On August 19, 2020, we sent a letter to Minister Anand demanding a stop to the office conversion process until COVID-related health issues have been eradicated from federal workplaces.

Letter to Minister Anand

We have raised this matter on a number of occasions over the past few months. Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to obtain an answer regarding the failure of the Return to Workplace protocol to take the lessons learned during the pandemic into consideration in the design of future government workplaces.

The unions of the National Joint Council (NJC) Bargaining Agents share our concern and our letter was submitted on their behalf.

We have recently received information from our members that the federal public service is planning to continue with these conversions in years ahead. In one particularly alarming case, some of them were given a presentation about an upcoming conversion where they were told not to worry because “only half of you will be in these offices anyway” and “everything will be cleaned regularly so you’ll be fine.” This kind of cavalier approach is entirely inappropriate.

Planning for future conversions must also include much more rigorous health protocols, as well as meaningful consultations with Bargaining Agents. In the majority of cases now, we are not being consulted in the development of the open office design.

For years, we have opposed open office design based on the well-documented health, noise and productivity impacts on workers. In the context of the pandemic, we are now concerned that the federal public service is using this as an opportunity to further reduce its real estate footprint squeezing more workers into ever-smaller open areas. This will only exacerbate health and safety issues.

Parents and caregivers are making tough decisions as September approaches. For PIPSC members in the federal public service, every situation will be unique depending on your department and your children’s school.

It is important that you speak directly with your manager about your personal situation. Together with your HR department they will advise you on the leave available to you for childcare if your children’s school is only opening part-time or if your children are enrolled in online classes.

If management and HR are not offering proactive advice and solutions in this stressful time, our consultation teams are available for you. Contact the consultation team president in your department: https://pipsc.ca/labour-relations/consultation. They will have the most up to date advice and are meeting regularly with your department to discuss these important issues.

As schools reopen there are a lot of unanswered questions like, what happens if there is a COVID-19 outbreak at the school? What happens if the school closes? What do I do if my child is ill? What happens when my leave runs out? What leave will be made available to me if I choose to keep my children home from school?

PIPSC is now seeking answers to these important questions. We are working at all levels, with unions representing workers in the federal public service, to ensure you have access to the leave you need. This is a top priority for our discussions with the Treasury Board and the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer.

We are working for temporary changes to your collective agreement to ensure that you’re able to weather the COVID-19 storm. We’re advocating for the continuation of the Leave Code 699 and more flexibility for your work schedule in order to give you the most appropriate, reasonable accommodation in your particular situation.

Many of our members who are parents and caregivers are choosing between taking care of their families and working. Women in the labour force have been set back nearly three decades. Safe and reliable childcare spots that workers can access now and as this crisis continues, along with safe and open public schools are the clear solution.

Our team is here to help if you do not get the support you need from your employer.

On August 12, the PIPSC Board of Directors met in a special session to discuss the resumption of in-person meetings of PIPSC members. After extensive discussion, the Board determined that all in-person member meetings will be suspended until the end of 2020.

The Board recognized the important role that in-person meetings play in the life of our union and the strong desire to resume such meetings at the earliest possible date. However, they also recognized that ensuring the health and safety of our members and staff was their highest priority.

The member meeting status webpage has been updated to reflect this change.

The Board of Directors continues to monitor the situation on an ongoing basis while preparing for the eventual resumption of in-person meetings, and will revisit the situation prior to the virtual Annual General Meeting on December 5, 2020. 

In the interim, constituent bodies are encouraged to continue to conduct their business virtually through the use of Zoom or other video/teleconference means.

On June 10, 2020, PIPSC Vice-President and Science Advisory Committee Chair Norma Domey led our mobilization efforts on #ShutDownAcademia and #shutdownSTEM, an initiative developed by a multi-identity, intersectional coalition of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) professionals and academics taking action for Black lives. 

That day, thousands of these professionals and academics across the world stopped working to engage in 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence in support of the fight against racism.

Vice-President Domey and the Science Advisory Committee then held an insightful conversation with science professionals across the country about being Black in Canada. She notably indicated that “We can no longer stand by in silence. Systemic racism must be actioned and called out on the spot. In this regard, allies like you matter. Canadians must eradicate racism together.”

PIPSC members can help win the fight against racism by taking a number of actions, including:

• pressing their elected leaders at all levels of government to be accountable for and act for the good of all citizens, not just a privileged few
• building bridges with individuals and families from different cultural communities
• teaching their children and grandchildren about this issue

Find out more about #ShutDownAcademia and #ShutDownSTEM.

Our union and our members’ employers must actively seek systemic change, foster inclusion for Black members, and build the capacity of anti-racist allies.

In May 2020, police in the United States killed George Floyd which triggered global protests in support of Black Lives Matter movements. The American experience forced a similar recognition of anti-Black racism in Canada. There is now a renewed focus that has encouraged organizations to proactively fight anti-Black racism.

PIPSC is taking up this call, with the leadership of the Black Caucus, a sub-committee of the Human Rights and Diversity Committee.

The Black Caucus envisions an anti-racist PIPSC and anti-racist employers.

The Black Caucus will lead and implement strategies for combating anti-Black racism at PIPSC and with our employers by advising the Human Rights and Diversity Committee on issues and policies that directly relate to anti-Black racism. It will work toward advancing equity for Black members through identifying and eliminating barriers to create environments for members to reach their full potential.

Black Caucus short-term objectives are:

• develop a three-year strategic plan in line with broader PIPSC’s strategy and the Human Rights and Diversity Committee’s work
• advance research, programs, and policies to facilitate the full participation of Black members in PIPSC union activities
• align and centralize existing work on anti-Black racism in the federal public service (research projects, committees, advisory boards) into a centrally accessible and connected mechanism or network

Black Caucus long-term objectives are:

• lead and implement policies and programs to support PIPSC Black members in their union and workplace
• engage with anti-racist allies to build capacity across the union and within workplaces

Jennie Esnard, PIPSC NCR Executive Director and Human Rights and Diversity Committee Chair says, “We should be leaders, working proactively to end anti-Black racism in our union and our workplaces”. She said “I’m proud to have worked with Din Kamaldin and Samah Henein to spearhead this initiative and I am proud to receive the full support of our union. I want Black members to be heard and lead our work to end anti-Black racism.”

Black members will be invited to participate as members of the Black Caucus by submitting an application (soon to be available) to the Human Rights and Diversity Committee.

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis public servants have worked hard for people across Canada. We delivered the CERB in record time, we worked tirelessly to get Canadians home and we continue to push to develop a vaccine.

We also took care of our children. Many of us worked late at night or very early in the morning while our children were asleep. Many of us volunteered outside of our normal roles to help out wherever we could.

75% of public servants have been able to work at full capacity throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

“Public servants have gone above and beyond in the face of this crisis,” said Debi Daviau, PIPSC President. “Working parents have been faced with full time childcare duties and balancing their current workloads. It is clear that safe and accessible childcare is key to a functioning economy.”

Across the country, working parents – especially women – have been forced to choose between their careers and taking care of their children. Since the start of the pandemic, participation of women in the labour force has been set back nearly three decades. Safe and reliable childcare spots that workers can access now and as this crisis continues, along with safe and open public schools are the clear solution. 

The public and private sector must develop flexible leave policies to help working parents equitably manage caregiving demands. PIPSC has joined calls to provide all people in Canada with access to better child care programs and basic income guarantees. Our members built the CERB and other emergency programs and we know the good they can do. 

Only 25% of public servants have needed to use the leave with pay Code 699, occasionally, in order to take care of children, quarantine or recover from COVID-19 or because of technical issues. In some cases, the code was used because tasks were put on hold or a particular job required self-isolation between shifts. 

According to the Treasury Board 76,804 employees used Code 699 between March 15 and May 31. This cost about 5% of the usual expenses for wages during that same time period, around $439 million.

These public servants were working and sometimes accessing the Code 699 leave. If these workers had stopped working completely and gone on CERB, as they would have been entitled to do, this would have cost $384 million. Savings would have been minimal as the federal government still has to deliver services for Canadians and back fill all of these roles. The negative long-term impact on public services and the economy would have been significant. 

It is appropriate that the federal government put the emphasis on maintaining a high functioning public service during this time of unprecedented crisis. PIPSC is working with the employer to ensure these processes are reasonable and fair. Until safe and reliable child care is available and schools are reopened, flexibility from the employer is required to get the job done.

President Debi Daviau hosted a telephone town hall for PIPSC members at provincial or separate employers on Thursday, July 9. She discussed how COVID-19 has affected their work, what PIPSC has been advocating for, and where we go from here.

Members’ questions about health, safety and other pandemic-related issues were answered live on the call.

For those who could not join us, listen to a recording of the town hall in the language of your choice:

English

French

Whether analysts at the Transportation Safety Board are investigating a downed aircraft in the ocean, a train in the Prairies or a pipeline through the mountains, the specialists who analyze data recorders find the answers.

Sometimes, like nobody else in the world.

Branden Murdoch grew up on a farm in British Columbia before discovering his love for aerospace engineering at Carleton University.

Today, he’s a PIPSC member and one of those world-class analysts.

In a day’s work, Branden analyzes information recovered from “black boxes” — flight-data and cockpit voice recorders. He and his team review information from crashes to help determine what happened and how to prevent accidents in the future.

Branden is proud that what he does makes an impact on people’s lives.

“Every day I know exactly what it is I’m going to work to accomplish … and that’s to improve transportation safety. Not only for Canadians but because our mandate is international … I know that I’m improving aviation and transportation safety worldwide,” Branden says. 

Over the last few years, Branden and his colleagues have gained credibility in both the public and private sectors around the world. Crash data was often neglected by industry, and voicing key issues found in black boxes and other devices was an uphill battle. Given the team’s depth of commitment and practical abilities, they now know that when they speak, regulators listen.

Maintaining this impartiality from regulators is an integral part of why Branden’s work is done in the public sector rather than the private sector.

“Everybody likes to go home and visit their folks at Christmas, everybody wants their sunshine vacation … and no one wants their loved ones dying at sea on a fishing vessel,” he says. “So I think everybody can relate to these real tangible, heart-wrenching consequences when safety falls to the wayside and something slips through the cracks.”

What Branden is most proud of, though, has nothing to do with his work.

Like many of us, what gives him the most joy is having the work-life balance to go home feeling accomplished at the end of the day, and spending time with his family.

Working at the Transportation Safety Board and being a union member enables him to maintain that crucial balance, while also ensuring his team has the resources they need to do their best at their jobs.

“I know that Canadians can see that the work we do has real results in improving transportation safety and saving lives. It gives everybody peace of mind, knowing that they have some really bright minds here making sure that they’re safe whenever they hop on that airplane, train or vessel.”