PIPSC offers union education for different interests and skill levels. We are working hard to expand and evolve our education program, and courses will be added to the catalogue as they are developed.
If you have ideas for course topics you would like to see, please send us a message at education@pipsc.ca. We would love to hear from you! If you have a specific training need that is not covered by the courses in this catalogue, you can fill out our online training request form.
For questions about how to access any of the courses you see in this catalogue, please reach out to your Regional Training, Education, and Mentoring Chair.
Courses for stewards
PIPSC offers an introductory training course, and several specialized courses at regional labour schools to support stewards with their core duties.
Please note that course lengths may vary based on the needs of the group and other circumstances.
Basic Steward Training (BST)
Course length: 3 days (includes 2.5 hours of classroom time and a 3-hour online prerequisite course)
This introductory course provides an overview of the steward’s roles and responsibilities and gives new stewards the tools and skills they need to get started in their role.
You must complete this course to become a steward and access Labour School courses.
The BST is normally offered three times a year in the National Capital Region and twice a year in other regions.
Reach out to your region’s Training, Education, and Mentoring Committee (TEAM) to find out what’s being offered in your region.
Building effective consultation teams
Course length: 1 day
Union–management consultation can be a good forum for raising workplace issues, sharing advice about programs, policies and procedures, and addressing concerns that matter to co–workers.
This course examines the purpose, roles and benefits of the Union-Management Consultation process and explores strategies for an effective and responsive consultation process.
Duty to accommodate
Course length: 2 days
Learn the legal framework for the duty to accommodate, what a good accommodation process and plan look like, what to do if the employer is not willing to provide reasonable accommodation, and how to address negative reactions to a member’s accommodation.
Grievance Handling
Course length: 2 days
Building up the courage to handle your first grievance? Tackled lots of cases but want to pick up more tricks? This hands–on course is a deep dive into assessing, investigating, and presenting complaints at the first two levels of the grievance procedure. You will learn best practices for different types of complaints, how to build a strong case and present it to management, and tips for empowering and engaging the grievor throughout the process.
How oppression and racism operate in my workplace
Course length: 1 day
This workshop explores how oppression operates at an individual and organizational level, including how interpersonal forms of oppression, stereotypes and micro–aggressions manifest in the workplace. Participants also consider how their identities and privilege affect how they experience the world around them.
How to be an inclusive union leader
Course length: 1 day
In this workshop, stewards reflect on ways to improve inclusion for members from equity groups, how to step up as allies to colleagues who are impacted by racism and other forms of discrimination, and strategies for challenging inequality in our workplaces and local unions.
Investigation Techniques
Course length:
In this workshop, stewards will learn about their role in the investigative process, explore key concepts and practical considerations related to evidence, identify foundations for successful investigation techniques, and develop the skills to effectively collect and analyze evidence and conduct investigations related to member cases.
Maximizing our collective agreements
Course length: half day
This workshop covers the structure and purpose of collective agreements, key principles and strategies for interpreting collective agreements, helping members understand their rights and entitlements under the collective agreement, and ways to leverage the collective agreement and their role as stewards to achieve better outcomes for the members they represent.
Performance Management
Course length: 1 day
Stewards are strategically placed to support co-workers with concerns about their performance assessment because you have insider knowledge about the work culture, staff, and management.
In this course, we will identify components of the Treasury Board’s Performance Management Program, red flags to look out for, and how stewards can effectively support members in the performance management process.
Preventing and addressing workplace harassment
Course length: 1 day
Stewards play a critical role in preventing harassment, supporting workers who are being harassed, protecting their rights (as well as protecting the rights of alleged harassers), and intervening to stop harassment.
In this course, we will explore the concept of harassment within the larger context of workplace violence, the roles and responsibilities of the different parties, recourse options for members experiencing harassment, and strategies for addressing harassment and fostering harassment-free workplaces.
The Essentials of Progressive Discipline
Course length: 2 days
Many stewards find discipline cases more difficult to deal with than other kinds of grievances because the outcomes can be more serious. This course aims to increase stewards’ confidence in representing members who are facing possible discipline. We will look at the steps and intent of the progressive discipline process, the steward’s role in that process, and how to support members using effective interviewing, communication, and investigation skills.
Courses for Executive Members & Committees
PIPSC offers a suite of leadership courses for members of constituent body executives and committees. We will add more training topics and modules over time. Please feel free to get in touch with us at education@pipsc.ca with your suggestions.
Bargaining
Course length: 2 days
Having a comprehensive bargaining strategy is key to a successful round of negotiations. In this training, bargaining committees preparing for collective bargaining will learn the ins and outs of the bargaining process and legal framework, the roles and responsibilities of bargaining team members, how to work well as a team, make sound decisions under pressure, improve communication with members, and develop the necessary skills and abilities to reach a deal that the members will ratify.
This course can be delivered online or in–person. The course is 2 days in total but may be split into multiple sessions, depending on the format and needs of the group.
Core training for Constituent Body Executives
Course length: 2 days
This 2–day course equips constituent body executive members with the tools required to carry out their roles and responsibilities with integrity. Participants will learn about the purpose, roles, functions, and structure of constituent body executives within PIPSC and delve into key skills such as planning and running meetings, time management, working as a team, and communicating with members.
Conflict-Ready Executives
Course length: half day workshop
This workshop explores the value of conflict for effective group functioning, how our personal beliefs about conflict shape our response to it, the kinds of conflict executives struggle with, and how we can respond productively to conflict as an executive. This course can be delivered online or in–person.
Leading as a Team
Course length: half day workshop
In this workshop, executive members explore power and the responsibility that comes with it, how we work in teams and how to balance our leadership styles to engage the membership and work effectively across diversity. This course can be delivered online or in–person.
Leadership Essentials
Course length: 1.5 days
Who am I as a leader? Who are we as a constituent body? How do we fit into the broader movement? Learn how to use the power of your elected position to build power and strengthen solidarity in the union, in the labour movement and in our communities.
Courses for Workplace Health & Safety and Wellness
In the works: Mental health in the workplace
We are working on a course that will raise awareness about mental health issues impacting members at work and explore strategies for fostering psychological health and safety in the workplace and supporting members who are facing mental health challenges.
In the works: Training for health & safety committee representatives
The education team is working on developing training for health & safety committee representatives. We will add a course description when the training is ready.
Specialized topics
Speaking Truth To Science: Advancing Scientific Integrity In Our Workplaces
Course length: 1 day
This training is for stewards, consultation teams, and group executives that operate under a scientific integrity policy. Participants will increase their knowledge of scientific integrity, the right to speak, and how to handle policy breaches. Folks will also develop strategies for advancing scientific integrity through consultation, stewarding, and building member awareness of the issues.
Online Learning on your own time
PIPSC offers online learning courses for any member through our learning management system, Canvas. You can work on courses at your own pace and connect with other PIPSC members through discussion forums. See our online learning page to learn more about how to register and what online courses we are currently offering.
Other learning opportunities for PIPSC members
Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
The CLC offers courses for members of affiliated unions, including PIPSC. Click here for more information on CLC courses.
Joint Learning Program (JLP)
The Joint Learning Program (JLP) provides a unique opportunity for unionized public servants and their managers in the Core Public Administration to come together to build a healthier, more productive workplace. To learn more about the workshops that the JLP offers click here.