On April 24, 2017, the Joint Union-Management Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion launched an online survey to gather ideas to identify contributing factors to an inclusive workplace and barriers to inclusion faced by employees.

A link to the online survey will be emailed to all employees, including PIPSC members, who work in 30 Departments/Agencies (listed below).

The Institute encourages PIPSC members who receive the invitation to participate in this survey, which is open from April 24 to May 31, 2017.

The online questionnaire contains 5 questions and will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete. If you require an alternative format (e.g. paper copy), please send your request to the Diversity and Inclusion electronic mailbox. The survey is confidential and the names of the employees responding to the survey will not be disclosed to management.

Your views are vital to help the Task Force define and establish the case for diversity and inclusion in the public service and to recommend a framework and action plan.

We are pleased that PIPSC Diversity and Inclusion Champion Waheed Khan is Co-Chair of the Task Force Technical Committee. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact him by e-mail at diversity@pipsc.ca. Representatives from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE), and the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) are also represented on the Task Force, along with an equal number of management representatives.

By promoting diversity, unions cultivate a culture of inclusiveness and solidarity within our ranks and a positive outreach in the broader society. While gains have been made in creating a more diverse and representative public service, significant challenges remain in creating a public service that is representative of the evolving Canadian population that we serve.

Diversity and inclusion—these are the things that have made Canada strong. Let’s demonstrate that we are better together and do everything we can to promote our values of diversity and inclusion.

“Public service professionals serve all Canadians. All Canadians must see themselves included in our public service. PIPSC is proud of the leading role we have played in the establishment of this initiative. I’m counting on this joint task force to remove the remaining barriers in the way of our public service truly reflecting the diversity of Canada.”
– Debi Daviau, President, Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada

For more information:
PIPSC takes leading role in the Joint Union/Management Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion in the Public Service
Joint Union/Management Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion
Task Force to examine diversity and inclusion in the public service
Name-Blind Pilot Initiative, Debi Daviau Interview on CTV Power play - April 21, 2017
Demographic Snapshot of Canada’s Federal Public Service, 2016

Departments/Agencies

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Canada Border Services Agency
Canada Revenue Agency
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Correctional Service Canada
Employment and Social Development Canada
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Finance Canada, Department of
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Global Affairs Canada
Health Canada
Heritage Canada
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Infrastructure Canada
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Justice, Department of
Library and Archives Canada
National Defence
Parks Canada
Public Health Agency of Canada
Public Safety Canada
Public Services and Procurement Canada
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (civilian employees)
Shared Services Canada
Statistics Canada
Status of Women
Transport Canada
Treasury Board Secretariat
Veterans Affairs Canada

Dear Members,

Over the last several months PIPSC has been actively opposing Bill C-27, An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act. To ensure we succeed in ensuring the government knows that this type of degradation of our pension security is unacceptable, we encourage you to use this sample letter and write to your Member of Parliament. We have a government that says it wants to listen so the time is right now to have our opinion heard.

Please use the following link to find your Member of Parliament’s email and cut and paste the letter below into an email. Send a copy to the Finance Minister and Prime Minister (emails below) to make sure they all know you oppose Bill C-27.

Thank you for your time and support.

Debi Daviau

Dear Member of Parliament,

I am writing to you concerning Bill C-27, An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act.

Bill C-27 would potentially pave the way for federally regulated employers to erode pension security and shift risks from employers to employees by replacing defined benefit pensions plans with target benefit plans. It sets a dangerous precedent for the well-being of defined pension plans —and their beneficiaries – in the future.

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), which represents some 55,000 members, including myself, in the federal and provincial public sectors has previously expressed its concerns about this legislation.

I strongly oppose this Bill and ask that it be dropped. I encourage your government to focus its energies on creating a legislative and economic environment in which defined benefit pension plans can thrive.

Thank you for your time and attention to this critical matter and I look forward to your timely reply.

Sincerely,

Cc: Minister Bill Morneau, Bill.Morneau@parl.gc.ca
CC: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca

PIPSC President Debi Daviau’s comments on today’s technical briefing regarding the Phoenix Pay system and news suggesting that performance payments may have been awarded to department executives overseeing the system

Once again, PIPSC members come out of this latest technical briefing without the sense that a fix to the Phoenix system is coming soon.

While there is much tinkering around the edges, no global solution is yet in sight. And while mention of a “steady state” continues to be a favourite talking point (for example, with maternity and parental leave requests), there has been no indication that the funds would be made available to ensure we have a timely, long-term fix to all issues. Many disability leave requests, which affect the most vulnerable federal employees, have yet to be fixed.

Deputy Minister Lemay also remarked that “the way we’re organizing our work today is not our long-term approach.”

In fact, this is precisely why we recommended that a contingency fund to fix Phoenix be included in the recent federal budget and that further training be provided to government IT workers. The government should not be forever dependent on IBM or other consultants to fix its Phoenix problems. This would enable a fix that could be maintained by our complement of public servant IT employees. We see no sign of this kind of long-term planning.

We will be verifying with PIPSC members who contacted us for help, especially those on maternity and parental leave, to make sure their cases have indeed been resolved.

Finally, the possibility that executives overseeing the Phoenix pay system may have been awarded performance pay is deeply upsetting and, if true, would be a disgraceful misuse of Canadians’ taxes – especially given the enormous number of public servants who we know continue to be deprived of money they are owed, and after the government stated in December that bonuses for executives dealing with Phoenix were under review.

Last Friday marked the ‘sad’ first anniversary of the Phoenix pay system’s implementation. The first year of Phoenix can only be characterized as an abject failure. It has meant prolonged anxiety and pay problems for federal public service professionals across the country.

To keep the pressure on government to find a speedy and lasting solution as well as ensure adequate resources are dedicated to the problem, we held a Day of Action.

Since Phoenix has not been providing us with any relief, PIPSC members were asked to use their regular morning coffee break to send a message. Members across the country were encouraged to get together in their workplaces over coffee and a sweet, take a photo of themselves urging the government to “Fix Phoenix,” and post them on social media sites. Over a hundred members alone came to our #fixphoenix photo booth at Place du Portage to spread the message that we need an end to Phoenix problems for good. Check out the photos of members demanding a fix to the flawed system.

Last Thursday, PIPSC President Debi Daviau also joined the leaderships of PSAC and CAPE at a press conference to demand that extra resources be included in the next federal budget. The funds would ensure the government has the resources to implement a fix and provide proper supports for all employees. President Daviau also issued a clear call for training of our CS IT community to ensure the public service is not handcuffed to IBM for the next 40 years. Phoenix is a clear example of a mismanaged, outsourced IT modernization project. If we are ever going to stop similar problems from occurring in the future the government needs to invest today in its in-house capacity to implement upgrades and maintain the pay system we all deserve.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Day of Action!

Can you believe it? Friday Feb 24 marks the first anniversary of Phoenix’s implementation. A year of anxiety and problems for public service professionals and the government.

That’s why we’re going to mark this sad anniversary with a Day of Action and a clear message that enough is enough! Fix Phoenix!

Print one of these posters and take a selfie with them. Post the selfie on your social media accounts. If you’re on Twitter, tag Minister Foote on the picture @Judy_Foote and use the hashtag #FixPhoenix