You’re unionized: here are 3 immediate benefits

Friends,

I have great news! You finally have a union.

The Federal Labour Board has granted our application to represent nearly 1,400 RCMP Civilian Members (CMs). That means you are now a PIPSC member and benefit from our services and the collective power of 55,000 public service professionals.

Being a PIPSC member empowers you to join the process of collective bargaining. It gives you a seat at the table. It allows you to directly advocate for yourself and your coworkers.

PIPSC provides you with guidance, organizational resources and legal council both during the bargaining as well as after the contract is finalized. You get to have a voice, select your own representatives, make decisions collectively and have a vote on the outcome of a negotiation.

No individual can have much success in changing the practices of a big employer — but as a union we can, because we’re better together. On behalf of the Professional Institute, I welcome you to your union.

In order to benefit from the full suite of PIPSC services, please take a moment to fill this membership form right now.

I know you have a lot of questions about the challenges and opportunities ahead. For now, here are three immediate benefits I want to highlight:

  1. We’ve already worked to ensure that your terms and conditions of employment are protected until such time we negotiate transition into our existing collective agreements. Without a union, the employer could have simply changed your working conditions without your input. As a PIPSC member now, you can join in the process of negotiating these agreements and will have your say on the outcome of the negotiations.
  2. Should you ever face a conflict with your manager or employer, you will have the backing of PIPSC, a strong and professional union with decades of experience in labour relations, to help you navigate the process of a grievance and protect your rights.
  3. You can step up to be a steward and get the necessary training to help and represent your colleagues in the workplace. You can join a union-management consultation group to help shape your employer’s policies and decisions. And you can join the bargaining team to ensure you and your colleagues can defend and improve your working conditions.

I want to remind you again that your pay will stay with the current RCMP system and will not be transferred to Phoenix. Take a minute to review other quick facts on our Frequently Asked Questions Page.

I can’t wait for us to get to know each other better and start working together. Welcome to PIPSC!

Better together.

Debi Daviau
President


6 October 2017
Radio-Canada and the CBC have reported this week that Phoenix was “doomed from the start.” The reason? The business case prepared in 2009 under the previous government “lacked proper risk analysis and was politically motivated.” In the words of former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page, “You look at this business case, you can drive trucks through some of the holes under the risk analysis.”

3 October 2017
In light of the Phoenix fiasco and as part of a commitment made to bargaining agents to make it easier for their members to obtain information about their pay, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSCPC) has just released its Pay Bulletin for September.

2 October 2017
The Institute has just filed two new policy grievances on Phoenix-related issues, accusing the Treasury Board of failing to implement the terms of the AV and SP Group collective agreements within the specified timeframe (120 and 90 days respectively).

29 September 2017
While much has been reported about the impact of the Phoenix pay system on current federal employees, comparatively little has been said about the harm done to retirees.

21 July 2017
Recently, I sent an opinion piece to the Globe and Mail about our members’ ongoing problems with the Phoenix pay system and what I consider to be one of the root causes of the debacle: outsourcing.

12 June 2017
The recent recommendations of yet another consultants’ report on Shared Services Canada (SSC) demonstrate that, when it comes to federal government outsourcing, there’s no shortage of private sector advice.