Updates

Minister Judy Foote has admitted that 700 compensation advisors should not have been laid off before the Phoenix launch, saying savings were sought at the expense of employees.

The Minister of Public Services and Procurement spoke yesterday to the House of Commons committee on Government Operations and Estimates, which is studying the Phoenix pay system. She also acknowledged that many good ideas on how to fix Phoenix have come from union members.

“PSAC warned that the mass lay-off of compensation advisors was a mistake, but our warnings about this were ignored,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President. “However, our focus now is to do everything we can to help fix Phoenix.”

World AIDS Day, observed on December 1st of every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the HIV infection. It is also a time for reflection on what has been achieved with regard to the national and global response to HIV – and what must still be achieved.

December 1st also marks the beginning of Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week in Canada.

PSAC and the Employer returned to extended negotiations from November 1-9, after the Liberal government promised to bring a new mandate to the table.

At the end of that bargaining session, PSAC requested mediation. We now have confirmation that the government has agreed to this mediation.

PSAC members have told us that they are getting phone calls from third parties identifying themselves as collection agencies. The caller says they are collecting Phoenix payments on behalf of the government. These calls are not legitimate.

Government not using collection agencies

The government has confirmed they are not using collection agencies to collect payments related to Phoenix.

PSAC is taking the ongoing campaign to ban asbestos directly to the Prime Minister.

National President Robyn Benson launched the union’s new ban asbestos postcard initiative during PSAC’s National Health and Safety conference in Montreal last weekend.  

“Asbestos is the leading cause of workplace-related deaths in Canada. The Liberal government must take action to end this epidemic,” said Benson. “They must take the necessary steps to achieve a comprehensive ban on asbestos.”

PSAC is thrilled that the House of Commons adopted a bill that will enshrine trans rights into Canadian law. The bill was passed at Third Reading, but will still need to go through the Senate.

Bill C-16 adds gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act. It also adds gender identity and gender expression to the list of distinguishing characteristics of “identifiable groups” protected by the hate speech provisions in the Criminal Code.