After nearly a year of discussions (and 3 years of delays), the Treasury Board continues to reject forward-thinking strategies to upgrade the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP). 

The PSHCP is reviewed every 5 years. The Treasury’s Board’s opposition means more delays to the review process and that members remain covered by an outdated plan which hasn’t been meaningfully updated in 16 years.

While the Treasury Board has been open to discussions and some benefits improvements, they remain opposed to changes necessary to modernize the plan, deliver better results at lower costs, and meet the changing needs of members. 

This includes measures to direct money away from excessive drug costs, and toward things that actually make a difference to plan members. Most large employers including Bell Canada, the CBC/Radio-Canada, and the Ontario Public School system have introduced strategies to lower runaway drug spending without reducing access. These include independent reviews of certain high-cost drugs by specialist pharmacists, or partnering with mail-order pharmacies to offer lower prices on routine medications. 

On the flip side, the PSHCP continues to pay for most drugs whatever the price – resulting in a plan that prioritises pharma's profits over delivering comprehensive care.

Modernizing how the plan treats costly drugs means savings – and means more money for reinvestments in greater health coverage and member benefits.

We continue to work with our partners to ensure that this review addresses these and other changes that plan members are calling for.

The PSHCP is an employer-sponsored health care plan for current and retired federal public service employees and their families. Benefits for public service workers are not negotiable under the law, so PIPSC and its partners play an active advisory role during periods of review and bring forward your suggestions and concerns.

On April 4, 2022, we submitted a detailed and thorough set of comments to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) on the rules around pay equity complaints. All employees deserve the right to pay that is free from gender-based discrimination. Pay equity is also known as equal pay for work of equal value. That means if two different jobs contribute equal value to their employer's operations then the employees in those positions should receive equal pay.

The introduction of a new federal proactive pay equity legislation has been a valuable progressive step toward the elimination of gender-based discrimination in public and private federally-regulated workplaces. Although the Pay Equity Act and related regulations have been in effect since September 2021, there is a pressing need to design a set of flexible and effective rules surrounding pay equity proceedings before the CHRT.

We have carefully reviewed the CHRT’s draft rules of how pay equity cases are handled and developed a number of new proposals and amendments.

Read our submission

Our recommendations aim to set clear and transparent rules around how cases are handled and ensure that complaints are looked at within reasonable timelines. PIPSC also felt that having clearing rules around when refusals can be reconsidered was key to a fair process. We specifically propose several definitions of key concepts, clear rules for service and filing, as well as a new time calculation method. Our submission also includes new proposals on hearing adjournment rules, mediation during case management conferences and more reasonable timelines related to parties’ participation in inquiries to referrals. Finally, we propose specific procedural rules related to reconsideration requests intended to revoke or vary decisions or orders issued by the Tribunal.

We thank the Tribunal for this opportunity to present our views on an issue of significant importance to our members and to Canadians as a whole.

On March 29, 2022, President Carr, accompanied by PIPSC staff specialists Richard Gaboton and Sara Delaney, appeared before the government’s Task Force reviewing the Employment Equity Act.

The Employment Equity Act was intended to promote fairness, equality and access in federally-regulated workplaces by identifying and removing systemic barriers to participation and promotion for marginalized groups. We believe employment equity is an important tool to identify and eliminate systemic barriers for workers who face discrimination. It complements the collective bargaining and consultation processes to ensure fairness and equity at work.

After highlighting our ongoing work on this issue, President Carr outlined our concerns, analysis and recommendations to the Task Force about staffing and employment equity in the public service.

President Carr’s remarks called out the lack of timely and effective action from the employer on racism and discrimination in the public service. This is nothing new to many federal public service employees. A long-standing history of alienation among BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) public servants need to be recognized and addressed.

The representation of equity-seeking groups in the federal workplace cannot improve in the current context. The Federal Government must take decisive and immediate action to finally create a federal workplace that is diverse and inclusive.

We are currently working on a second submission to the Task Force that will provide additional details regarding our members’ experiences and concerns on this critical matter.

1. Fairer taxation and Investing in the Canada Revenue Agency: 
PIPSC members at the centre of solutions

We have long advocated for increased tax fairness and investing in the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to go after tax avoiders.

Budget 2022 makes banks and insurance companies pay a little bit more through a 1.5% increase in their corporate income tax rate and a 15% one-time tax on taxable income over $1 billion. That will mean $6.1 billion in new revenue over the next 5 years through fairer taxation. 

The budget also provides $1.2 billion for the CRA over the next 5 years to go after tax cheats and close tax loopholes. This is welcome news. Properly resourcing the CRA to go after tax cheats has been a central demand in our tax fairness campaign. 

All told, action on a fairer tax system is budgeted to raise $16 billion in revenues over the next 5 years. To every member who took action, this win is yours!

Yet, there is so much more to do. While the government has made a new commitment to examine a minimum tax regime, we still have a long way to go to achieve tax fairness. It’s time to change the game – you can learn more about our work on Tax Fairness here.

2. Strategic Policy Review:
Must not impact the level of services we deliver to Canadians

The past 2 years have shown how vital public service professionals are to Canada. When COVID-19 hit, PIPSC members were ready. You quickly pivoted to working remotely while getting critical new programs running in record time. Public service employees worked on health services, vaccines, research, and keeping our food supply safe.

The surprise announcement of a “Strategic Policy Review” – with projected revenues of up to $6 billion – is a concern to all Canadians who rely on public services. 

We all remember Harper’s strategic spending review. The Conservative government cut services for veterans, people on EI, and so many other Canadians while going after the jobs of 19,000 public servants.

We have serious questions about this review. And we will ensure the review is focused on making government work better – not making the public service smaller. 

3. Mental health supports for Black public service workers:
A positive step, but more must be done to make workplaces equitable and inclusive 

Budget 2022 provides $3.7 million over 4 years for a Mental Health Fund for Black federal public service workers. The program will operate through the Treasury Board but promises Black-led engagement, design, and implementation. 

This is the result of the strong advocacy of Black members of the Public Service. PIPSC along with other allies support the fight for the government to acknowledge the reality of systemic anti-Black racism in the public sector. Action must be taken to remedy the systemic issues that create discriminatory workplaces.

This is a positive step forward, but there’s more work to be done to create more equitable, diverse, and inclusive workplaces.

4. Public Sector Pension Investment Board:
Workers getting seats at the table

Another positive step forward in Budget 2022 was the expansion of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board from 11 to 13 members – adding 2 seats for representatives from public service unions. The government has promised to consult all federal bargaining agents to establish a fair process for selecting the new members. 

Many of us were shocked to learn that our pension plan is the sole owner of Revera Inc – a company that runs long-term care facilities for profit. We don’t want our pension to make money this way. 

Your pension protects your future. You work hard now, and your deferred salary needs to be there when you retire. We’re pleased to see that unions now have a seat at the table.

5. Science and research funding:
Some progress, but still well short of restoring Harper-era cuts

Budget 2022 invests $183.2 million over 7 years in the National Research Council (NRC) for low-carbon construction research. It also invests $144.4 million over 5 years to the NRC and Natural Resources to support research and development around critical minerals. 

The budget also includes a new initiative to explore ways to modernize the NRC and better integrate it with the work of “university researchers and business partners.” Further information will follow as there were no details included. PIPSC will continue to monitor this initiative to ensure public funds support public research.

Budget 2020 commits $34.6 million over 5 years towards Canada’s ability to protect our research, including establishing a Research Security Centre to provide advice and guidance to research institutions. These initiatives are part of a larger investment of $159.6 million next year and $33.4 million annually to protect Canada’s research and intellectual property from foreign threats.

Other new research investments in Budget 2022 include:

• $40.9 million over 5 years to the federal granting councils to support promising Black student researchers.
• $14.5 million over 5 years to support the Canadian High Arctic Research Station.
• $12 million over 2 years for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to investigate the latest detection of potato wart and help prevent its spread.

Overall we are happy to see that support for the broader Canadian science and research ecosystem remains a government priority. However, the cuts to public service science and research from the Harper era run so deep that this does not heal the wounds. Time and more details will show how much this budget supports the federal government’s own scientists and researchers.

6. Review of the Public Service Disclosure Protection Act:
Improving protection for whistleblowers in the public service

Budget 2022 commits $2.4 million over 5 years to a review of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act with the goal of providing better protection for whistleblowers. 

We look forward to working with the Treasury Board on making sure this review leads to concrete improvements and stronger protections for whistleblowers – people who, at great personal risk, provide an invaluable service and help make government work better for Canadians. 

The latest Stats Can report reveals an unacceptable reality: 1 in 4 women experience sexual harassment in the workplace. 

There is so much we have to do to stop sexual harassment at work, but research has shown that one of the best ways to stop these incidents is something that each and every one of us can do. It’s called bystander intervention: stepping in when someone is behaving inappropriately or aggressively.

That’s why PIPSC teamed up with Julie Lalonde, an internationally recognized women's rights advocate and educator, to host a new training on bystander intervention. She focused on how to recognize and intervene to stop sexual harassment in the workplace – because if we don’t step up for each other, we’ll never break the cycle. 

Watch the training below. 

OTTAWA, April 7, 2022 – Jennifer Carr, President of The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), welcomed progress in Budget 2022 on a fairer economic recovery, including new investments in CRA going after tax cheats, providing mental health help for Black public service workers, and expanding the Public Sector Pension Investment Board to include union representatives. But Carr expressed serious concern over the government’s Strategic Policy Review.

“Today’s budget makes some welcome progress, especially on investing in CRA to go after tax cheats, increased tax fairness and mental health support for Black public service workers,” said Carr. “But public service professionals have serious questions for the government on what exactly they plan to cut and hope the government doesn't plan to balance the budget on the backs of members of the public service.” 

“We were pleased to see a budget that moves forward on affordable housing and dental care while taking steps towards fairer taxation and implementing pharmacare,” said Carr. “But after public service professionals developed new programs and delivered emergency help to people in record time, it is disappointing the government continues to spend billions a year and rely on advice from costly consultants instead of Canada’s professional public servants.”

“Remote work has helped make progress on creating a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable public service. But we have concerns about whether the federal government has learned the right lessons from the past two years,” said Carr. “We were hoping to see a more consistent and coherent approach to policies around return to work and creating safe workplaces.”

Additionally, Carr hoped to see new investments in training and upskilling the public service and the restoration of critical science funding.

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For more information: Johanne Fillion, 613-883-4900 (mobile), jfillion@pipsc.ca

OTTAWA, April 6, 2022 – Jennifer Carr, President of The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), will be available to talk about how Budget 2022 will impact the delivery of public services Canadians rely on and the priorities of public service workers.

 “PIPSC has been calling for progress on building a more diverse and inclusive public service. We need to learn the right lessons from our experience during two years of pandemic and remote work,” said Carr. “Public servants are now looking for a coherent and coordinated approach for a safe return to offices.”

PIPSC has called for new investments in training and upskilling, so today’s public service professionals are prepared to succeed in the jobs of tomorrow. Carr added that PIPSC has been raising concerns about increasing expenditures on outsourcing and is looking to the budget for action to reduce this practice.

“Over-reliance on outsourcing to costly consultants creates lower quality services for Canadians. This has led to debacles like the Phoenix pay scandal,” said Carr. “The outsourcing bill for Phoenix is now over $650 million, for a system that never worked.”

PIPSC previously released its pre-budget submission outlining priorities for its members and for all Canadians.

This included calling for investments in health care and making life more affordable while making real progress towards fairer taxation. PIPSC is also looking to the government to restore $800 million in science funding to federal departments and agencies to bring in-house spending back to 2010-2011 levels.

What:         President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service available for comment on Budget 2022

Where:       By phone or by ZOOM 

When:        April 7, 2022 or in advance of the budget

Who:          Jennifer Carr, PIPSC President

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For more information: Johanne Fillion, 613-883-4900 (mobile), jfillion@pipsc.ca

Overview of the changes

For Treasury Board employees in the CP (formerly AV), IT (formerly CS), NR, RE, SH and SP groups, a new agreement provides for 20% of your excess vacation and compensatory leave to be cashed out for five years in a row on March 31 each year (from 2022 to 2026). The amount cashed out will be calculated based on the value of 20% of your excess leave hours on March 31 of each year. On March 31, 2026 (the last cash-out) all remaining excess hours in your leave banks will be cashed-out.

One of the goals of this agreement is to inspire PIPSC members to take the leave that they were unable to take during the pandemic, thus reducing the amount of banked excess leave. Another goal is to alleviate the tax impacts of your cash-out by gradually liquidating your bank by 20% each year rather than 100% of the excess leave all at once.

To begin, there are two important questions you need answered, and the answers are different depending on which bargaining unit (group) you belong to:

Sample vacation leave cash-out calculation

Applies to: CP (formerly AV), IT (formerly CS), NR, RE and SP groups

The following sample calculation depicts a vacation leave bank cash-out:

1. On March 31, 2021 – let’s say your vacation leave bank had a total of 362.5 hours. This means that on top of your allowable carryover of 262.5 vacation hours – you had 100 excess vacation leave hours in your bank.
2. Let’s also say you used 20 hours of this excess vacation leave throughout the 2021-22 fiscal year, leaving you with 80 excess hours on March 31, 2022.
3. And finally, let’s not forget that you also earned your regular allotment of 187.5 vacation hours during the fiscal year (2021-22) and, for the purposes of this example, used 100 hours, leaving an excess of 87.5 hours for the 2021-22 fiscal year. 
4. There are two steps to calculate your cash-out on March 31, 2022:
   • The first step is a March 31, 2022 cash-out of the 87.5 hours of excess leave you earned during the 2021-22 fiscal year (as per item 3 above). 
   • The second step is a March 31, 2022 cash-out of 20% of all unused excess leave (earned prior to March 31, 2021). In this sample calculation, that’s 16 hours (20% of 80 hours as per item 2 above), leaving you with 64 excess hours to carry over to the next fiscal year.
   • You will be paid at the applicable salary rate effective on March 31, 2022.
5. After the cash-out, on April 1, 2022 you will have 64 hours excess leave (earned prior to March 31, 2021).
6. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, let’s say you do not use any of your excess leave hours (earned prior to March 31, 2021), but you do use your entire entitlement of 187.5 new vacation leave hours earned during the 2022-23 fiscal year.
7. On March 31, 2023 you will still have 64 excess hours (earned prior to March 31, 2021). The system will cash-out 20% of that amount, meaning 12.8 hours will be cashed out. You will be paid at the applicable salary rate effective on March 31, 2023.
8. On April 1, 2023 you will have 51.2 hours excess leave.
9. The two processes (the normal annual cash-out and the 20% cash-out of hours earned prior to March 31, 2021) will repeat annually until March 31, 2026. On that date, all remaining excess hours earned before March 31, 2021 will be cashed out.

Sample compensatory leave cash-out calculation

Applies to: CP (formerly AV), IT (formerly CS), NR, RE, SH and SP groups

The following sample calculation depicts a compensatory leave bank cash-out.

NOTE: For the IT group (formerly CS group) the compensatory leave carry-over limit is 37.5 hours. For all other groups, there is no carryover allowed, so all compensatory hours unused at the end of a fiscal year are “excess”.

1. On March 31, 2021 – let’s say your compensatory leave bank had an excess of 50 hours (remember, for IT members this would mean you had a balance of 87.5 hours because you are allowed to carryover 37.5 hours).
2. Let’s also say you used 20 hours of this excess leave throughout the fiscal year, leaving you with 30 excess compensatory hours on March 31, 2022.
3. And finally, let’s say that you also earned 20 more compensatory hours throughout the fiscal year (2021-22) and, for the purposes of this example, used 10 hours, leaving an excess of 10 hours for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
4. There are two steps to understand your cash-out on March 31, 2022:
   • The first step is to think about the 10 hours of excess compensatory leave you accumulated during the fiscal year (per item 3 above).  All our collective agreements have provisions allowing a little extra time for us to use compensatory leave accrued each fiscal year. So, unlike the vacation leave cash-out, you should not be receiving a March 31, 2022 cash-out of unused compensatory leave credits earned during the 2021-22 fiscal year. You will have the normal amount of time to use these credits each year before cash-outs occur in the normal manner.  Here is a chart that explains when unused compensatory leave credits (earned each fiscal year) will be cashed out for each group: 
     
     ANNUAL (NORMAL) COMPENSATORY LEAVE CASH-OUTS

     Group	Compensatory  carryover max	Compensatory accumulation cut-off date	Compensatory pay-out date
     AV, NR	0	Mar 31	Next Dec 31
     CS	37.5	Mar 31	Next Sep 30
     RE, SP, SH	0	Mar 31	Next Sep 30

   • The second step is a March 31, 2022 cash-out of 20% of all unused excess compensatory leave (earned prior to March 31, 2021). In this sample calculation, that’s 6 hours (20% of 30 hours, per item 2 above), leaving you with 24 excess hours to carry over to the next fiscal year.
   • You will be paid at the applicable salary rate effective on March 31, 2022.
5. After the cash-out, on April 1, 2022 you will have 24 hours excess compensatory leave (earned prior to March 31, 2021).
6. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, let’s say you use 12 hours of your excess compensatory leave (earned prior to March 31, 2021).
7. On March 31, 2023 you will still have 12 unused excess hours (earned prior to March 31, 2021). The cash-out will be 20% of that amount, meaning 2.4 hours will be cashed out. You will be paid at the applicable salary rate effective on March 31, 2023.
8. NOTE: Any unused excess compensatory leave earned in all subsequent fiscal years will be managed per item 4. i. above.
9. On April 1, 2023 you will have 9.6 hours excess compensatory leave.
10. The 20% cash-out of excess hours (earned prior to March 31, 2021) will repeat annually until March 31, 2026, when all remaining unused excess hours will be cashed out. 

General FAQs

The Board of Directors would like to thank all members for their efforts to create a safe workplace and community over the past two years.

Since the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) announced their vaccination policy last summer, PIPSC has had issues with both the policy and its implementation. There was no proper consultation, nor a comprehensive process of correctly identifying all the possible circumstances faced by our members. Appropriate solutions were not developed by the employer to deal with many individual situations.

It is unacceptable that the employer implemented a policy with such harsh impacts on our members without appropriate consultation. Our Employment Relations Officers have been, and continue to be, available to support members who find themselves in an unjust situation.

As we view the policy as a temporary measure, and with the high vaccination rates achieved across Canada, we urge the employer to determine when the policy will no longer be required. As provinces ease restrictions, the employer must do the same and allow members on Leave Without Pay (LWOP) to come back to work. Furthermore, the employer needs to ensure appropriate health and safety measures for all. Once the employer lifts the vaccine policy, PIPSC will, of course, continue to work with members that have any active grievances that arose while the policy was in place.

We will also continue to insist that the employer respect the Privacy Act and ensure that information related to a member's proof of vaccination be restricted to those with a “need to know.” Access to personal and private information must be limited only to those who are responsible for obtaining and verifying the vaccination information. The employer must also inform our members when they will dispose of private records.

We will continue to engage the TBS in talks related to vaccinations, masking and returning to the workplace. We demand that any future changes to your working conditions are made in collaboration with PIPSC and unions.

Together, we will get through this and ensure a safe and secure future.

CHALK RIVER, March 25, 2022 – The Chalk River Professional Employees Group (CRPEG), represented by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) reached a deal and voted in favour of a new collective agreement with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL).

The three-year collective agreement resolves a year-long impasse over pay, job outsourcing, and working conditions. The new contract provides a wage increase of 3.5% in each year and new remote working terms and conditions.

CRPEG President Jonathan Fitzpatrick said that “This agreement would not have been possible with the strong support of our members. We have been without a collective agreement since January 2021 and last month, members had given us the strongest mandate for job action – including a strike – in the history of the Chalk River Professional Employees Group.”

CRPEG represents more than 660 engineers and scientists at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ Chalk River campus, ensuring the safe operation of nuclear reactors, and supporting safe radioactive waste management and environmental remediation projects across Canada. CRPEG members contribute to the health of Canadians through research on nuclear medicine. 

Jennifer Carr, the President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) congratulated both parties and extended her thanks to each and every member of the CRPEG group on this new agreement. 

With over 60,000 members, PIPSC is the largest union in Canada representing scientists and professionals employed at the federal and some provincial and territorial levels of government.

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For more information: Johanne Fillion, 613-883-4900 (mobile), jfillion@pipsc.ca