CSC National Consultation Team Fall 2021 Newsletter
Greetings CSC PIPSC members! In this era of virtual meetings, social distancing, and COVID19
fatigue, it has been very difficult to interact with our members. However, your consultation team
has been busy behind the scenes at the local, regional and national levels and I would like to
take this opportunity to give you a brief overview of some of the highlights.
While the majority of PIPSC members at CSC were deemed both critical and essential, there
were some who were forced to work from home. Over the past few months there have been
many meetings with NHQ about how to enable CSC staff to return to the workplace in a safe
manner (The New Normal). There was an Advisory committee set up to oversee this, and three
main sub-committees to address these areas: People Management, Administrative
Workspaces, and IT. Initially these meetings were occurring twice weekly and are mostly now
every two weeks. Various members of the Consultation team sat in on these meetings, as
sometimes there were two or three happening at the same time. These meetings involved all
unions and management nationally. They have helped to establish the framework by which we
will see members returning to the workplace, and also established how management will
determine whether someone can work a hybrid model (part from home/part in the workplace),
solely from home, or solely at the workplace. We ironed out some concerns with regard to the
vaccination policy that the Federal Government implemented in order to ensure that our
members will be supported regardless of their vaccination status. A lot has been accomplished
but there will be some hiccups along the way as it would be impossible to account for all
examples. PIPSC has committed to support its members in this regard. If you ask for
accommodation with regards to your vaccine status AND it is denied, please get in touch with
the team that has been established at PIPSC; they will be in charge of spearheading this across
the country.
The new Workplace Violence and Prevention Program was launched on January 1st, 2021 by
the Treasury Board, replacing the previous Harassment policy. Unfortunately, it was done
without allowing for time to advise staff and management of how it works. CSC engaged its
union partners and formulated a mandatory online training program that you have probably
received in your CSC email. Unfortunately there have been some cases nation-wide that have
had to abide by the new process, which has been lengthy due to the lack of comprehension of
the new policy. We have tabled our concerns with the National Health and Safety Policy
Committee, the National Advisory Committee on Ethics, and the Steering Committee for
Workplace Mental Health Injuries, as well as with the Assistant Commissioner of Health
Services, and Commissioner Kelly. We are actively engaged in discussions to make this a better
program for all staff with the intention of helping to make our organization a healthy and
respectful place to work.
The passing of Bill C-83 a few years ago resulted in increased funding for Health Services over
a seven year period, we are now in year four; to date, a Health Services Manager (WP-06) has
been hired for each institution across the country and are responsible for overseeing both
physical and mental health departments.
The CS group has recently undergone some restructuring in the regions. All accounts are that it
is going well so far with some growing pains - competitions were held and the new CS-03 and
CS-04 positions have been filled. We continue to await a decision on whether these positions
will be excluded or not. The CS to IT conversion is in progress and there have been no
members lost or downgraded through this process. The CS group has recently undergone
some restructuring in the regions. All accounts are that it is going well so far with some growing
pains - competitions were held and the new CS-03 and CS-04 positions have been filled. We
continue to await a decision on whether these positions will be excluded or not. The CS to IT
conversion is in progress and there have been no members lost or downgraded through this
process.
PIPSC and Technical Services have also been engaged in making sure that proper equipment
and pandemic supplies have been available and barriers in reducing covid transmission with
institutions and offices. In correlation with the National Health and safety committee members
with PIPSC representation on the committee.
We have some active and strong stewards across the country and I would like to take this
opportunity to thank each and every one of you for the work you have done to help your
colleagues - your contributions have not gone unnoticed, and are very much appreciated -
THANK YOU!!
I want to remind all our members that PIPSC is only as strong as its members - YOU ARE THE
UNION. The pandemic has made it difficult for everyone with both work and family
commitments, but I am hopeful that moving forward we can make a strong presence and effect
change; in this respect I implore each of you to consider what talent you could offer up at this
time to be more active and supportive of your union. Consider applying to become a steward,
participate in your local Occupational Health and Safety Meetings, volunteer to co-host a lunch
and learn or other activity, collaborate with your colleagues to compile a list of changes to make
your workplace more inclusive and respectful - and share these suggestions with your
managers, or perhaps get involved with your bargaining team to help make a better Collective
Agreement... Every single positive action has an impact, which effects change, and therefore
makes us stronger and BETTER TOGETHER.
I, along with your consultation team, are committed to ensuring that there is an open line of
communication between management and staff. Please reach out to a steward if you have
concerns and we will assist them to find the appropriate path towards a resolution for you. I wish
all of you health and happiness in these uncertain times, and my team looks forward to working
with you in the months ahead.
Gary Desbiens, President of National Consultation
Cynthia Gagnon, Vice President
Ken Pearce, Communications Officer
Donald Moisan, Community Representative
Steven Frechette, Quebec Representative
Cindilou Sangster, Ontario Representative
Robert Scott, Prairie Region Representative
Ben Spicer, Prairie Region Representative
Phil Johnson, Pacific Representative
Atlantic Representative, CS - VACANT
Atlantic Representative, SH - VACANT
Quebec Region Representative, SH - VACANT
Ontario Region Representative, CS, VACANT
Pacific Region Representative, CS - VACANT
National Capital Region Representative, CS - VACANT
National Capital Region Representative, SH - VACANT
Better Together