Political Action

Here are the Regional Council reports and teleconference call minutes presented at the September 2013 Regional Council meeting.

Nearly 350 workers at the Richmond location of IKEA have been locked out by management since May 13. These workers, members of Teamsters Local 213, are being asked to accept a two-tiered wage structure, along with substantial pay cuts.

Bill C-4 takes away the democratic rights of federal public sector employees and seriously undermines the health and safety protections in the Canada Labour Code covering workers under federal jurisdiction.The proposed amendments to federal labour laws do not modernize the public sector. Rather, they are regressive and set back rights 30 years.The following is a synopsis of PSAC’s concerns with the bill.

(Ottawa) October 25, 2013 – The Public Service Alliance of Canada called today on the Conservative government to withdraw changes to federal labour legislation from the Budget Implementation Act. What is needed instead is a new and genuinely modern labour law modeled on labour legislation that already exists for other workers across Canada, such as the Canada Labour Code.

This Speech from the Throne is a missed opportunity and another attack against the public service. Balancing the budget on the backs of public servants is not a balanced approach. If the Conservatives really want Canadians to have good, secure jobs, we need more social investments not more public service cuts.

republished with kind permission from the September issue of the Advocate, the official newsletter of the BC Federation of Retired Union Members.Alice West, former PSAC National Director and President of BC FORUM, has won the 2013 Rosemary Brown award for Women, recognizing her immense contribution to the labour movement, equality and social justice in Canada, and in particular her contributions in the area of Women in the Labour Movement.

Conservative MPs want to weaken unions. They want to pass a law that will open up our collective agreements. They want to take out our union security clauses.The most important thing we can do to combat these attacks is educate and engage thousands of members about the gains our union has made and the threats we face.

You can help veterans stop the closure of the Veterans Affairs offices in their communities. In the lead-up to Remembrance Day and beyond, PSAC members will be working with veterans to organize events in their communities and urge Members of Parliament to speak out against the closures.

Canada’s veterans will be in Ottawa Thursday, October 3rd to talk about why the federal government must not close Veterans Affairs offices they rely on.WATCH THE LAUNCH LIVE at 8:00 am PST on Thursday, October 3 - www.psac.com/webcastThe office in Prince George has already been shut down and the government says that by February, offices in Corner Brook, Charlottetown, Sydney, Thunder Bay, Windsor, Brandon, Saskatoon and Kelowna will be closing their doors to veterans too.