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

Building on the tremendous solidarity established in the last round of negotiations, our 16 Treasury Board groups are busy preparing for a new round of bargaining that is scheduled to begin in the coming months. 

All collective agreements are set to expire in 2018, even those that have not yet been signed (OSFI, CFIA-VM, CFIA-IN and NRC-RO/RCO), or even reached (CFIA-S&A).  The Presidents and Bargaining Officers met on June 28 to develop a national strategy that will allow PIPSC to once more present a united front and advance our members’ demands.

Bargaining teams are being convened, member surveys are being conducted, and priorities are emerging, both for individual Groups and PIPSC overall. In short, all Groups should be in a position to begin bargaining by the end of the year. This is of course a very hectic time, during which members have, among other things, the opportunity to share with their bargaining team specific concerns about working conditions. Bargaining is one of PIPSC’s fundamental roles: negotiating successful collective agreements with the employer allows our members to continue providing quality public services to all Canadians.

Work with Treasury Board on the proposed Employee Wellness Support Program (EWSP) is also progressing. At the current rate, the parties are confident they will be able to submit their final report late this year. As reported in the last round, the EWSP is designed to replace and improve on the current sick leave plan. The basic parameters were agreed on in December 2016.

Regrettably, some employers not under the umbrella of the Treasury Board of Canada differ from the rest in their stubborn refusal to recognize the true value of their employees’ work. Negotiations with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CRPEG, WTEG, WPEG), for example, are at an impasse. Various approaches will be taken shortly to ensure members’ voices are heard in preparation for the conciliation sessions set to be held this fall.   These members were especially hard hit when they were transferred to their private-sector employer.

Effective September 2018, they will lose access to their defined-benefit retirement plan, which will be replaced by a meagre targeted benefit plan, without dental or health benefits. The money the employer saves by doing so will in no way be reinvested in wages.

Richard Beaulé
PIPSC Director, National Labour Relations