Carol Osborne, USJE Regional Vice-President, CSC Community/Parole Board of Canada (East), along with David Neufeld, USJE National President attended Local 70148s AGM in Ottawa on October 18, 2024.
RVP Osborne started the meeting with a brief overview of the roles of Local Representatives and encouraged members to submit nominations in advance. She stressed the importance of having a full Executive considering the size of the Local. The local is planning a subsequent meeting to hold the local elections.
RVP Osborne also provided information on PSAC training and encouraged members to participate in the Talking Union Basics course which is informative for all members.
RVP Osborne then spoke about the USJE Regional Bargaining Conference that was held this past week in the Ontario/NCR. RVP Osborne identified that a Local President from another PBC Local was elected to attend the next PSAC National Bargaining Conference in February 2025. She encouraged the members to be engaged in this next round of bargaining and consider creating and submitting new bargaining demands through the PSAC website link. President Neufeld reminded members of the November 15th deadline for submission of bargaining demands.
President Neufeld then spoke to the work of USJE’s Collective Bargaining Strategy Committee that was created in the fall of 2023. He identified that this new committee is focused on preparing our union for the upcoming and future rounds of collective bargaining. President Neufeld further noted that a resolution passed at the USJE Triennial Convention in 2023 which created a USJE National Strike Fund. He also shared that the PSAC strike pay was increased at the recent PSAC Triennial Convention in May 2024.
President Neufeld went on to speak about the Treasury Board’s Return to the Office (RTO) mandate and USJE’s demand for a nuanced and flexible approach to hybrid work. RVP Osborne spoke about the exemption process within the PBC. President Neufeld highlighted the rallies held this week in Ottawa in support of the campaign on hybrid work.
President Neufeld and RVP Osborne shared an update on USJE’s Presumptive Injury Campaign. The campaign calls for changes to the Government Employee Compensation Act (GECA) and to ensure Workers Compensation coverage for our members who suffer operational stress injuries after being exposed to traumatic material or events. It is USJE’s firm belief that members should not have to fight to be approved for Worker’s Compensation coverage.
President Neufeld then shared about an event that the USJE National Health and Safety Committee hosted on Parliament Hill, on the eve of World Mental Health Day. Many Members of Parliament attended the event to learn of USJE’s Presumptive Injury campaign and to show support. On October 10th, two Members of Parliament (Liberal MP Jennifer O’Connell and NDP MP Peter Julian) provided statements in the House which spoke to their support of USJE’s call for changes to GECA. These statements can be found on the USJE website, and these videos were shown to the members in attendance.
Lastly, RVP Osborne and President Neufeld focused on the Treasury Board’s “Responsible Government Spending” initiative that is forcing departments to reduce overall spending in the coming years. The USJE representatives identified that additional information will be requested from the PBC in order to obtain a clearer image of the inevitable changes to staffing, acting opportunities, and workload at the PBC. It was noted that there is a National Labour Management Meeting scheduled for November.
RVP Osborne and President Neufeld would like to thank all the members who attend the meeting and for their engagement in their union.