrote to you on this issue, several of my members have contacted me to express their concerns over the need for clarity around some of the terms used in the PSES. I am sure you will agree that for Public Service Employee Survey results to be meaningful, questions must be presented in as clear a manner as possible. In this context, I would like to suggest that the 2019 PSES include definitions of the terms “senior management”, “staff”, “work unit”, “people I work with”, and “employees”.

Given that the government and bargaining agents both rely on the results of the survey to support their consultation work, I believe it is critical that the PSES be written in a manner that leaves respondents with no uncertainty as to the meaning of a question or the terminology used.

I thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to our ongoing work together on issues of common interest.

Sincerely,

Debi Daviau
President
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada


12 February 2018
On February 6, 2018 PIPSC President Debi Daviau led a dozen-strong Institute delegation to Ottawa’s Parliament Hill as part of the Canadian Labour Congress’ (CLC) annual Lobby Day.

9 February 2018
February 5, 2018 The 55 unions represented on the Canadian Council of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) recognize without exception that when one of our affiliates is attacked, our movement is attacked.

2 February 2018
On January 29, 2018, PIPSC President Debi Daviau met with Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier for the first time at the Canada Revenue Agency headquarters in Ottawa.  

1 February 2018
I recently wrote to Treasury Board President Scott Brison to express my frustration at being informed that the government is very likely not going to be able to process overpayment claims reported by the January 19, 2018 deadline.

22 January 2018
The news that Canada’s largest private-sector union, Unifor, has decided to withdraw its membership from the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has taken many by surprise.

12 January 2018
It has come to our attention that many of you who are trying to report overpayments by the January 19, 2018 deadline cannot get through to Contact Centre staff because of busy signals or being put on hold for extended periods.