Call for Volunteers for 2018

PIPSC Standing Committees of the Board of Directors

If you are interested in participating as Chair, Member or Friend on a standing committee of the Board for 2018, you are invited to submit your expression of interest by completing the prescribed form and sending it to committeevolunteers@pipsc.ca by the deadline of Friday, November 17, 2017.

Committees of the Board

• By-laws and policies Committee
• Elections Appeals Committee
• Elections Committee
• Executive Compensation Committee (See Note 2)
• Finance Committee
• Human Rights and Diversity Committee
• Information Technology Services and Projects Committee
• Professional Recognition and Qualifications Committee
• Science Advisory Committee
• Training and Education Committee (see Note 2)

Note 1    By-Law 17.1.3 Composition -  All Committees shall consist of five (5) to seven (7) members and, unless otherwise specified, shall include one (1) member from each Region. Where there is a Vice-President liaison to a committee, the Vice-President does not count as a member of the committee.

Note 2    There will be no solicitation process for members of Executive Compensation Committee, or for the Training and Education Committee.  Institute By-Laws and policies require that members of these committees be selected from members of the Board of Directors and/or the designated individual from the Chair of the Regional Training Committee respectively.

Note 3    Only volunteers who have complied with the due-process call for nominations, and have adhered to the prescribed time lines, shall be deemed to be eligible candidates.

Application Process

Volunteers shall be limited to applying to two (2) Standing Committees of the Board, and must indicate their preferences in priority order.

Duly fill out the prescribed form as follows:

• Clearly identify the committee(s) by title.  If requesting to volunteer on two (2) committees, rank these in order of preference.
• Indicate your Group and Region.
• State whether you are applying as Chair, Member or Friend.

Note 4    If you are not selected as Chair, you will automatically be considered as a member or as a friend.

Note 5    A “friend” of a committee is a member interested in the activities of the committee, but who is unable to participate as an active member.  Note that there are no “friends” on the Executive Compensation Committee, the Elections Committee, or the Elections Appeal Committee.

• List any Committees of the Board on which you served for the past five (5) years.
• Include a brief rationale (on the prescribed form) outlining the reasons why you wish to be considered and what you would bring to the work of the committee you are applying for. 
• Submit the prescribed form containing your expression of interest by the deadline to committeevolunteers@pipsc.ca.

Deadline

The deadline for expressions of interest is no later than Friday, November 17, 2017.

Information

Please consult the information on the Selection Process and Selection Criteria by following these links:

Committees of the Board, Institute By-Laws and Policy on Committees of the Board of Directors.

If you have any questions, please contact us at: committeevolunteers@pipsc.ca.

For Immediate Release

Forget Phoenix. Let’s build a new federal pay system that works, says PIPSC President Debi Daviau

Ottawa, November 14, 2017 – The Phoenix pay system needs to be replaced with a new system that works built by the government's own IT professionals, says the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), which represents over 50,000 federal government employees.

"After nearly two years of problems with IBM's Phoenix pay system, our members have lost confidence in the promise of fixing Phoenix," said PIPSC President Debi Daviau. "Despite all efforts to fix Phoenix, the number of open cases of pay problems has grown to 330,000 as of October 2017 – with no end in sight. Enough is enough."

In its proposal, PIPSC calls for parallel processes to deal with the immediate pay crisis plaguing public servants and the long-term needs of the government.

To address immediate needs, PIPSC is calling on the government to hire additional staff to help employees impacted by the Phoenix pay system. For a faster, longer-term solution, PIPSC is calling on the government to task its own IT professionals with building a new pay system based on the latest version of PeopleSoft, the widely used human resources management system, and adapting it to the complex needs of the Government of Canada pay environment.

"The government needs to stop throwing good money after bad and start investing in a system that works," added Daviau. "As it happens, we already have the expertise and the people within the federal public service capable of designing and building it. They just need the opportunity to do so. The longer the current government delays investing in a properly designed pay system, the longer it will continue to waste tens of millions of public dollars on private contracts to patch a faulty system that was broken from the start. And the longer federal employees will be made to suffer for a bad system."

Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter (@pipsc_ipfpc).

-30-

For further information:  

Johanne Fillion, jfillion@pipsc.ca, 613-228-6310, poste 4953 or 613-883-4900 (cell.)

The Institute applauds the introduction earlier this week of Bill C-65, the federal government’s long-awaited legislation addressing workplace harassment and violence. For years, PIPSC advocated for the government to recognize and tackle this issue of critical importance to Canadians everywhere.

The Bill cannot come at a more opportune time for our members. The latest annual survey of the public service shows a rise in workplace harassment and a significant rate of workplace stress. One-third of public service workers (34%) said their workplace stress was “high” or “very high”. A similar number of respondents (27%) felt that their workplace was not “psychologically healthy.” The percentage of workers who said they have been harassed at work was up to 22% from 19% in 2014. The results were even higher for equity groups, with the highest rates of harassment (40%) being reported by workers with disabilities. Aboriginal workers also reported high rates of harassment (33%).

The new legislation covers federally-regulated workplaces, including the public service. Changes being proposed to the Canada Labour Code include repealing weak provisions and ensuring that employers are required to take steps to prevent and protect employees against these behaviours, to respond to them when they do occur, and to offer support to those employees affected by them.

The government will also launch an awareness campaign to challenge misconceptions and stereotypes, develop sample policies for employers, and will provide outreach to help employees and employers navigate the process.

While the Bill is a step in the right direction, PIPSC will be working with the government to ensure the legislation addresses its members’ concerns when it comes to ensuring their workplaces are harassment-free, and that adequate/appropriate recourse is available to harassment victims so that their complaints are addressed promptly and fairly.

As well, the legislation needs to provide an inclusive definition of “harassment” that reflects all its forms. If labour inspectors are involved, there must be adequate staffing and training. Finally, the legislation must ensure that those affected have the right to representation and information about the progress of their complaint.

We will update members as C-65 makes its way through the legislative process.