Karim Chaggani

Good Day Fellow CS Members,

I am asking for your continued support in your vote for me as a Member-at-Large on the National Executive for this upcoming election.

I have been on the CS Executive for the past three years - holding the portfolios of Member at Large, Communications Officer, and currently, Classification Officer.

I have been a Steward since 2008, and involved in the following:

● CS Group Executive (2015-Current)
● CS Bargaining team, in the 2017 round, prior to the round just completed.
● CS Subgroup Vancouver, President (Current)
● Vancouver Branch Executive
● BC/Yukon Regional Executive
● ITSP Committee (2015- Current)
● SSC National Consultation member representing Cybersecurity Branch (Current)

I believe there is much work to be done in the CS Group. We are facing many issues, some of which are:

● Contracting out continues to be an issue. We have an MOA and article 30 in our collective agreement, but we need to continue to push the employer to be accountable and make sure we are doing the work that CS members should be doing. The contracting out action team has worked hard to get responses from departments as to why they’ve contracted out and brought these reasons to the table with TB not responding.

● We celebrated 50 years of the CS group. Now we need to consider what the next 50 years look like, and how we can make it the absolute best for our CS members going forward.

Pay Parity - If someone is doing the same work, often sitting side by side, regardless of the collective agreement they fall under, the pay should be equal. We will need to push on that recommendation, from the PIC, in the next round of bargaining.

We need to fight for our work and be able to be part of the exciting work like Cloud, AI, Security, and all the new technologies coming our way - not just let contract companies take this work on.

We need to keep asking for training. We need to be ready for the work and technologies that are identified in GOC IT Strategic plans and departmental plans and use these for getting the training.

We need to lobby our MPs, even if it is virtually, highlighting the important work we do and try to get Canadians on our side, going into another round of bargaining for our current collective agreement that will end at the end of 2021.

In my current term, I have met with members in various departments or emailed when meeting was not possible. I’ve (pre-covid) visited members in Vancouver, Surrey at RCMP, Victoria at the DND/CF Base, Corrections in Abbotsford and more. I am always available by a phone call or email.

I will continue to push for answers on these things and serve the best I can for all CS members, and forward to our service to Canadians.

If you have any questions, please contact me anytime at: Karim@pipsc.ca

Sincerely,
Karim Chaggani