Administration of the Alliance Hardship Funds

At the its May 29 – June 1, 2001 meeting the National Board of Directors amended Regulation 6B to shift responsibility for the Administration of the Hardship Funds from the Alliance Centre to the regions for the current round of Treasury Board and CCRA bargaining.

This was done specifically to address concerns that monies collected from designated members in a particular region remain there to assist members in that region. This means that monies collected in each region will be dispersed in that region. And, perhaps more importantly, decisions on how these funds are distributed will be made by Regional Hardship Committees set up in each Regional Council.

The Administrative Criteria for National Hardship Fund established in 1997 should be used to guide the establishment and operation of Regional Hardship Fund Committees.

Given that strike action is imminent REVPs need to start the process by advising Locals in their area of the above-noted decision and recruiting members to sit on their regional committee.

Collecting the monies from designated employees is the responsibility of each local. To maximize success discussion with designated employees should be initiated in the context of usual strike preparations and should emphasize the need to maintain solidarity by “sharing the pain to achieve a gain”. In any case, as the likelihood of a strike looms larger, locals will need to discuss picket line protocol with their designated members and the expectation of a 25% levy should be raised there. While the discussion with designated members can take place on the picket line, it is preferable that the discussion takes place earlier.

In order to ensure that appropriate dues receipts are produced by the Alliance Centre, each donation must be sent to Membership Administration accompanied by a form which captures some essential information about the donor. A copy of the form is attached. It should be produced in sufficient quantities to meet the needs of locals in a particular region. Cash donations may be consolidated, deposited in an account and remitted via cheque to Membership Administration along with the individual donor forms. All cheques should be made out to PSAC.

The 25% is based on net pay (what “…they receive from the employer”) and will be effectively tax deductible as a union dues receipt will be issued subsequently and can be filed with that year’s tax return.

The 25% is based on net pay (what “…they receive from the employer”) and will be effectively tax deductible as a union dues receipt will be issued subsequently and can be filed with that year’s tax return.

Regional Hardship Fund Guidelines

1. A committee of at least three (3) persons must be established to review requests and make recommendations to the applicable AEC Officer.

2. The AEC Officer is responsible for and must authorize any payments from the respective National/Regional Hardship Fund.

3. Access to the National/Regional Hardship Fund will not be available to members who are on paid leave or leave of absence during the strike/lock out members designated for essential services or who otherwise crossed the picket line without the expressed authorization of the Strike Coordinator.

4. A member must comply with the provisions of PSAC Regulation 6.

5. A member must have received strike pay for at least three days to be eligible for payment from the National/Regional Hardship Fund.

6. Financial assistance will be paid only in cases of undue hardship.

7. Coverage for rent or mortgage payments will only be considered if efforts to defer these are not successful.

8. Only in exceptional circumstances will payment be considered for a member prior to the member not receiving pay for more than one pay period (normally at least three weeks).

9. An applicant must provide the committee with a declaration of all income earned by their household for the period of the strike.

10. All requests for assistance should be channelled through the appropriate Local Hardship Committee, if applicable, and will be handled with the greatest regard for confidentiality by the Regional Hardship Committee.

11. Payments from the National/Regional Hardship Fund will be considered either a grant or an interest-free loan.