Find questions and answers about a wide variety of topics related to the union and your rights in the workplace on this page.
The goal is to provide you with a reference tool that you can use in the workplace to address day-to-day issues.
No. The Union has a duty of fair representation to every member. This duty does not include unlimited representation. Union decisions must be consistent with the interests of the entire membership. If a settlement is achieved, which is perceived to be the best possible resolution of a case, and that settlement is rejected by a grievor, the duty of fair representation condition has been met.
It should also be made clear that members will be barred from bringing any action, in respect of to their employment, before the courts. The courts do not have jurisdiction over labour relations matters in a unionized setting.
Members are barred from bringing any action, in respect of to their employment, before the courts. The courts do not have jurisdiction over labour relations matters in a unionized setting. Issues must be resolved, by the parties to a Collective Agreement, using the prescribed remedial devices contained therein.
The Local is the first line of defence against violations of the collective agreement. A strong Local, that is respected by the employer, tends to better ensure contract compliance in the workplace. Solid Locals are also more likely to be consulted prior to organizational decision-making and tend to be more respected by the members. Therefore the snowball effect is that the Local becomes even stronger because the workers believe and support the Union's actions.
Although the Union of National Employees is behind you, it is impossible for us to be in each workplace at all times. It's also important to recognize that if the initial actions of a Local are flawed, there may be little we can do to rectify the situation.
Therefore, the first and most powerful mechanism, to defend and advance the members' interests, is building a powerful Local.
There are many ways to build a strong Local, in particular participating in Union education programs, such as courses offered by the PSAC Regional Office, Regional Seminars held by the Union of National Employees, and participating in steward networks and other support groups such as Health and Safety Committees, Regional Women's Committees etc.
You can obtain a copy of the Bylaws and Constitution by visiting at the National Component web site here.
You can find the sample by-laws here.
This is a fairly complex question and is best answered in parts.
Table I, attempts to illustrate the division of roles and responsibilities between the PSAC and the Union of National Employees. Those roles and responsibilities, that are covered under the PSAC mandate, are listed in the first column while the second column provides the Union of National Employees listing of same.
Table
I Division of Roles and Responsibilities Between the PSAC and the National Component |
|
PSAC Responsibilities | National Component |
Collective bargaining | Soliciting of bargaining demands and mobilization |
Organizing | Communication to support organizing activities |
Classification grievances | Classifications not already covered in the collective agreements |
Adjudication of grievances | Staffing Complaints and grievances other than adjudication |
Central research | Component-specific research |
Central printing and distribution | Component-specific printing and distribution |
Central editorial information and public relations | Component-specific editorial information and Public relations |
Any service which can be more effectively and economically supplied | Publishing newsletters or similar publications |
Representation at all levels of government on matters which are not the sole and exclusive responsibility of one component section | Representation at all levels of government |
Alliance education | Component education including Regional Seminars and the Human Rights Conference |
Table I is an excellent
starting point if you wish to understand
the division of responsibilities. However,
to get the true picture, there are other
roles and responsibilities that must be
taken into account.
The PSAC can delegate the following to
the Union of National Employees:
· Classification Grievances
· Collective Agreement Enforcement
The PSAC can also choose to delegate the following matters to the Union of National Employees, where all the members of the bargaining team are UNE members:
· Alliance Education
· Grievance and Adjudication
· Collective Bargaining
The PSAC is responsible for:
· Area Councils
· Direct Chartered Locals
· Regional Councils
· Regional Committees
· Regional Offices
The Union of National Employees can request that PSAC represent a member:
· If it is deemed to be more expedient
· If the case is deemed to be precedent
setting
The respective roles and responsibilities of the Union of National Employees, National Executive, Human Rights Committees and Locals can be found in the Union of National Employees' By-Laws.
The By-Laws are an excellent guide to better understand the roles and responsibilities for the different elected positions in our union, including the responsibilities of a Local Executive. Locals receive union dues from their membership and are the primary source of information to many members. Locals are encouraged to reflect on the responsibilities outlined and to develop an active plan for their term of office. While the By-Laws can only be changed at a Component Convention every three years, several members of the National Executive sit on the By-Laws Committee and would be available should you have any specific questions.
The respective roles and responsibilities of the Union of National Employees, National Executive, Human Rights Committees and Locals can be found in the Union of National Employees's By-Laws.
The By-Laws are an excellent guide to better understand the roles and responsibilities of the different elected positions in our union, including the responsibilities of a Local Executive. Locals receive union dues from their membership and are the primary source of information to many members. Locals are encouraged to reflect on the responsibilities outlined and to develop an active plan for their term of office. While the By-Laws can only be changed at a Component Convention every three years, several members of the National Executive sit on the By-Laws Committee and would be available should you have any specific questions
.The National Labour Relations Officer assigned will review your grievance, and, in particular:
- The grievance wording and Corrective Action Requested
- The grievance replies sent to you by lower level employer representatives
- Your completed Steward Fact Sheet which should have accompanied your grievance file
- The arguments advanced, with the employer, in support of the case at the lower levels
- The timeliness of your grievance and final level transmittal
- Confirm that all necessary documentation is on your file, or if some documents are missing, advise you which ones are needed before your grievance can be heard at the final level
- When the grievance file is complete, advise you that final level consultation will be requested with the employer representative and of the approximate time frame involved in your case
- After the hearing has been scheduled, advise you of the time, date and location of your final level hearing and the last date for consultation and reply by your Employer
- In advance of the final level hearing, will work with the grievor and/or Local Union Representative with the National Labour Relations Officer, to ensure that the final level grievance presentation is accurate and complete.
You should apply on closed competitions and compete for other positions which interest you.
It is also possible that your job description
might not recognize all your assigned duties.
Your job description might not be properly
classified at its current group and level.
You should familiarize yourself with the
Statement of Duties article of your collective
agreement and discuss your rights with your
Local PSAC Representative.
NOTE: Information on job
content grievances, classification grievances
and denial of acting pay grievances is available
on the PSAC's website. The time limits,
for the filing these types of grievances,
is of critical importance.
The employer is charged with this responsibility. Check with your Human Resources Department. Copies should be available for every employee when a new collective agreement is signed and printed.
If you are a Treasury Board employee a copy is also available electronically on the Treasury Board website.
All employers, whether provincially or federally regulated, are subject to the duty to accommodate which flows from applicable human rights legislation. Both the provincial and federal human rights statutes exempt discriminatory conduct that is based on a bona fide occupational qualification/requirement.
"Disability" is broadly defined in human rights legislation, in respect to both what conditions constitute a disability and who can claim protection against disability discrimination. The definition protects individuals who now have, or used to have, a disability. Finally, the definition has been interpreted to cover not only an actual, but also a perceived, disability.
A "disability" for accommodation purposes may be temporary, long lasting or permanent. It may be an actual disability, or only one that is perceived as such in the eyes of others, or even an impairment that one used to have. While most disabilities are beyond an employee's control, the impairment may have a quasi-voluntary aspect to it, such as alcoholism or drug addiction. Not every absence from work for a medical reason constitutes a physical disability within the meaning of human rights legislation. The condition must entail a certain measure of severity, permanence and persistence.
The duty to accommodate extends beyond
persons with disabilities, and includes
grounds such as race or colour, religion
or creed, age, sex, marital status, physical
or mental handicap or disability, sexual
orientation, gender identity or gender expression, national or ethnic origin,
family status, alcohol or drug dependency,
ancestral origin or place of origin.
For example an employer has the obligation
to accommodate a pregnant employee who is
unable, as a result of the pregnancy, to
do the full duties of her job by looking
at modified work opportunities to the point
of undue hardship. However, the employee
is not entitled to any greater benefit because
the modification arises as a result of pregnancy.
Employees with substance dependencies cannot
often be accommodated simply by altering
their job duties or providing assistive
devices. Instead, these employees may be
accommodated by more leniency with respect
to lateness, absences and leaves of absence.
Determining the boundaries of accommodation requires more from the employer than simply investigating whether any existing job might be suitable for a disabled employee. Rather, the law requires the employer to determine whether existing positions can be adjusted, adapted or modified for the employee; and if not, whether there are other positions in the workplace that might be suitable for the employee.
The term "undue hardship" refers to the legal standard used to measure whether the failure to provide an accommodation is justifiable in a given set of circumstances. The financial consequences of accommodation vary infinitely. What may be eminently reasonable in prosperous times may pose an undue hardship for an employer in times of economic restraint or recession.
The employer's duty to accommodate includes seeing if the employee can continue to perform in their present job with some changes in duties or modifications to those duties with aid devices. If this is not possible, then the employer should look to see if there are any other types of jobs that the employee can do. The employer should first try to find another position within the bargaining unit. If impossible, then the employer should consider positions outside of the bargaining unit which could also mean relaxing a clause in the collective agreement to accommodate the employee. The employee does not enjoy the right nor does it compel the employer to displace another employee from their position in order to accommodate the other employee.
The jurisprudence suggests that the employer is not obliged to accommodate to the extent of assigning unproductive work or a redundant job to an employee.
In safety-sensitive positions, employers will be given greater latitude if they refuse to accommodate an employee because of the risk of relapse, provided there is a basis for this conclusion.
While the employer has a duty to accommodate, so does the Union and the employee seeking accommodation. The Union's role is to assist and cooperate in the implementation of the accommodation and to not unduly interfere.
Where an employee has a tenable claim of disability, the Local will normally support that employee's request for accommodation. The Local should urge employers to keep an open mind about what constitutes a "disability" and ensure that resistance to the diagnosis of "disability" is not based on concerns about the cost of accommodation.
Where the feasibility of accommodation is in dispute at arbitration, it is the responsibility of the Union to present the arbitrator with evidence of accommodation options that could have been employed and that would not have posed an undue hardship.
A leading case in Human Rights is the Meiorin decision. The importance of this decision is that it widens the employer's and Union's responsibilities so as to ensure that all of the employer's practices, policies and procedures do not discriminate or present barriers for employees.
The Meiorin decision also established three steps to determine whether or not the occupational requirement is a justified job requirement or not:
- Did the employer adopt a standard that is rationally linked to the execution of the work in question?
- Did the employer adopt a standard in which they sincerely believe that it was necessary to legitimately process this work?
- Is the standard reasonably necessary linked to be able to do this work?
How can Locals and members be proactive/assist members seeking accommodation under the duty to accommodate?
- Have an active workplace health & safety that reviews policies and procedures of the employer to ensure that they are barrier free.
- Have an active employment equity committee & actively involve this committee in reviewing policies and procedures of the employer to ensure that they are barrier free.
It includes harassment prohibited by the Canadian Human Rights Act, which consists of harassment related to race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability and pardoned conviction. It is generally about abuse of power, it is always about control and is a form of violence. Intentional or not, it can result in the complainant's loss of dignity if allowed to continue.
The proper exercise of managerial and supervisory rights and responsibilities is not harassment.
Some examples of harassment, include:
- Serious or repeated offensive remarks or misrepresentations which degrade and humiliate
- Displaying or sending sexist, racist or other offensive pictures, posters or e mails
- Sexual harassment, such as unwelcome social invitations with sexual overtones or flirting
- Threats, intimidation or retaliation
- Unnecessary Increased workload
- Unnecessary Reduced Responsibilities
- Make your disapproval or unease known
as soon as possible. If you tell the person
yourself or have a supervisor, colleague
or Union representative communicate your
complaint verbally, always follow up in
writing to confirm your informal complaint
and the agreed-to resolution. This begins
your documentation if necessary and may
serve to deter further harassment, particularly
when the offence was unintentional.
- The longer the inappropriate/wrongful behaviour continues, the odds increase to creating a poisoned work environment, putting your psychological and physical well-being at risk - and your ability to continue working within that environment.
- If the behaviour continues, contact your Union representative.
- Discuss the incidents, confirm whether the behaviour constitutes harassment - discuss potential solutions to the identified problems. If there is someone competent employed within your workplace who is trained in the techniques of Alternative Dispute Resolute (ADR), you may also include them in your discussions.
- Always maintain time lines for filing a grievance. Harassment which is ongoing permits the filing of the grievance within the time lines set out in the collective agreement - within the required days from the last incident.
- Whether or not the behaviour constitutes harassment and involves a person in authority, then the Union representative can initiate an informal process to resolve the issue.
- If the actions constitute harassment but involve a colleague without authority over you, attempt to settle the matter with another party present, usually another colleague or a harassment prevention officer, or someone trained in Alternative Dispute Resolution. If a Union representative attends this discussion, they must ensure the alleged harasser (if unionized) is provided with separate representation if a complaint proceeds.
- Create a diary to document the incidents and the dates on which they occurred if the harassment continues after one or two incidents.
- Always try to secure witnesses to the incidents.
- Always maintain evidence, such as any correspondence, written reports, minutes of meetings, draft evaluationsetc. related to the harassment.
- If the harassment continues after the
informal process of informing the person
in question, take the next step to formalize
the complaint.
-
(A) Check the employer's
Harassment Policy (if it exists) to
determine whether a grievance may be
filed at the same time.
If you are employed with Treasury Board, harassment complaints cannot proceed to adjudication at this time The Treasury Board Policy on the Prevention and Resolution of Harassment in the workplace is available at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/hw-hmt/siglist_e.asp
If you are not employed with Treasury Board, review your collective agreement and the harassment policy. If you can file a grievance simultaneously with the complaint under the employer's policy, file the grievance and have it held in abeyance until the complaint process is complete.
(B) If harassment is based on one of the grounds of discrimination prohibited under the Canadian Human Rights Act, employees have the right to file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, generally up to 1 year after the incident. http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/publications/the_complaint-en.asp
If a complaint on the same issue is or has been dealt with through one of the avenues of recourse, you generally cannot proceed with the same complaint in another forum. For example, if your complaint is resolved through the grievance process, the complaint process under the employer's harassment policies will not proceed.
-
(C) Assaults including
sexual assault are covered by the Criminal
Code and in such cases the police should
be contacted.
Mediation is a voluntary process used to resolve conflict by having a neutral person help the disputing parties arrive at a mutually acceptable solution and generally can be requested at any time, while the complaint/grievance process is h http://www.chrc ccdp.ca/publications/Complaint_Plaintes_index.asp?l=eeld in abeyance. Under an agreement with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the Public Service Commission will act as an expert resource body by developing programs and providing services to departments in the prevention and resolution of harassment in the workplace, in such areas as training, mediation and investigation.
Information on the PSAC Scholarship program can be obtained by visiting http://www.psac-afpc.org/what/benefits/benefits-e.shtml
Information regarding the Union of National Employees bursaries and/or awards can be obtained by visiting here.
The application for membership card should be initiated by the PSAC, the Local, or the UNE. The signed application for membership card should be forwarded, as of April 1, directly to the PSAC, 4th floor for processing. The PSAC will be processing these cards once a week and there should be an improvement on the turnaround, provided all the information is legible and the signature is present on the card. The PSAC will establish a phone contact for such enquiries, but it is not yet available.
Seasonal employees, if they were signed members, do not need to sign new cards. They show times out because they are not paying union dues but once they come back on strength, dues should start and the lists updated accordingly. The PSAC keeps the membership status for 2 years. While it is not necessary for a member to sign up again, it is a good idea to check their address, just in case there are changes.
It is a good idea to keep a copy of the signed card, for reference purposes, but copies are not accepted as legal application for membership as per the PSSRB and the PSAC. Only original signed applications are allowed if there is a need to have an official membership count, such as during a decertification process. Dates of when the cards are forwarded to the PSAC is also helpful.
Address changes can be made through the PSAC's web site, PSAC Regional Office or by contacting our Membership Clerk.
When an employee is hired, the employer needs to complete a payroll identification form (PIF) which advises the PSAC that dues should be started for a particular person, the component number (the number used to identify the UNE), the Local number and the deduction code number set up by the employer. The form also has a spot for a signature which authorizes the employer to release to the PSAC, the employee's address, if the employee provides it. These forms must be initiated by the employer, signed by the employee ( if the employee agrees to release address), and sent to the PSAC by the employer. Normally the employer would retain the completed form and send a copy of the form to the PSAC. Dues are started by the employer and the form is advice to the PSAC of this action.
The application for membership card can be provided by the PSAC, the Local, or Component. The signed application for membership card should be forwarded, as of April 1, 2004 directly to the PSAC, 4th floor for processing. The PSAC processes these cards once a week, provided all the information is legible and the signature is present on the card.
Seasonal employees, if they were signed members, do not need to sign new cards. The PSAC keeps the membership status for 2 years. While it is not necessary for a member to sign up again, it is a good idea to check the address, just in case there are changes.
It is a good idea to keep a copy of the signed card, for reference purposes, but copies are not accepted as legal application for membership as per the PSSRB and the PSAC. Only original signed applications are allowed if there is a need to have an official membership count, such as during a decertification process.
While changes can be made on the system, there is a backlog with respect to the paper changes for labels. Labels for publications are printed up 4 weeks or so in advance of the publication, so it takes time to use those up and for the new ones to be printed.
The PSAC dues are calculated on a percentage basis. The current rate is .8889%. For most people this percent is taken on the 1st step of the classification, for example, CR4, PM4, GT3, etc. The amount obtained is divided by 12 to produce the monthly deduction for the PSAC portion.
The Union of National Employees's dues are also calculated on a percentage basis, again on the 1st step of the classification and divided by 12 for the monthly amount. The current rate for the Union of National Employees is 0.5956%
Local dues may be a flat rate, such as $5.00 per month or a percentage rate such as .123%. If the Local establishes percentage dues, the 1st step of the classification is again used to determine the dollar figure for the deduction.
If a Miscellaneous rate has been established, this will also be calculated and added to the other 4 amounts to produce the one deduction from the pay.
The employers forward all deductions to the PSAC, as the bargaining agent, who in turn sends us the deductions for the Union of National Employees, Local, and Miscellaneous items. We then distribute the Locals' amounts to the appropriate Local.