Latest news with #PSAC
Globe and Mail
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Government, union representing public servants to restart contract talks
Two years ago, more than 120,000 federal public servants went on strike after negotiations broke down. Now, the union representing those workers is going back to the bargaining table with the government with the goal of securing greater job security and remote work options for its members. The Public Service Alliance of Canada says next week's initial meetings offer its first opportunity to present priorities identified by members, such as better wages, greater job security and stronger provisions for remote work. Those issues were all front and centre during the 2023 strike, which saw public servants spend almost two weeks on picket lines across the country. Sharon DeSousa, national president of PSAC, said contract discussions can take anywhere from weeks to years. She said the union's bargaining teams are 'ready to set the tone' and get a good contract, adding that striking is always the 'last resort.' The union said the initial talks are the government's first chance to show it's ready to make meaningful improvements to public servants' working conditions. 'We're about improving the working conditions and we're hoping that the government is interested as well,' DeSousa said. 'These are the same workers who protect our coasts, assist businesses and farmers, and deliver vital social programs and respond to emergencies like wildfires. 'We're hoping that we're able to sit down and deal with the main issues at hand.' Rola Salem, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, said in an email that the government looks forward to a 'productive round of collective bargaining' with the Public Service Alliance of Canada. 'We are committed to negotiating in good faith and to reaching agreements that are fair to employees and reasonable for Canadians,' she said. David McLaughlin, a former provincial official in Manitoba and president and CEO of the Institute on Governance, said the union's requests seem to be a 'continuation' of the last round of bargaining. 'I would not expect that the current government would have a radically different view of how to treat those issues,' McLaughlin said. 'I'd be very surprised if they reverse their position on remote work. They're trying to hold the line, as they did last time.' McLaughlin said he expects the government will put some more money toward wages. He added that job security likely will be the biggest issue at the table for both the union and the government, which has committed to 'capping' the size of the public service.
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Service Canada to cut 800 office jobs nationwide
Published: Updated: Service Canada is set to cut about 800 passport office jobs nationwide by the end of June. The department attributes these reductions to an anticipated drop in passport applications. An Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) spokesperson confirmed the decision was 'necessary and not taken lightly.' These job cuts will affect Service Canada offices across the country, though specific numbers for each location weren't provided. All employees impacted by the changes have been informed. ESDC stated that, as a federal department, it has an obligation to manage its finances responsibly, aligning revenues with costs, including salaries, based on projected workloads. These Service Canada job cuts follow a prior announcement by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to eliminate up to 280 permanent jobs, primarily in the National Capital Region. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), representing nearly a quarter-million public sector workers, asserts that these combined reductions threaten essential daily services for Canadians, warning of potential service delays at passport offices and weakened services for taxpayers and businesses. The union warned that these job cuts will lead to longer wait times at passport offices and weaker services for taxpayers and businesses. PSAC National President Sharon DeSousa stated online, 'Throughout the election, the Liberals promised 'caps, not cuts,' but each week, hundreds of federal workers are receiving notice that their jobs are being eliminated.'
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Around 800 jobs to be cut Service Canada offices nationally
Around 800 passport office jobs are expected to be cut across the country at the end of June due to a forecast of reduced applications from Service Canada. In an email to this newspaper, a spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) said the decision was 'necessary and not taken lightly.' The cuts will impact Service Canada offices nationally, the spokesperson added. They did not provide details about how many jobs from each service location will be cut, but did say all impacted employees have been notified. 'As a federal department, ESDC has an obligation to ensure sound fiscal management throughout the organization based on forecasted workload volumes. Revenues must be balanced with costs, including costs for employee salaries,' the email read. The job cuts come after the Canadian Revenue Agency announced it will cut 280 jobs, most of them in the National Capital Region. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents nearly 240,000 public service workers across the country, said the job cuts will threaten services that people rely on every day. It will mean longer wait times at passport offices as well as weakened services for taxpayers and businesses, the union said. 'Throughout the election, the Liberals promised 'caps, not cuts,' but each week, hundreds of federal workers are receiving notice that their jobs are being eliminated,' said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC national president, in a statement posted online. 'Prime Minister Carney needs to make good on his word and stop slashing the services people depend on – especially without proper analysis or solid evidence to support these decisions.' Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. City committee to debate whether to allow alcohol in parks GUILTY: Alain Bellefeuille gets life sentence for killing OPP Sgt. Eric Mueller, injuring two other officers
Ottawa Citizen
25-05-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Around 800 jobs to be cut Service Canada offices nationally
Article content Around 800 passport office jobs are expected to be cut across the country at the end of June due to a forecast of reduced applications from Service Canada. Article content In an email to this newspaper, a spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) said the decision was 'necessary and not taken lightly.' Article content The cuts will impact Service Canada offices nationally, the spokesperson added. They did not provide details about how many jobs from each service location will be cut, but did say all impacted employees have been notified. Article content Article content 'As a federal department, ESDC has an obligation to ensure sound fiscal management throughout the organization based on forecasted workload volumes. Revenues must be balanced with costs, including costs for employee salaries,' the email read. Article content Article content The job cuts come after the Canadian Revenue Agency announced it will cut 280 jobs, most of them in the National Capital Region. Article content The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents nearly 240,000 public service workers across the country, said the job cuts will threaten services that people rely on every day. Article content It will mean longer wait times at passport offices as well as weakened services for taxpayers and businesses, the union said. Article content 'Throughout the election, the Liberals promised 'caps, not cuts,' but each week, hundreds of federal workers are receiving notice that their jobs are being eliminated,' said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC national president, in a statement posted online. Article content
CBC
03-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Kanata nuclear facility owner broke law during strike, labour board rules
Social Sharing A federal labour board has found the owner of a west Ottawa nuclear facility broke the law by failing to negotiate with employees in good faith during a protracted strike. About 40 Best Theratronics Ltd. (BTL) workers represented by Unifor returned to work late last month after securing an 11 per cent wage increase and a new collective agreement, more than nine months after walking off the job. About a dozen workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) are still on strike. Last week, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) upheld unfair labour practice complaints against the owner of the medical manufacturing company. In separate complaints lodged last year, Unifor and PSAC accused the owner of BTL, Krishnan Suthanthiran, of breaching the Canada Labour Code. CIRB heard the complaints as BTL is federally regulated as a licensed nuclear facility. In a decision dated Feb. 27, the independent administrative tribunal found that BTL had failed to bargain in good faith, a breach of the code. BTL also failed to give representatives authority to bargain on its behalf and had bargained in bad faith by disseminating false and misleading communications designed to influence the bargaining process, CIRB found. Reasons for decision to come later CIRB also found that BTL issued explicit anti-union statements, which undermined the unions in the eyes of bargaining unit employees. BTL's communications amounted to an attempt to interfere with the representation of PSAC's members, the board found. Finally, CIRB concluded that BTL disseminated misinformation as a means of threatening, intimidating and coercing unionized workers so that they would not continue their affiliation with the complainants and exercise their collective bargaining rights. The board said it would provide its reasoning at a later date. CIRB also said that before exercising "its remedial powers" it had appointed an industrial relations officer to assist the parties in resolving the dispute, asking him to report back before March 31. One union disappointed In a statement, PSAC regional executive vice-president Ruth Lau MacDonald said they were happy CIRB recognized that BTL had violated the code. But the union is "disappointed that the decision only entails a CIRB staff resource to be assigned and report back by March 31," she added. "This means that the board is not making use of its remedial powers to fix the situation, while our workers have been on the picket line for almost 300 days now." While the two sides are still trying to reach an agreement, BTL has not responded to PSAC since last Thursday, she said.
