On June 5, 2025, the Department of Justice initiated a workforce adjustment (WFA) exercise impacting over 260 Justice employees, 61 of which are USJE members.
No meaningful consultation occurred between the Department and USJE prior or even immediately after the implementation of this process. Instead, on June 12, 2025, the Department unilaterally created a departmental consideration process, called the Priority Placement Unit (PPU), without the Union’s knowledge or consent. The Department has gone as far as to ask affected employees to complete Privacy Consent forms to take part in this process. None of which was vetted or approved by the Union.
According to the Department, the intent and purpose of the PPU is to support employees affected by WFA in finding alternative employment within the Department. Buyer beware– here is what the Department of Justice is not telling employees about the potential implications of this PPU:
- By announcing that employees are required to consent to be considered for opportunities within the Department of Justice, the Employer is confirming that it is continuing to staff positions within Justice with outside candidates despite having a large pool of qualified WFA affected employees to choose from.
- By inviting employees to express an interest in applying for funded opportunities within the Department of Justice, the Employer is attempting to shift the burden of the WFA process onto employees, all the while circumventing and minimizing its obligation to undertake a meaningful human resource analysis.
- By continuing to staff these funded positions prior to initiating a proper WFA process, the Employer is diminishing the number of jobs that could be offered to affected employees through the Guaranteed Reasonable Job Offer avenue.
- By delaying the implementation of a proper WFA process, the Employer is potentially reducing the number of affected employees in hopes that it does not meet the minimum requirements for instituting a Voluntary Departure Program which can be quite beneficial to certain affected employees.
The Department of Justice has already advised that there will be job losses stemming from this WFA process. Rather than take every precaution available under the negotiated terms of the Collective Agreement, this Employer is creating a self-serving process that it labels “above and beyond” the WFA Process. The WFA provisions of the Collective Agreement were painstakingly negotiated between the parties; while not perfect, it offers mechanisms to ensure the equitable and dignified treatment of affected employees.
Affected members need to understand that by accepting an informal indeterminate placement, they will no longer be considered an affected employee. Being an affected employee pursuant to the WFA provisions can come with some significant entitlements. To name a few:
- Priority entitlement if laid off;
- Salary protection;
- Counselling on a variety of topics;
- Voluntary Departure Program (which, if selected, comes with options);
- Transition support measures (lump sum payments or education allowances); and
- Retraining.
On June 16, 2025, USJE representatives met with the Department to voice concerns with the PPU process and ask that, instead, the Department simply comply with the terms of the collective agreement. No matter, the Department of Justice continues in its quest to do its own thing.
The PSAC has seen processes like the PPU in other departments that led to members either accepting positions at much lower salaries or to members agreeing to change from indeterminate to term or from full-time to part-time statuses. People are scared and employers are capitalizing on this fear.
The USJE-PSAC has filed a policy grievance contesting the Department of Justice’s unilateral PPU process and its breach of the Collective Agreement. In the interim, USJE strongly recommends members to contact their union representatives before agreeing to any changes in their terms and conditions of employment that could stem from their affected status.