13&1/2% or 47%? Depends who you ask…
- Thread starter Ron in Regina
- Start date
And during a strike, essential workers work.
With our last strike, in some places it was hard to find enough people to be on the lines. Because employment is down that much and the essentials have to be covered.
As for the private sector; that's not my issue, that's on those private people to "negotiate" with their employers for better money if they feel they need it.
Negotiations between the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) are currently at a standstill, according to the union’s national president Marc Brière, who says the government fails to address key issues including wages and telework.
Brière said the parties have shared proposals over the past few days, but have not come together to bargain face-to-face since 10 p.m. on Tuesday.
“At the time, we made proposals and they took them but weren’t ready to answer so the talks broke off,” Brière said. “They came back to our proposals so there’s been some movement but not on the main issues, so we haven’t gone back to the table.”
Brière noted that there has been no action on big-ticket items like telework, wage adjustments, and work schedules, which the union leader said are the sticking points.
“Right now there’s nothing going on,” he said. “There’s no negotiations taking place between us and CRA right now, not even at distance.”
apple.news
“We could go elsewhere than sitting in front of government offices if we have to,” Brière said, adding that other possible locations could include ports, airports, and bridges. “For me, everything’s on the table, whatever it will take. We’ll increase the pressure more and more every day.”
Brière said he hopes the government will see the urgency of the situation and come to the table, acknowledging the disruptions that are impacting Canadians.
“Our bargaining team is still in Ottawa,” Brière said. “We’re waiting.”
Brière said the parties have shared proposals over the past few days, but have not come together to bargain face-to-face since 10 p.m. on Tuesday.
“At the time, we made proposals and they took them but weren’t ready to answer so the talks broke off,” Brière said. “They came back to our proposals so there’s been some movement but not on the main issues, so we haven’t gone back to the table.”
Brière noted that there has been no action on big-ticket items like telework, wage adjustments, and work schedules, which the union leader said are the sticking points.
“Right now there’s nothing going on,” he said. “There’s no negotiations taking place between us and CRA right now, not even at distance.”
'We're fed up': Union leader says talks with CRA now on pause — Ottawa Citizen
Negotiations between the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) are currently at a standstill, according to the union’s national president Marc Brière, who says the government fails to address key issues including wages and telework. Brière said the parties have...
Brière said he hopes the government will see the urgency of the situation and come to the table, acknowledging the disruptions that are impacting Canadians.
“Our bargaining team is still in Ottawa,” Brière said. “We’re waiting.”
Two PSAC groups are striking: a larger Treasury Board group of more than 120,000 workers across several government departments and agencies, and a smaller tax group of more than 35,000 workers at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
About 110,000 to 120,000 PSAC members were eligible to walk off the job after factoring out staff doing work designated as essential, such as employment insurance or pensions.
Contracts for both groups expired in 2021. Negotiations between the federal government and PSAC's two groups each began in 2021, but the union declared an impasse with each unit last year.
apple.news
About 110,000 to 120,000 PSAC members were eligible to walk off the job after factoring out staff doing work designated as essential, such as employment insurance or pensions.
Contracts for both groups expired in 2021. Negotiations between the federal government and PSAC's two groups each began in 2021, but the union declared an impasse with each unit last year.
No deal yet on public service strike as union, government trade accusations of foot-dragging — CBC News
The union representing tens of thousands of federal public servants across the country gave an update on the situation Saturday afternoon, saying the strike would continue and accusing the government of delays.
Reminds me of the line from the song, “Well I jumped in my pick up and I drove to the fridge and I got myself a beer.” From McLean and McLean….’Long Distance Daddy.’
All government workers are essential. Otherwise there is no need for them at all. There has to be a better way to get proper compensation for the job. It also has to be roughly in line with private sector pay. There are a lot of minimum wage private sector workers paying towards the excessive pay and bennies that government employees have.
Today is Friday 04/28/23 & the strike is still going on. Trudeau 'directly' involved in negotiations with PSAC is a headline.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he has been "directly and intimately involved in the negotiations."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he has been "directly and intimately involved in the negotiations” while simultaneously on the same day from New York City, this:
This makes me think of a headline from a few days ago that’s been updated today, so the same date:
Allowing the collective bargaining process between government & Union to do its thing without outside interference.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he has been "directly and intimately involved in the negotiations."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he has been "directly and intimately involved in the negotiations” while simultaneously on the same day from New York City, this:
This makes me think of a headline from a few days ago that’s been updated today, so the same date:
Allowing the collective bargaining process between government & Union to do its thing without outside interference.
PSAC agreement sets stage for other unions to push for more — The Globe and Mail
Tentative deal with 120,000 public workers expected to cost Ottawa $1.3-billion a year
Revenue Canada still out, the other 120,000 have some kind of a deal.
are they negotiating for open carry firearms like their murkin counterparts?
PSAC agreement sets stage for other unions to push for more — The Globe and Mail
Tentative deal with 120,000 public workers expected to cost Ottawa $1.3-billion a year
Revenue Canada still out, the other 120,000 have some kind of a deal.
IRS Special Agents are armed. That's the difference between an agent and a special agent.
It should have been clear from the outset that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals were never going to let the government workers strike drag on for weeks, especially when the problem could be solved using their preferred solution — spending other people’s money.
After 12 days of job action that saw federal services grind to an even more sluggish pace than usual, around 120,000 civil servants returned to work on Monday following a tentative agreement reached between the Canadian government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) over the weekend, which covers four bargaining units under the Treasury Board’s purview.
While both sides had to make some concessions, it’s clear that the government’s tough talk about standing firm on a nine per cent pay increase, as recommended by the Public Interest Commission, was mere bluster.
Exactly how much of a raise public servants will be entitled to, and how much the new agreement will cost Canadian taxpayers, can be a little hard to decipher — perhaps because the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) accountants are still on strike, but probably by design.
PSAC entered the negotiations looking for a 13.5 per cent cumulative wage increase over three years, or 4.5 per cent a year, but settled for 12 per cent over four years (including a minimum 0.5 per cent wage adjustment in 2023).
apple.news
The union claims it secured a fourth year to protect “workers from inflation,” but it seems more likely that it was added so PSAC could boast about getting a 12 per cent pay bump instead of 9.75 per cent over three years. The union was, however, able to secure a series of other benefits, including a one-time, lump-sum bribe of $2,500 per employee, which represents 3.7 per cent of the average worker’s salary.
A tentative deal was also reached on work-from-home rules, which proved to be a major sticking point during the negotiations, as the government was no doubt concerned that permanent telework rules would end up being a bureaucratic nightmare, make it hard to monitor the productivity of people who are not exactly known for their work ethic and be virtually impossible to remove from future agreements.
Ultimately, the parties came to terms on a separate “letter of agreement” that will require managers to assess remote work requests on a case-by-case basis and create panels to advise them on how to deal with employee concerns. This will likely lead to a huge increase in grievances filed against the federal government and require whole new managerial bureaucracies to adjudicate, etc…
After 12 days of job action that saw federal services grind to an even more sluggish pace than usual, around 120,000 civil servants returned to work on Monday following a tentative agreement reached between the Canadian government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) over the weekend, which covers four bargaining units under the Treasury Board’s purview.
While both sides had to make some concessions, it’s clear that the government’s tough talk about standing firm on a nine per cent pay increase, as recommended by the Public Interest Commission, was mere bluster.
Exactly how much of a raise public servants will be entitled to, and how much the new agreement will cost Canadian taxpayers, can be a little hard to decipher — perhaps because the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) accountants are still on strike, but probably by design.
PSAC entered the negotiations looking for a 13.5 per cent cumulative wage increase over three years, or 4.5 per cent a year, but settled for 12 per cent over four years (including a minimum 0.5 per cent wage adjustment in 2023).
Jesse Kline: Trudeau Liberals buy labour peace with other people's money — National Post
The agreement is an extension of existing government policy: more woke indoctrination and increased government spending
The union claims it secured a fourth year to protect “workers from inflation,” but it seems more likely that it was added so PSAC could boast about getting a 12 per cent pay bump instead of 9.75 per cent over three years. The union was, however, able to secure a series of other benefits, including a one-time, lump-sum bribe of $2,500 per employee, which represents 3.7 per cent of the average worker’s salary.
A tentative deal was also reached on work-from-home rules, which proved to be a major sticking point during the negotiations, as the government was no doubt concerned that permanent telework rules would end up being a bureaucratic nightmare, make it hard to monitor the productivity of people who are not exactly known for their work ethic and be virtually impossible to remove from future agreements.
Ultimately, the parties came to terms on a separate “letter of agreement” that will require managers to assess remote work requests on a case-by-case basis and create panels to advise them on how to deal with employee concerns. This will likely lead to a huge increase in grievances filed against the federal government and require whole new managerial bureaucracies to adjudicate, etc…
So I hear it's over. Are you and your co-workers generally satisfied with the deal?
I was going through old emails today and found one I'd be interested in your opinion on, or anyone else's who has worked in the public service.
Often when I'd written something at work and wanted to keep a record of it I would send it to my home computer. Nothing of course was of the restricted or classified nature. Just samples of stuff I'd written and wanted to keep for posterity I suppose.
And the following was a response to a PER I got one year from a guy who had been in our department for maybe 6 or 7 years or so. He had begun as a 4th class and applied himself in the trade earning 3rd class accreditation, then 2nd class, and finally became a 1st class tradesman. Even tho he had the ticket there were no openings for a first class at the time so he held his job in a 2nd class position with a 1st class ticket. So eventually he became my boss when I was once his when he first started with us. So now I'm his assistant.
I don't know if you're familiar with PERs, maybe your branch of gubmint uses a different acronym, but I think these assessments are ubiquitous to all departments so senior management can gauge effectiveness or whatever the fuck it is they're supposed to do. In DND they were an annual annoyance to anyone charged with the task of rendering them for every head in their charge. But towards the end when I got out maybe 5 years ago now, they were getting all stupid with them with new rules saying they had to be done 3? or was it 4 times a year?! A monumental waste of time imo like pretty much most of what the bureaucracy does.
Anyway my boss gives me this glowing Personnel Evaluation Report and this was my reply to it:
"I am pleased to accept this generous assessment of my work performance from Mr. D, even as it raises the bar for me and I hope I will continue to live up to the qualitative standard it represents.
I normally don't make comments on my PER other than to say "no comment", as I have always regarded this annual process to be a useless waste of time as a tool to supposedly benefit our employer, the taxpayer.
I think it would be far more useful to the system at large if employees were to assess their immediate supervisors rather than the other way around.
To that end and for the record Mr D would receive an equally high assessment from me as he has proven himself to be fully capable in all aspects of the CHP shift operator's supervisory position."
As you can imagine, we had an awesome work unit, very much like family.
It's amazing how quickly bad management can make it all go to hell, though.
:?\
Well I'm not part of the union that was on strike Nationally. The strike I was referring to was ours 2ish years ago, that was CUPE NB; almost every section of the union for the province.
If by PER you mean an employee evaluation, yes we have those, or we're supposed to. Because the province has seen fit to amalgamate the health care system and has pushed management into only certain hospitals/areas, our little hospital that I work at no longer has a manager for the department I work at. Actually, only the patient floor, emergency, day surgery and dietary have actual 'managers/supervisors", and dietary because they have a dietition on site. If they removed the position, there wouldn't be anyone and likely the cook would be 'in charge'.
But my area - admitting/telecom/health records - doesn't have a supervisor. Radiology, Lab, Housekeeping, Stores, CSR; none of us have immediate on site supervisors. Ward Clerks technically fall under the Emerg and Floor managers. We do have a facility manager overall, but that position like the Emerg and Floor supervisor is a revolving door.
My point is, I've not had an eval in about... 2 years, maybe 3?
Of course before, we employees could never evaluate our supervisor for how 'good' she was, only her direct boss could. Which meant even though she wasn't good at all, her boss thought she did wonderful cause she wasn't there, she was off in the 'bigger center'.
IMO, I think our performance stuff is a waste of time too as it does nothing really in the long run and there's very little consequence if someone doesn't do 'so well' on one.
thanks for your detailed reply, Serryah
I think if the people ever want to straighten out/streamline their government bodies to work more efficiently for them, then yeah, a lot of the dead wood needs to be cut out. Administrations have grown too top-heavy in my opinion, and having the subordinates evaluate their supervisors would give a better idea of who is more the hindrance to productivity, and maybe even who is taking unfair advantage of their positions in other ways, nest feathering or empire building as the case may be.
One thing I didn't notice in 4 decades of various governments, libs, cons, was any real change whatsoever in how the government operated. I swear even if the ndp had formed a government there would have been very little change at the working end of things.
If the people in this country want real government change then they're going to have to insist on the unelected office holders getting seriously shaken up. Again ya do that by evaluating from the bottom up, not the top down.
I think if the people ever want to straighten out/streamline their government bodies to work more efficiently for them, then yeah, a lot of the dead wood needs to be cut out. Administrations have grown too top-heavy in my opinion, and having the subordinates evaluate their supervisors would give a better idea of who is more the hindrance to productivity, and maybe even who is taking unfair advantage of their positions in other ways, nest feathering or empire building as the case may be.
One thing I didn't notice in 4 decades of various governments, libs, cons, was any real change whatsoever in how the government operated. I swear even if the ndp had formed a government there would have been very little change at the working end of things.
If the people in this country want real government change then they're going to have to insist on the unelected office holders getting seriously shaken up. Again ya do that by evaluating from the bottom up, not the top down.
The problem in health care is... well there's a few problems, IMO.
1. We no longer have properly trained managers/supervisors and what ones we do have, are NOT on each site. Rather they're all pooled to one place and they 'distance manage'.
2. What management there is are forced to take on multiple jobs/over see multiple departments so much so they can't even do THEIR job properly. We had one Supervisor leave because she said she felt more like HR than an actual manager.
3. When someone does get in a management/supervisor position, they don't stay long because of all the BS piled up on them.
4. No one in ANY position of 'authority' actually listens to the workers who work in their departments. I had a staff meeting today and afterwards that comment was made over some "new idea" someone 'in charge' came up with. It wasn't a new idea and there's lack of faith/trust this 'idea' is going to work like they think.
5. When it comes to the absolute top - the heads/CEO of the corporation - yeah, they're paid too much for doing SFA. Of course there's a lot of hesitancy/uncertainty after Higgs got rid of the last CEO for things out of his control, before he could do anything to change things. At least he seemed to want to listen and help (whether he could or not is another story). Now it just seems we have someone playing lip service for the Premier.
But at least it's not likely she'll be run out, like the CEO two people ago. THAT woman made so many mistakes when she came to our hospital for an event, she snuck out and avoided the public out of 'fear' of being held accountable for her bullshit.
Overall, moral sucks, and half of it is on goverment, half is on management and our contract is up next year and I don't see much changing, which means we'll be ANOTHER 2 years in limbo when it's up waiting for something decent to never happen.