SH Group 2018 AGM Minutes
SH Group AGM Minutes
16 June 2018 Hilton Lac Leamy Gatineau QC
1. Welcome from President Bouchard at 9:05 am. Speakers list will be observed. Meeting rules of engagement were reviewed.
2. Introductions and Roll Call. Everyone attending introduced themselves. Delegates: Rina Abdulnour, Glen Boorman, Joanne Bouchard, Rene Campbell, Jennifer Cantwell, Marc Desrosiers, Adam Fenwick, Bruno Gagnon, Adel Ghali, Selena Glover, Terri Gobeil, Loretta Harris, Brian Harvey, Lynn Huff, Terry Hupman, Colleen Leinenweber, Eric Massey, Jeremy Mayer, James McGrath, Colin Muise, Lynn Ohlson, Patty Poudrier, Gerry Saunders, Pamilla Schille, Ginette Tardif, Patty Thomas, Sherry Thomas, Ayman Wishah, Jason Wong, Daisy Yee. Observers: Yadwinder Cheema, Laurina Eskow, Rachelle Wall. Negotiator: JP Leduc
3. Approval of Agenda. Motion: Joanne Bouchard, Gerry Saunders. Carried.
4. Approval of Minutes of 2017 SH Group AGM. Motion: Brian Harvey, Eric Massey. Carried.
5. Business Arising from Previous Minutes: none.
6. Report of the President. PIPSC advocacy has led to more assistance with Phoenix issues. We continue to lobby the decision makers about Phoenix. Canada’s public service is the most effective in the world. President Daviau and Scott Brison have announced they will collaborate to achieve a sustainable new pay system. Fortunately, Bill C-27 (pension changes for crown corporations) is expected to die on the order paper. CLC wants a national pharmacy program. SH Group CA expires Sept. 30, 2018; bargaining will be discussed today. Each executive member has additional responsibilities; those were reviewed. Focus groups on bargaining have been held across the country. Subgroup presidents meeting was held May 7 here in Ottawa.
7. Employment Wellness Support Program (EWSP) / Bargaining Update / MOU on Security of Northern Nurses. Lynn Ohlson presented EWSP. The previous (Harper) government was trying to introduce a new sick leave and disability plan, Bill C-59. That was derailed, fortunately, with the defeat of the Harper government. We re-branded everything as EWSP, the Employee Wellness Support Program. Half our members don’t have enough sick leave to get to LTD, especially young new employees, and especially female. PIPSC worked with TB for an MOA. Spilt up into three teams: an advisory team, strictly PIPSC, with a member from each group and some PIPSC staff. It provides specific direction to the technical committee, which has both union and TB members, including actuaries and pension specialists. One day a week, three members from the advisory team sit in with the technical team to make sure that what the advisory team wants is being done. The steering committee consists of the presidents of unions who signed similar MOAs; it is high level and provides overall direction to the technical committee. In the previously proposed Bill C-59, it was to be imposed by legislation, with six sick days, a carryover of two, and a short-term disability plan type, administered by external insurer. EWSP, on the other hand, will be negotiated and ratified, with nine sick days, a carryover of three, and the plan type is salary continuance, administered internally. Salary continuance means 26 weeks of 100% leave with pay. Have to be sick for more than three days to qualify for EWSP. If three days or less, the leave comes from the nine discretionary days. Chronic or episodic illnesses are exempt from having to use discretionary days. Bill C-59 had ominous provisions - the first week, no pay; 100% pay in weeks two to seven, 70% pay in weeks 8-26. Leave with pay - no. Pensionable - no. Sick banks - eliminated. EWSP, on the other hand is 100% pay for all. Leave with pay – yes. Pensionable - yes. Sick banks – to be negotiated. With regard to sick banks, we want people who have more than 26 weeks in their banks to be able to use them. The nine discretionary days are for one-off illnesses, and can carry over three. Members over 65 do not have access to LTD; this has to be looked at. Family-related leave is to increase by one day to six. Everyone will get to vote on this. Trying to get things changed at NJC is complicated. We have been meeting now for a year. When we first started meeting with TB, we established guiding principles: the employee is honest, credible and does not want to be sick. Disability management is something most departments don’t do well; when you go back to work, it’s you who has to negotiate with your manager about any accommodation needed. We want to keep managers out of it; we want it done by EWSP. Deadline for completion of work on EWSP will probably be extended to December. Might be at least 2021 before EWSP becomes operational. Medical appointments still have to be looked at. 26 weeks is per illness and per occurrence; if another illness, will have another 26 weeks. Vote on acceptance will be PIPSC-wide but also by group. Our understanding right now is whatever group accepts it, gets it. We think it best if it’s rolled out to all of PIPSC at the same time. We feel EWSP will be much better than even the existing current plan. It has to be spread to members that this is a positive thing. Need to get info out to all members; will have to be a ratification package to explain it/educate the people who will be voting. There will be an email address to request someone to come and give a presentation on EWSP. There are plans to make a professional video on EWSP for distribution/educational purposes. Complications with pregnancy will be treated just like every other sick leave. We are cognizant of timelines but will not rush this.
{Colin Muise: “The time taken by Lynn Ohlson on this has been incredible; would like to publicly thank her.” –Extended applause-}
JP Leduc did the bargaining team update. The bargaining team is in place. Names of members of the bargaining team were reviewed. We’re working on the survey. We’re meeting in the summer. We need to be ready. We want to get to the bargaining table. We want to meet employer in the October-December timeframe. We will be serving notice to bargain next week. TB people arrive at the bargaining table not ready; they take two out of the four days just to get ready. We’re looking at how we can be more efficient. We’re there for four days and we end up meeting for half a day, very frustrating. When we meet in the fall, we’re looking at really bargaining. We’re looking at this round as “normal bargaining.” There will be an election in Oct. 2019. Therefore, to get a deal before that, it has to be done in May or early June of 2019. If the government is serious about going into the next election with labour peace, we can make it happen but it will cost them. Phoenix is an issue for our members. Therefore a 1.5 % increase is not acceptable to get a deal, going forward. We’re also trying to find an innovative way to get to a national rate of pay for OP/NUs still affected. It’s about being prepared. The bargaining team is very well positioned moving forward; they are prepared to go now. We want a good economic increase. Options will be analyzed as we go forward. There is still lots of political debate to be had.
Ginette Tardif discussed the MOU signed on security of northern nurses. Progress has been made on this. In facilities not owned by the government, security guards are not employees of the government. But now, there will be standards for all security guards. Also will be able to call in agency security guards if the community can’t provide them. Other MOU is to change hours of work so as to pay less overtime. We agreed to a specific MOU for a pilot project. Criteria for communities to be involved include: security, stable staffing, and adequate support staff.
8. Guest speaker. Debi Daviau, PIPSC National president. The favourite part of my job is interacting with people at events like this. Phoenix is still a huge problem as we all know. We’ve been looking at systems the government already has, as an entirely new system would take five to seven years, a timeframe we are unwilling to accept. There are systems in the RCMP, DND and elsewhere already there that could possibly be used/modified. We’re also looking at other interim solutions. We’re trying to convince the government to use the $16M dedicated to Phoenix so that this is work done by public servants. And to make sure they are actually going to have to go to a new system. We have a seat at the table of decision makers. The government has committed to hiring more people to help with figuring out what your pay should be. We have a lot of stewards who have allocated a lot of time to helping people with Phoenix issues. We met with the commissioner of CSC this week to advocate for priority for members within CSC, esp. nurses. Advocacy has no end and takes up a lot of time on behalf of members; it’s a big part of my time. It’s helpful if we stand together on our efforts to advocate for members. Negotiations - We now have a formal body that is doing strategic bargaining together. We intend to capitalize on solidarity to achieve results. With lessons learned, we want to improve upon our previous results for this round. Don’t know what this round of bargaining will hold for us as we haven’t started bargaining yet, although PSAC has. Having to deal with lower level TB officials for the moment. We’re working hard to re-build TB relationships. EWSP negotiations are advancing. Hopeful it will be a productive round of bargaining. Hopeful to advance on things we gained ground on, e.g., national rates of pay. Ability to pay retroactive pay could be an issue in next round. Government was initially in denial about Phoenix; it was disgusting. But latest report was bang-on. Workplace 2.0 - I was in Calgary a few weeks ago meeting with the regional director for CRA. I walked the floor; it was a quad type format. No place to put winter clothing, bicycle parts (seat/wheel). It was a very small workplace. The activity-based work spaces were even worse. No designated place to do your work, no nameplate; very disrespectful. You have to fight for a work spot. Public sector health care plan negotiations are under way. As the largest plan in the country, we ought to have the best provisions but that is not the case. Savings we’re looking at would not take anything away from plan members, e.g., savings in administration or generic drugs. A separate process for dental plan negotiations is under way (PSAC not involved). Diversity and inclusiveness – We have done a lot of work on that in the past couple of years, focusing on youth to ensure their participation long-term. Need to have PIPSC events welcoming to everybody, not just one type of person who likes to have fun. Task force for systemic barriers. Still working on tax fairness, the ability of Canada to collect money to fund programs, from off-shore tax havens. Public science – We are helping to advance our interests in this area. Need to prevent muzzling and encourage ability of members to travel to conferences. We’re amplifying our message: we can’t just be one spokesperson. We have to make sure that our message is amplified in a number of different ways, such as digital engagement, campaigns, action plans, and have members behind us as we go forward. Government relations are important these days, trying to convince decision makers that they should go our way. Civil society validators, who come out in favour/support of what PIPSC says, help us come off as credible. Get more and more exposure in the national and regional media. Questions/comments from the floor. Comment: The biggest issue with Workplace 2.0 is noise, as well as huge confidentiality issues, quite disturbing. Have asked for telework but is not promising, the two seem to go together. Response: The prime minister put in his letter to the minister of labour that she was to explore alternative work arrangements. Telework is part of my lobbying efforts with ministers. If the employer wants 2.0, then let people work at home. Comment: I just want to ask an opinion about Phoenix. HC/ISC has an excellent in-house pay advisor team. The departments are willing to fix the problem(s) but have another department telling them no, this is our baby, you can’t fix it. We need access to Phoenix. Response: Over time, some departments have been given more access. Working with the Public Service Pay Centre has been difficult; information from them has not been accurate. You’re right, we need more access.
9. Legal Update on Phoenix. Presented by Simon Ferrand. When you think you’re making headway, the government doesn’t seem to know what they’re doing. We’re doing mediation and grievances on Phoenix. We fix one problem, others are created. They also weren’t aware of the extent of their problems with pay. The Institute has taken a lot of steps, including committees involving pension and tax implications. The government has promised no one will be negatively affected by tax implications. Very frustrating, time consuming. Will there be a class action suit? Union thinks we’re prohibited from doing that due to legislation. Because federal public servants against the government is not allowed by law. But non-unionized workers, who don’t have access to the grievance process, can, e.g., students, casuals. Law firm out of Quebec handling this is having an impact with this class action lawsuit. Damages vs. interest. Loss of salary is not a termination or demotion. But loans you have to take on due to Phoenix can be covered, not technically as interest but as damages, i.e., out of pocket expenses, achieved through consultation. Have filed some policy grievances over Phoenix, and have asked for punitive damages. The employer knew Phoenix wasn’t going to work; they also negotiated pay increases and timelines they knew they could not meet. Will make argument as firmly and forcibly as we can. Part of the problem is where is the evidence. There is a designated ERO in NCR who deals exclusively with Phoenix. Figuring out retro/back pay can be very difficult. Everyone’s case is unique. It can be a year or two before a member realizes they have a Phoenix/pay issue. Questions/comments from the floor. Question: What about Australia? Are there lessons learned from there? Response: Lesson learned is it’s not working, and it didn’t work there. But the government won’t say they’ve looked at it and learned from someone else. Also didn’t work in Yukon. Lobbying politicians can work. Activate all forms of pressure.
10. Update on By-laws. Motion to Remove 6.2.4. Selena Glover, Joanne Bouchard. Carried.
11. Resolution. There is a new department, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). Five nurses on the SH Group executive are mandated to come from different departments. This resolution asks that ISC is included as one of the larger groups. Health Canada will now be with the smaller groups.
Motion worded as follows:
Whereas a new department, “Indigenous Services Canada” has been formed that includes SH members;
Whereas the new department should have representatives on the SH executive;
And whereas the majority of Health Canada nurses have been transferred to Indigenous Services Canada;
Therefore be it resolved that By-Law 6.2.3 be amended as follows:
Of the five (5) nurses to be elected there will be one from VAC, one from CSC, one from Indigenous Services Canada, one NU-EMA, and one from all other departments, excluding VAC, CSC, and Indigenous Service Canada.
6.4 Term of Office: The term of office for elected Group Executive members shall be three years. One third of the Group Executive members will be elected each year as defined in 6.4.1.
6.4.1
In 2019, the following positions shall be elected: CSC Nursing, VAC Nursing, Occupational and Physical Therapy, and Social Work.
In 2020, the positions for Pharmacy, Psychology, Indigenous Services Canada Nursing, and Nursing (excluding NU-EMA) from any other department other than VAC, CSC, or Indigenous Services Canada, shall be elected.
In 2021, the position of Medicine, Nutrition and Dietetics, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine and NU-EMA shall be elected.
Attendu que des membres du groupe SH sont maintenant employés du nouveau Ministère «Services aux Autochtones Canada»
Attendu que l’exécutif du groupe SH devrait avoir un membre élu représentant du nouveau Ministère «Services aux Autochtones Canada»
Et Attendu que la majorité des infirmiers/infirmières de Santé Canada sont maintenant des employés de Services aux Autochtones Canada
Il est proposé de modifier les statuts 6.2.3 comme suit:
Parmi les cinq (5) représentants de la profession infirmière élus, un (1) travaille à Anciens Combattants Canada (ACC), un (1) à Service correctionnel Canada (SCC), un (1) NU EMA, un (1) au Services aux Autochtones Canada et un dans un ministère autre que ACC, SCC et Services aux Autochtones Canada.
6.4 Mandat : Le mandat des membres élus de l’Exécutif est de trois (3) ans. Un tiers de l’exécutif du Groupe est élu chaque année conformément au paragraphe 6.4.1.
6.4.1
En 2019, on élit les représentants de Profession infirmière de SCC et de AAC, de Ergothérapie et physiothérapie et de Service social.
En 2020, on élit les représentants de Profession infirmière de Services aux Autochtones Canada et des ministères autres que ACC, SCC et Services aux Autochtones Canada, et les représentants de Pharmacie et de Psychologie.
En 2021, on élit les représentants de Médecine, Nutrition et diététique, Art dentaire, Médecine vétérinaire et NU-EMA.
Motion: Ginette Tardif, Eric Massey. Carried.
12. Annual Financial Report. The treasurer presented her report and the new budget. Motion to accept the financial statements as presented. Selena Glover, Bruno Gagnon. Carried.
13. Update on the Activities of the Respective Professional Groups
Dentistry. Long-time Manager of Dental Benefits for NIHB is retiring. Position recently re-classified to EX-01 from EC-08. Acting will be appointed from DE staff prior to competition. The other EX dentist in the PS is the Chief Dental Officer at the Public Health Agency of Canada (EX-03). All other employee dentists are DEs with PIPSC. Contracting out is still a huge issue as dentists providing community-based intra-oral treatment will not travel to First Nations or Inuit communities for a DE salary.
Nutrition and Dietetics. Phoenix is an issue, e.g., overtime put in July not dealt with until December. Also reimbursement for professional development and changing job roles and responsibilities. Outdated job descriptions from the 1960s don’t reflect what we do now. Retention is problematic for dietitians. New generic job descriptions skirt around issues. There are growing issues around chronic disease management. Contracting out is also an issue. There is a discrepancy in pay between the feds and the province, $20K or more. Next steps include connecting with ND members. We want more engagement with the group to counteract apathy.
Medicine. At VAC, we negotiated a side table at consultation where we got our college fees paid because it is a requirement of the job and continuing education paid because it is a requirement of the college. However this has not been consistently paid. Also, coverage for liability insurance has not been paid due to the TB Indemnification Policy, and a lot of members are not comfortable with that.
DND Nursing. Regional rates of pay are still an issue. Members are still not 100% sure what they should be paid. Professional development – need nine months notice to go on a course, which is unacceptable. Reimbursement of licensing fees always seems to be a problem, sometimes paid more than once. Contracting out is also an issue. This year it seems a lot more Calian contractors want to be public servants. There is a discrepancy with nurses being paid by province.
VAC Nursing. All VAC physicians and nurses attended a three-day VAC training session here in Ottawa; it was a good session. There was a focus group on May 15 here in Ottawa for PIPSC members. VAC has hired 400 new staff in last few years. It is good to have them, new doctors, nurses and OTs. Regional rates of pay and Phoenix have been problems in some areas; we’re working on these issues.
CSC Nursing. We just hired a bunch of new staff, including new nurses. But we’re not staffed for the degree of care expected. When budget money came out, management didn’t know how to manage budgets. Many new stewards, more people interested in the union than we ever had. We’re having Lunch and Learns. We’re connecting and talking to other NUs in places, especially those that don’t have stewards.
CSC Nursing Quebec. We definitely have problems with Phoenix in Quebec. We’re also losing members; recruitment and retention is a problem because we can’t hire due to Phoenix. The employer says we’re the employer of choice but that doesn’t really help. We’re getting more stewards which does help. Members are getting mobilized which is good but they’re ticked off.
HC/ISC : In consultation, it seems like we’re still in bargaining. There is a lot of work because of the new department. Interestingly, senior management was not aware that the new department (ISC) was going to happen; they found out in the newspapers. There is still a lot of work to be done because ISC does not have all its own services yet, e.g., Health Canada to continue to provide pay services for ISC. We have to work with both HC and the new administration (ISC). For bargaining, we’re doing focus groups through teleconferencing. Remember that, as a bargaining team, we represent all members, not just our own profession.
NU-EMA. There are now over 600 medical adjudicators and we’re hiring more. We work very closely in a production environment, but are held to professional standards. Management has no way to assess the quality of our work. After the Auditor General report, they decided to address that. EMA-01s do the assessments. EMA-02s are consultants. EMA-01s are not being allowed to move to EMA-02 positions. NU-EMAs work for ESDC. A medical adjudicator has become vice-president of consultation for the entire department. Recruitment and retention is a problem to the point where they have removed the baccalaureate degree requirement to do the job except in ON. We’re trying to address this through consulation. It’s not really a job conducive to a newly graduated nurse but the employer is still hiring new grads. Deprofessionalization has been a huge issue. A medical adjudicator was classified at a PM level under PSAC. Only after an expensive human rights court battle, we were recognized as nurses and moved over to PIPSC. The employer is always trying save money and churn out numbers without looking at how fairly and reasonably the assessments are done.
Occupational and Physical Therapy. OPs are a small group. We have had one long outstanding issue, a national rate of pay. We are very grateful to President Daviau, our negotiator JP Leduc, and to Colin Muise, president of the bargaining team. Thank you everybody.
Pharmacy. The scope of practice has been changing. It is still happening, more quickly in some regions than others. We’re also doing continuity of care and have expanding roles. We need more technicians, have to convince employers to hire more. We want and need more training. There are expanded clinical services, as well as such things as blood pressure and diabetes medication changes. The most limited scope of practice seems to be in Quebec. The whole country is involved with the aging offender program. We are also responsible to de-prescribe meds if they’re deemed inappropriate.
Psychology. PSs are disappearing fast, being replaced by people without the same qualifications. This is a big problem we have to confront. Recruitment and retention is a huge problem.
Social Work. Previous speakers today have raised concerns that we also have. Working on communication to get more solidarity across the country. Watering down educational requirements is a big problem. In 2006, you needed a masters; now people without any degree are being hired. We’re making less per year than people with less education, $10-15K.
Veterinary Medicine. There has been a lot of talk about watering down educational qualifications and deprofessionalization. A couple concerns of VMs: (1) Article 18 (professional development) and continuing education. VMs’ licensing body requires continuing education each year. The employer is not sponsoring anything outside the Ottawa area; it is very restrictive. (2) Pay equity with CFIA: there is a big difference between the two employers/agreements. A focus group with VMs is planned.
14. New Business. After passing the resolution today, we’ll need to revisit the membership data in each department.
15. Next SH Group AGM will be June 1, 2019 in Winnipeg to recognize the 100th Anniversary of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.
16. Adjournment. President Bouchard thanked everyone for attending. Motion to adjourn at 5:01 pm. Bruno Gagnon, Jennifer Cantwell. Carried.