I have included the link from the National Website, it will be a quick, fun event! Please help make it a success!

https://psacunion.ca/register-now-national-bargaining-update-and-day

PSAC members from across the country will be coming together for a virtual Day of Action on April 14. Join us for a Treasury Board bargaining update from PSAC National President Chris Aylward and National Vice-President Sharon DeSousa. Then, take action by flooding the lines of federal Members of Parliament with voicemails telling them that we deserve a fair contract, now. 

Over 165,000 members are in bargaining with the federal government this year. This round of bargaining is vital because we need fair wages, good working conditions and inclusive workplaces to reflect the changes we’ve seen to the rising cost of living, remote and hybrid work and the urgent calls for action on equity in the workplace.

Day of Action: Flood the Lines
Thursday, April 14
7 p.m. (EDT)
The virtual call-in action to federal MPs will be facilitated by Alex Silas, Regional Executive Vice-President for the National Capital Region.

Hello everyone,

Your National Vice Presidents and the Ontario Regional Council (ORC) would like to invite members to attend another live ZOOM event taking place this Wednesday, March 30th at 7:00pm.

Earlier in 2021 we started these sessions as a way to connect with Ontario CEIU members, specifically newer members who may not be aware of our union and its work. So far we have had over 350 members participate over the past few months- a great start! 

Next week’s session will cover 3 hot topics- Return to Occupancy, PSAC Bargaining update and the very recent 699 Policy Grievance win!

This will be followed by an open question/answer session moderated by ORC members. The session is open to the entire membership and we encourage you to take a few minutes and log on.

Here is the ZOOM link- the room will be open at 6:30pm and the meeting starts at 7:00pm.

Topic: ORC open zoom chat

Time: Mar 30, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://ceiu-seic-ca.zoom.us/j/87486189586?pwd=Y0NvUEtGR1htRkVXRTBjSS9IVk12dz09

Meeting ID: 874 8618 9586

Passcode: 138836

One tap mobile

+16132093054,,87486189586#,,,,*138836# Canada

+16473744685,,87486189586#,,,,*138836# Canada

Dial by your location

+1 613 209 3054 Canada

+1 647 374 4685 Canada

+1 647 558 0588 Canada

+1 778 907 2071 Canada

+1 438 809 7799 Canada

+1 587 328 1099 Canada

Meeting ID: 874 8618 9586

Passcode: 138836

Find your local number: https://ceiu-seic-ca.zoom.us/u/keyD5slSCT

Thank you,

CEIU | Ontario Regional Council

March 24, 2022

In a major victory for federal public service workers hardest hit by the pandemic, an arbitration board ruled that Treasury Board cannot force employees to exhaust all their other leave before accessing 699 leave for COVID-19-related reasons.

This decision means that PSAC members who filed individual grievances related to 699 leave — where members were forced to use other available leave like sick leave, vacation leave or family leave before accessing 699 leave — can now request the leave be reimbursed to their leave banks.

Treasury Board’s heavy hand during the pandemic

The 699 leave provision is for “other leave with pay” and members can request it through their manager when they are unable to report to work for reasons beyond their control. This is different from sick leave and vacation time.

PSAC members relied on 699 leave to grapple with radical work-life changes during the pandemic. Parents were often left with no choice but to apply for 699 leave when schools and daycares were closed or went remote, but the government heavily restricted its use.

The restrictions disproportionately impact marginalized groups who have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, including women, Black, Indigenous and racialized employees, workers with disabilities, high-risk workers and workers with family obligations.

PSAC filed several policy grievances with Treasury Board, CFIA and other agencies for restricting the use of 699 leave. Two of these grievances were then brought before the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.

The Board found the 699 leave policy breached PSAC’s collective agreement by requiring employees to exhaust other leave before 699 leave could be granted. The Board ruled this posed an undue burden on employees and violated members’ collective agreements.

On parental leave specifically, the Board ruled that denial of 699 leave to parents who “chose” not to send their children to school or daycare is not discriminatory or a violation of the collective agreement. Although parents may have a right to choose to keep their children at home” this was a choice and not a right that is protected by human rights legislation, the Board ruled. PSAC is reviewing this aspect of the decision for potential grounds for judicial review given the evidence that parents had little to no choice regarding childcare during the pandemic as well as the state of human rights jurisprudence on the issue of sex and family status discrimination.

Requesting 699 leave

If you need leave related to COVID-19, you should continue to request 699 leave. If your request is denied or you are forced to take other types of leave, reach out immediately to your PSAC regional office or your component labour relations officer to discuss whether you should file an individual or group grievance, including a grievance citing discrimination on the grounds of sex, family status or disability.

Stay up to date about 699 leave and other important issues by updating your contact information and signing up for our latest updates.

Topics: 

• Victories
• COVID-19

Racialized & Indigenous event invite- March 21st 7pm

Greetings CEIU Ontario members, 

Please see the attached invite for all Racialized and Indigenous CEIU members to attend a safe space chat on the International Day of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.  

The zoom link is below (March 21st 7-8pm)

https://ceiu-seic-ca.zoom.us/j/81937841684

In Solidarity,

CEIU Ontario Racialized Action Committee

I had the privilege of attending the Fair Wages Lunch and Learn on March 8th hosted by Area Council and RO in Sudbury.

I am sharing with you what I learned today and encourage all of you to stay up to date with our current bargaining proposals.

Video

Common Issues Table Bargaining Proposals

https://psacunion.ca/sites/psac/files/commonissues_en_combined_02-03-2022.pdf

Consumer Price Index: Annual Review 2021:

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220119/dq220119b-eng.htm

Up next:

Mar. 22 session, register here:

https://psac-afpc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5cpd-6hpjgpEtAvVDcbjMGBsrwlcBeGRspC

Mar. 29 session, register here:

https://psac-afpc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5cpdumupz4iGtchYYzcaXEIgAvj-qJT_gmr

In solidarity

Thu Trinh – President of CEIU Local 581

Hello everyone!

The PSAC London Regional Women’s Committee is hosting an exciting International Women’s Day Event at 7:00pm on March 8, 2022!

**See the attached poster and GET EXCITED to #BreakTheBias!**

This event is open to all women-identifying members and your daughters or other women/girls in your family/household. Our theme this year is Women and Girls in Science.

Register NOW here!

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.

When: Mar 8, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

***Register in advance for this meeting:***

https://psac-afpc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5AvduCrqTwoG90kFR_oWwkslE0EpS0IVkKD

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Read more about Dr. Caden here:

Erica Caden received her PhD from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA and moved to Sudbury, Ontario in 2013. What started as a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Laurentian University led to her dream job as a Research Scientist at SNOLAB, the preeminent location in the world for underground particle astrophysics. At SNOLAB, Dr. Caden works on three neutrino experiments: SNO+, HALO, and nEXO. She is an active science communicator, working with the Sudbury Chapter of Women in Science and Engineering, TELUS Spark Science Centre in Calgary, AB and has given many presentations with the “Exploring by the Seat of your Pants” outreach organization.

We hope to see you there to celebrate women with us!

In solidarity,
PSAC London Regional Women’s Committee

PSAC is encouraging members to fight for Phoenix general damages compensation to be tax-free by filing individual tax appeals to the Canada Revenue Agency this tax season.

By filing an appeal, you will force CRA to review the taxability of your personal damages payment. If we generate tens of thousands of tax appeals from members across the country, there is greater pressure to review the tax treatment of the damages for all PSAC members rather than ruling on thousands of individual appeals.

In 2020, PSAC negotiated $2,500 in Phoenix general damages for 165,000 PSAC members to compensate for the stress, aggravation and pain and suffering they endured because of the broken pay system.

Treasury Board treated Phoenix general damages as taxable income – deducting tax from the payment PSAC members received – but we maintain that these damages should be tax-free like just like other damages agreements.

Despite numerous appeals by PSAC, Treasury Board and the CRA have refused to revisit the taxability of Phoenix general damages. Unfortunately, time has run out to resolve this problem proactively.

Now, we’re urging PSAC members to formally object to the tax treatment of Phoenix damages once they file their 2021 tax returns and received their “Notice of Assessment” from the CRA, which you can expect to receive roughly two to eight weeks after filing your taxes.File your Phoenix damages tax appeal

You can object to the taxability of Phoenix damages by completing a form T400A and filling out your personal contact information and the required details from your notice of assessment.

The form includes a section for issues, reasons and relevant facts. You can include the text provided below in that section to appeal for the Phoenix damages compensation you received to be non-taxable:

A portion of the income reported on the taxpayer’s T4 for 2021 represents general damages paid under a settlement agreement negotiated by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) as compensation for stress, aggravation, and pain and suffering, payable to all members of PSAC in recognition of the effect of the Phoenix pay system and the delayed implementation of a collective agreement on the membership. The payment was not dependent upon or in any way related to any grievance previously filed by the taxpayer, or any demonstrated financial loss suffered by the taxpayer. Rather, the payment was compensation for the stress felt by all employees, regardless of their personal circumstances, due to the delays, confusion, and general chaos that resulted from the Phoenix implementation. As such, the amounts received as damages for pain and suffering should not have been subject to tax. The taxpayer asks that their 2021 tax return be reassessed to reflect the non-taxable nature of the general damages received.

We understand that everyone’s individual circumstances may vary, and PSAC does not provide legal advice on individual tax appeals. We encourage you to consult a professional tax advisor if you have specific questions about filing your income taxes.

Ongoing Phoenix damages compensation

PSAC will also begin the work of fighting for ongoing general damages for the Phoenix pay disaster as soon as possible. The damages PSAC negotiated were to compensate members for the hardships they experienced from 2016 to 2019, but the pay problems never stopped.

Since then, many PSAC members still haven’t been paid properly, and deserve additional compensation for the hardships they still endure. We will also work to ensure that the claims process negotiated in our last agreement for expenses and major losses also remain available to our members for as long as they continue to experience Phoenix pay problems.

Learn more about all our work to help PSAC members impacted by Phoenix as we look back on six years of the pay fiasco.

Hello everyone!

The PSAC London Regional Women’s Committee is hosting an exciting International Women’s Day Event at 7:00pm on March 8, 2022!

**See the attached poster and GET EXCITED to #BreakTheBias!**

This event is open to all women-identifying members and your daughters or other women/girls in your family/household. Our theme this year is Women and Girls in Science.

Register NOW here!

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.

When: Mar 8, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

***Register in advance for this meeting:***

https://psac-afpc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5AvduCrqTwoG90kFR_oWwkslE0EpS0IVkKD

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Read more about Dr. Caden here:

Erica Caden received her PhD from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA and moved to Sudbury, Ontario in 2013. What started as a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Laurentian University led to her dream job as a Research Scientist at SNOLAB, the preeminent location in the world for underground particle astrophysics. At SNOLAB, Dr. Caden works on three neutrino experiments: SNO+, HALO, and nEXO. She is an active science communicator, working with the Sudbury Chapter of Women in Science and Engineering, TELUS Spark Science Centre in Calgary, AB and has given many presentations with the “Exploring by the Seat of your Pants” outreach organization.

We hope to see you there to celebrate women with us!

In solidarity,
PSAC London Regional Women’s Committee

Attention all CEIU women-identifying members:

Please see the attached call out and application form for the 2022 CEIU Ontario Regional Women’s Upcoming Training Day. This training event is being held on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2022. The theme this year is #BreaktheBias.

This is your invitation to join us for some fantastic learning, collaboration and action for women’s equality. Imagine a world that’s diverse, equitable and inclusive. Together we can all take action for equality. 

Those chosen as delegates will be informed before the end of February 2022.

In solidarity,

CEIU Ontario Regional Women’s Committee

*** If you are interested in applying, please contact your local executives at localceiu581@gmail.com for a copy of the application. ***

We cannot deny that the past two years have been a challenging time for our membership, particularly for Black members. The statistics have shown that the Black population has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic especially through incidents of violence, harassment and racism highlighted on social media. 

Also, Black and racialized people are heavily represented in precarious sectors of our economy, often working on the frontlines, raising their risk of exposure to the virus. The combined effects of both of these situations have in turn negatively impacted mental health.

The pandemic emphasized the unequal nature of our society and the urgent struggle to end systemic oppression. We must work together to stop these injustices and move towards a society free from hate.  

The accomplishments of Black workers, past and present, have greatly contributed to our country and played a vital role in shaping the labour movement. As we acknowledge February as Black History Month, let us commit to working together to end systemic discrimination and move towards a more equal society. 

In Solidarity,

Trisha Roach, Racially Visible Members Representative

Ontario Regional Council