The PIPSC Board of Directors met on May 14 to discuss and plan for important PIPSC events and activities in light of restrictions on large in-person gatherings due to COVID-19.
The following decisions have been made regarding in-person events in 2020.
2020 Annual General Meeting:
- PIPSC staff are exploring options for a virtual AGM. There will be no reduction in the number of delegates.
- The virtual AGM will be held on December 5. This is one month later than previously scheduled to allow for organizing and later registration of delegates.
- Registration will be open from September 1 to October 16.
- The first order of business, following the President's speech, will be to deal with legal requirements such as the approval of audited financial statements and the appointment of auditors.
- Resolutions will be limited to those sponsored by the Board of Directors, the Group Executives, Regional Executives and Retired Members’ Guild.
- Presentations, other than the President's speech, will be provided electronically in advance of the AGM.
Regional and Steward Councils:
- Regional Councils and Steward Councils have been cancelled in 2020. Regions will implement online steward and member activities, where possible, to replace some elements of Councils.
Other in-person meetings including Group Annual General Meetings:
- All in-person meetings are suspended until August 31, 2020.
- In-person meetings with more than 50 people in attendance are suspended until December 31, 2020. Constituency body executives are encouraged to replace these meetings with online equivalents such as Zoom.
- The Board will meet prior to August 31 to evaluate conditions for hosting in-person meetings and events with fewer than 50 participants for the remainder of 2020. No bookings for such meetings can be made until the Board has issued its instructions.
We have also discussed the appropriateness of purchasing PIPSC-branded personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, hand sanitizer or other COVID-19 paraphernalia as visibility items for members. The President has determined that members wishing to use PIPSC funds to purchase such visibility items will need to submit a business case to the Office of the President (president@pipsc.ca) identifying how such purchases comply with PIPSC policies, how the material would be distributed without putting members or representatives at greater risk for exposure, and how the purchase and distribution of such items will meet the objective of raising PIPSC visibility in the workplace.