Montréal-Ouest Branch Annual Report for the 2018 Regional Council

Dear colleagues:

It is my pleasure to present the fifth report of the Montréal-Ouest Branch, for the year 2017.

Phoenix

We suspected that 2017 was unfortunately going to be another Phoenix year. At our AGM, members clearly indicated that they wanted the Branch to focus its efforts on the pay system, adopting a resolution to that effect.

This willingness confirmed by the members provided the impetus for a card campaign. The idea was simple: demonstrate factually that a pay is inaccurate; one card equals one inaccurate pay. No text was added to the card other than the date of the inaccurate pay and the hashtag #FixPhoenix. The intent was to make it hard for the employer to argue against the information on the card displayed in the workplace. The card was conspicuous but factual and showed everyone that an employee had encountered a pay problem, whether big or small. A unique logo was designed free of charge by the spouse of one of our Executive members.

Our initial distribution was a success and close to 600 cards were delivered and posted on the walls of the Canadian Meteorological Centre in Dorval, filling full sections of walls as well as office doors and windows. Some people unfortunately had enough cards to bring the idea to a new level.

We quickly ran out of cards and had to put in a second order. The campaign stretched beyond our Branch as cards were printed for a number of other constituent bodies in Quebec and other parts of Canada. Some PSAC activists across the country also borrowed the idea.

In other words, this campaign was a huge success!

Retirement planning course

Another initiative headed by the Branch and driven by its Stewards was the negotiation with the employer of a retirement planning course for members. The first course, fully covered by the employer, took place in March 2018 and is the direct result of work by the Branch and its Stewards.