08 March 2019

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY traces back to the 1900s, rising from the labour movements in North America and Europe, signaling a growing movement for women to participate equally in society. The United Nations recognized 1975 as International Women's Year and began celebrating International Women's Day on March 8, later adopting a resolution designating March 8 as International Women's Day.

It is an opportunity to celebrate the progress made to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment and to reflect on the improvements made and strive for momentum towards gender equality worldwide. It is a day to recognize the extraordinary acts of women and to stand together, as a united force, to advance gender equality around the world.

This year's theme for calls for action, to harness the power of technology to create a more equal world. Innovation and technology represent opportunities, but trends show a growing gender digital divide and women are under-represented in the field of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and design (STEM). It is a barrier to developing and influencing gender-responsive innovations and achieve transformative gains. It is imperative to remove the barriers facing women in STEM, so new ideas and solutions will be unleashed that will transform our society and strengthen our economy.

PIPSC invites members to celebrate, recognize and acknowledge the achievements of women in their life!

#IWD2019 #WomensDay #InnovateForChange #BalanceforBetter #WIKI4WOMEN

Status of Women Canada
https://cfc-swc.gc.ca/commemoration/iwd-jif/theme-en.html

United Nations - International Women’s Day
http://www.un.org/en/events/womensday/index.shtml

UNESCO - Priority Gender Equality
https://en.unesco.org/genderequality

PIPSC 2019 Human Rights and Diversity Committee
Email chrd-cdpd@pipsc.ca

This year to mark International Women’s Day, we’re asking members like you to share your family leave story.

How did family leave help or hinder you?

Did it even exist when you needed it?

Sharing your experience helps your bargaining team and shows the employer just how much you value and depend on family leave.

SHARE YOUR STORY

In 2001, President Debi Daviau had to fight hard for her right to parental leave.

Her third baby, Jesse, was on the way when her employer refused to implement new legislation that extended parental leave top-up pay from six to twelve months as provided for in the collective agreement.

Despite continued efforts, the compensation advisor was refusing to implement the change. Finally, President Daviau convinced her colleagues in the Employment Insurance Branch of then HRDC to write a briefing note that her ADM used to ensure 12 months of top-up parental leave pay for herself and every other expecting parent in the department!

This fight kick-started President Daviau’s involvement in our union.

No one should have to fight to take care of their family.

We all expect the federal government to be a model employer and ensure employees are able to give their best in the workplace and to their families

It’s time for your employer to do better. You deserve improved family leave. Tell us about your experience.

Learn more about our current round of negotiations and the Do Better Campaign here: 
https://pipsc.ca/dobetter

The results of the 2018 Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) are in and, as with last year’s results, offer food for thought on the government’s progress (or lack of it) in some key areas of concern to PIPSC members.

Harassment in the workplace

While in previous years (2017 and 2014) 18% and 19% of respondents respectively reported being a victim of harassment, in 2018 only 15% reported the same. However, since the reporting period covered in the most recent survey was changed from two years to one, these results are not comparable.

More tellingly, perhaps, satisfaction with how harassment is dealt with in departments is viewed positively by only 48% of respondents to the PSES.

The survey also reveals significant differences based on gender. Women reported experiencing harassment on the job in the last year at a rate 3% higher than men. Respondents who were gender diverse reported experiencing harassment at a rate of 30% compared to 13% for men and 16% for women. 

Employees in the Scientific and Professional Category (which includes most PIPSC members) reported levels of harassment slightly less (2% in 2018) than the public service generally as well as slightly less satisfaction (1%) with how management is addressing it.

As a result, the latest survey data give greater urgency to our bargaining demands that members deserve stronger anti-harassment protections. In short, the government can Do Better.

Psychological wellness

Data on psychological wellness, on the other hand, show some signs of improvement. Compared to 2017 when only 56% of respondents described public service workplaces as healthy, 59% now do.

Moreover, when it comes to raising awareness of mental health in the workplace, 71% of respondents believe their department is doing a good job compared to 67% a year ago.

It is still too soon to say whether or not this is due to the Mental Health Strategy launched two years ago.

Phoenix

To no one’s surprise, the Phoenix pay system remains a grave concern. Seventy percent of respondents to the PSES said they were negatively impacted by it in the past year, an increase of 3% from 2017. Among Professional and Scientific Employees the increase is even greater – 5% – from 62% in 2017 to 67% in 2018.

Moreover, satisfaction with how departments and the pay centre handle issues has remained unchanged and is very low. Only 36% of respondents overall indicate they are satisfied with the assistance they received from their department or agency in resolving their pay issues.

Missing regular pay remained unchanged, with 10% of Professional and Scientific Employees reporting missed pay in both 2017 and 2018.

While there have been some improvements, it seems absurd to consider them a cause to celebrate in a year when 29% of Professional and Scientific Employees were underpaid and 30% received incorrect acting or overtime pay.

The sooner we get a new working pay system the better.

PIPSC Celebrates National Engineering Month!

Every March, Provincial and Territorial engineering regulatory bodies throughout Canada celebrate the contributions of engineers in our day to day lives and spread awareness of the engineering profession to youth.

The Engineering Sector Council, which represents members from the Federal Public Service, Federal agencies and separate employers, invites you to celebrate National Engineering month (March 2019) with them and thousands of PIPSC members across Canada. 

Visit https://engineerscanada.ca to find out more about National Engineering Month and to find activities in your local area.

Engage in the conversation!

• Share highlights of your celebration of engineering month or interesting engineering stories on the PIPSC Facebook page.
• Follow the action on Twitter by using the hashtags: #NEM2019 and #NEGM2019.

The Engineering Sector Council promotes engineering within and outside of PIPSC and is always planning activities to support PIPSC members who are in the engineering profession. Contact Jonathan Fitzpatrick (jfitzpat@pipsc.ca), Chair, Engineering Sector Council if you have any questions.

On February 26^th, the Canadian Labour Congress brought labour leaders from coast to coast to Ottawa to meet with federal MPs and Senators. Over 350 activists, including PIPSC members, pushed officials hard for a pharmacare plan and in support of better pension protection for workers and pensioners when companies go bankrupt. It was the largest day of lobbying in CLC’s history, with a total of 354 participants in 194 meetings. 

Canada is the only industrialized country in the world with universal healthcare that does not include medications.

Today, 3.5 million Canadians can’t afford to fill their prescriptions. From birth control to insulin, one third of Canadians do not have coverage through their work and are left to pay out of pocket.

Canada’s unions are working to win a universal prescription drug plan that covers everyone in Canada, regardless of their income, age or where they work or live.

All Canadians will benefit from increased accessibility to medications as well as the cost-savings of coordinating bulk purchasing. Did you know, in New Zealand, where a public authority negotiates on behalf of the entire country, a year’s supply of the cholesterol-busting drug Lipitor costs just $15 a year, compared to $811 in Canada? Pharmacare makes good economic sense.

91% of Canadians believe our public health care system should include a universal prescription drug plan. Together we can build it. Add your voice to the call for a universal prescription drug plan for all Canadians.

SIGN THE PETITION

When it comes to pensions, governments can and must put workers and pensioners first.  Bankruptcy laws must be changed so that workers and pensioners are first in line, not last, when it comes to paying creditors.  The federal government must give workers’ pensions and benefits super-priority status, so that they are paid out of the remaining assets before other creditors (like banks, financial lenders and debt holders).

Over 60 participants traveled from across Canada to learn, share ideas and plan for increased engagement among PIPSC young professionals.

These activists have built concrete plans to roll out the Do Better campaign on the ground at the regional level. There is no doubt this work will build member engagement and demonstrate solidarity at the bargaining table.

Join them by learning more or getting involved in the campaign:

DO BETTER

Participants also gained insights from keynote speaker David Colette, CEO and co-founder of Abacus data. He shared cutting-edge analysis on the views and behaviours of Millennials and how they are impacting today’s workforce.

Other informative panels focused on capacity building, effective organizing strategies, lessons learned from successful movements, and tools for membership engagement.

If you’re a young worker looking to get involved in PIPSC member outreach activities, contact our mobilization team: bettertogether@pipsc.ca.

The news this week that it will take a further three to five years to clean up the Phoenix backlog, and 10 or more years to stabilize the system, makes it obvious that on the third anniversary of the launch of the Phoenix pay system we should be laser-focused on implementing its replacement as soon as possible.

But in order for that to happen the government needs to commit the funding now to ensure implementation of a new system will survive the uncertain outcomes of the next federal election.

That’s why this week I held a press conference, along with Vice President Stéphane Aubry, calling on the government to commit the funds needed in next month’s federal budget, the last scheduled before the election. If passed, it would help lock in plans to launch a new system sooner rather than later (or worse, not at all).

And make no mistake, when it comes to the current round of collective bargaining, ensuring our members have better pay protections is a key PIPSC priority.

If there’s one potential election issue affecting federal public servants that ought to be settled now, it’s that we deserve a pay system that works.

In order to Do Better than Phoenix, the government should be prepared to pay now, not later.

Better Together,

Debi Daviau
President

The Phoenix pay system failure has left public servants under paid, over paid or not paid at all. The procurement process for a new pay system is underway, but PIPSC members continue to deal with serious personal consequences.

Christine Kleindienst
Correctional Service Canada - Mission, BC

In April 2016, Christine was not paid. This continued for months and today she has still not received a correct paycheque. As a single mother, she relied on emergency advances which replaced only 60% of her earnings and so was forced to borrow money from family members to keep afloat.

Christine says, “this has been the most stressful time of my life.... this has caused tremendous stress emotionally, financially, and mentally to thousands of people and needs to end.”

François Marceau Innovation
Science and Economic Development Canada – Gatineau, QC

For years François has taken five weeks unpaid leave to spend with his children who live hours away from his home. The Phoenix failure has meant that he was unable to take this leave in 2018 and very likely will be unable in 2019. François has lost precious time with his children.

Laura Makokis
Health Canada - Saddle Lake, AB

Laura has worked for Health Canada for 32 years. Two years ago her pay dropped without explanation. After submitting a complaint her pay stubs were retroactively corrected but she has not received any of the $12,000 owed to her. Laura says, “any time we would phone Phoenix we were told that someone would be in touch after they submitted the complaint. Not once did I receive any communications from Phoenix regarding their mistake or if I would receive compensation for my lost wages.”

Julien Fabienne
Correctional Service Canada - Lavaltrie, QC

While on eight months of medical leave without pay, Julien continued to receive his full paycheque as a result of a Phoenix error. His record of employment was not issued and so he was unable to access Employment Insurance or his health benefits, after 30 months he has still not received these benefits. Despite having completed all of the appropriate paperwork, hours of time during his medical leave were spent on the phone in an effort to correct the issue.

For Julien, “the energy expended, the anxiety generated, the overwhelming feeling of frustration and helplessness, and the feeling of not being recognized by our employer during all the procedures that have been going on for 30 months now is nonsense and also generates strong feelings of anger, insecurity, abandonment, discouragement and disinvestment.”