Unifor keeps close eye on Wynne / Treasury Board accused of unfair labour practices
Union accuses Treasury Board of unfair labour practices
OTTAWA — The union representing federal public service employees has filed a formal complaint against Ottawa and its efforts to claw back sick leave benefits.
Prompted by the Treasury Board’s short-term disability proposal for its staffers, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) filed an unfair labour practice complaint on July 7.
The plan — spearheaded by the board’s president, Tony Clement, and modelled in the same vein as private sector schemes — would reduce the number of paid sick days and introduce a waiting period for benefits. Whereas the government argues the changes will improve productivity, labour groups fear workers will report for duty despite being ill.
PSAC further alleges that by unilaterally going ahead with a short-term disability plan apart from the sick days outlined in the current collective agreement, the Treasury Board violated its duty to bargain in good faith.
"Sick leave is a part of the collective agreements, and any changes must be brought to the bargaining table," the union said in a statement. "If the Treasury Board truly wants to engage in a discussion about improvements to the health and work life of employees, the bargaining teams are ready to talk."
The complaint foreshadows what is expected to be a particularly rocky road towards a collective agreement. Negotiations are slated for later this year.
In wake of Wynne’s throne speech, Unifor vows to keep a close eye on Ontario Liberals
TORONTO — In her throne speech last week, Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne re-introduced a budget that appeals to most labour groups — but the country’s biggest union warns it will keep a watchful eye on the Liberal party over the next four years.
Wynne delivered many welcome promises for change in her throne speech on July 3, something the union will push through to fruition, according to Jerry Dias, national president of Unifor.
"During the election campaign, Kathleen Wynne repeatedly expressed her belief that government can be a force of good — and Unifor will continue to push the Liberals hard to ensure they lead Ontario towards prosperity."
The Liberal budget — the very same plan that triggered the June election after being shot down by the Progressive Conservatives and NDP — aims to eliminate the $12.5-billion deficit by 2018.
Of note for labour groups is the Liberal’s plan to protect and strengthen workers’ rights, create good jobs and rejuvenate a much-beleaguered manufacturing sector.
One of the budget’s major components is the hotly contested Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP), which will be available to people who do not already have a retirement program at their workplace. Prompted after the federal government balked on Canada Pension Plan reforms, the ORPP will see employers matching up to 1.9 per cent of contributions to their employees' nest eggs.
"No one should be left guessing whether or not they’ll be able to afford groceries in retirement," Dias said.
Many union leaders backed the Liberal agenda or condemned the alternatives during the June election.
That included the unprecedented move by Unifor 87-M, the union that represents media staff and journalists, to endorse anybody but then-leader of the Progressive Conservatives, Tim Hudak.
The matter was further muddled this week when 500 NDP unionized federal staffers left Unifor after it refused to unequivocally endorse the New Democrats in the June election. In their departure, employees cited a betrayal of the provincial NDP as well as fear for their jobs should Unifor not back the NDP in the forthcoming federal election, slated for 2015.
Whereas key players like Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, dubbed Wynne’s budget as "progressive," others, including Warren (Smokey) Thomas, who helms the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, accused union leaders of selling their souls to the Liberal party.
