Note that the group grievance regarding the Minister’s comments is moving on.   A recalculation shows that 2183 CEIU members signed the grievance. Joanne Daniel, National Union Representative in Ottawa, will present the grievance before Mr. Peter Larose, ADM Human Resources Services Branch, on February 20, 2012.

Further updates will follow.

1- Local audited financial statement
2- Membership:  Changes to the Local dues rate/Dues rate calculation/ Regarding Dues/Address Changes
3- How to read your Local Printout
4- Affiliation to Provincial Federations of Labour
5- Affiliation to District Labour Councils
6- Internet Subsidy

1- Local Audited Financial Statement

Locals must provide the National Office with their 2011 audited financial statement no later than March 1, 2012.  It should be prepared in a manner prescribed by the CEIU Local rule R13.4.  Listed are the key points to help prepare your Financial Statement:

• Fiscal year – from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011.
• The signature, the name, the telephone number and the e-mail address of the auditor(s).
• The name and address of all financial institutions along with the bank account numbers.
• Two (2) signing Officers:  President or Vice-President in combination with the Secretary-Treasurer or Treasurer. 
• Signed declaration that the Financial Statement was approved by the majority of the Members at the General Meeting plus the Minutes confirming the adoption. 

An acceptable auditor(s) is any member or members that is or are not part of the Executive for that Local.  The auditor or auditors may be someone from outside the Local if no member or members can be found to perform the audit.

Failure to provide any of the following will result in dues being withheld by the National Office.    

* Link to an example

2- Membership:

Change to the Local Dues rate –

Locals must provide the National Office with a written request to change the percentage of dues rate.  Locals may change their dues rate any time during the year. There is a requirement of two months notice for Public Works and Government Services Canada to implement the change on the worker’s paycheck. Listed are the key points to help prepare your request:

• A copy of the minutes of the Local meeting where the members voted and adopted the resolution to change the rate. 
• The amount of the change should be clearly identified. 
• The monthly Local dues can be increased by a maximum of $5 per month within a period of 12 months.

*To facilitate the conversion the National Office will do the calculations.

Dues rate calculation -

PSAC:   The percentage of the monthly membership dues are .896300% plus $1.00 for the strike fund. The dues are decided at the PSAC Conventions by the delegates. 

CEIU:    The percentage rate remains at .730300%.  The dues are decided at the CEIU Conventions of delegates elected by the membership. 

Local:   Locals set their own deduction rates and this may vary from zero on up. Each member helps to decide the amount of the dues by voting during membership meetings.

Misc:     This fourth distribution on monthly dues is used for regional council dues which are determined by the annual meeting of Local Presidents or Representatives held in each region.

Here is an example of a monthly dues deduction for a Member classified as a PM-02 as of October 2010: 

*Further clarification can always be provided through the National Office.

Regarding Dues -

Departments and agencies are responsible for starting and stopping dues deductions. Arrears and refunds of dues are calculated by PSAC. When the employer fails to start the dues, arrears will be subject to collection and limited to one year’s dues, i.e. an amount equivalent to the current monthly rate of dues until the full amount owing is collected.  In the same perspective, the PSAC has a limit of one year for payment of dues refunds.

*PSAC pro-rates dues according to the ratio of the Part-time employee’s assigned hours to the full-time hours.

Address changes –  

PSAC now has a “change of address” form on the website (www.psac.com). Members can complete the form and submit it directly. The information will then be forwarded via E-Mail to the proper Component.  

 The other option is to send an e-mail directly to the following address:  joanisj@ceiu-seic.ca.

3- How to read your Local Printout:

Listed are key points to help you understand your Membership Listing: 

• Dues are deducted on a monthly basis, usually in the last pay period.
• Dues are calculated on the first level of the member’s classification.
• All members within the same Local, with the same classification, should be paying the same amount of dues.
• A member’s current deduction is divided in 4 portions:  PSAC – CEIU – Local – Misc

*For further details, please link to : ‘’Reading the Computer Printout“

4- Affiliations to Provincial Federations of Labour:

This is a reminder of the procedures to follow to affiliate to a Provincial Federation of Labour:

• At the Local’s General Meeting, the Members will vote to affiliate with a Provincial Federation of Labour.
• The Local sends a copy of the General Meeting Minutes, the list of the Local Executive Members and the Local address to the National Office.
• The National Office will forward the request to PSAC.
• PSAC notifies the Provincial Federation of Labour of the affiliation request and their intent to pay affiliation fees once the Local has been approved and completed.  Please note that there is no approval process needed forOntario, affiliation is in effect upon request. 
• PSAC maintains a database on all Local affiliations and issues monthly payments on behalf of the Locals.

5- Affiliations to the District Labour Councils:

At the 1999 CEIU Triennial Convention, a resolution was adopted that CEIU National will cover part of the cost for the affiliation dues for Locals provided that they are also affiliated to the Federation of Labour.  This means that CEIU National will reimburse the Local for one-half of the affiliation dues to defray the costs of joining to a District Labour Council.  In order to qualify for this you must fill out the attached form and submit a receipt for the Labour Council dues paid by your Local. 

*The Registration form for Affiliations to the District Labour Councils can be found here.

6- Internet Subsidy:

The National Executive has approved financial support of up to $25 per month for your Local to have internet access.  The National Executive based this decision on a number of factors such as immediate access between Local members and their union Representatives or Elected Officers (independent of the departmental system) as a means of Local research, etc.  Following are the requirements to obtain this subsidy:

• Local must be in good standing.
• Local must provide an e-mail address outside of the workplace
• Local must provide proof of payment – in January and July of each year to receive full payment of up to $25 per month.
• Local must be responsible to disseminate the information.
• Local will reimburse if the internet service is stopped prior to the end of period for which it is paid.

*The registration form for Internet Subsidy can be found here.

Please share this package with your Local Executive.  Should you require additional information or clarification, please do not hesitate to contact the National Office or your NVP.

In solidarity,

Steve McCuaig, National Executive Vice-President (mccuais@ceiu-seic.ca)
Danielle Chartrand, Assistant Finance and Administration (chartrd@ceiu-seic.ca)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, January 24, 2012

New transit ad campaign exposes Service Canada woes

WINNIPEG, MB – The Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) are launching a new transit advertising campaign today that sheds light on the disturbing effects of service cuts to Canadians.

“Wait times have never been so high,” explains Susan Norman, CEIU National Vice-President for Manitoba. “The stats indicate that 51 per cent of the callers attempting to reach Service Canada in relation to their EI claim are unable to do so. Those that can least afford to be impacted at this time are the ones that the cuts affect most.”

EI Processing and the EI Call Centre are being removed from Manitoba as EI recipients continue to see a backlog. Meanwhile, the department has yet to address the state of the OAS and Supplement area, where more than 2,000 applications received prior to July 2011, and 10,000 more since, remain outstanding.

“This campaign is designed to make Canadians aware, and ask them to do something about it,” says Norman. “By calling the toll-free 1-800 number, Canadians can let the Conservative government know that this isn’t acceptable. Ensure that the monies from this self-funded program be used to properly administer the program, not pay down their overall deficit.”

The CEIU is one of 17 components within the PSAC and represents the vast majority of workers at Service Canada, Human Resources and Social Development, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Board. The PSAC represents more than 25,000 in the prairie region, the majority of who are in the federal public sector.

-30-

For more information please contact:
Jeffrey Vallis
Regional Political Communications Officer
Cell: (204) 990-5717
Email: vallisj@psac.com
www.psac.com/prairies

In a January 11 editorial, The Guardian in Charlottetown, PEI, wrote:

Late last year, when the federal government conceded it was streamlining employment insurance processing services across the country, it assured Canadians there would be no noticeable difference in the level of service. Opposition parties and union representatives warned the closures couldn’t help but cause a delay in EI processing, but at the time, there was really little they could do but hope for the best.

It appears their fears were well-founded. In recent weeks, the complaints in the media from Islanders who have had longer waits than expected have mounted, and according to recent reports, some claimants have been in such urgent financial straits they’ve had to turn to provincial social assistance. The problem has also made its way to court. A defence lawyer recently identified a client’s unreasonably long wait for EI as a factor in an incident that led to criminal charges. Her client, one of an estimated 27,000 Canadians having difficulty getting their EI claims processed, she said, had given up drinking several years ago, but “lost it for a short period of time” when bills began mounting with no money coming in. 

So much for Ottawa’s assurances that all would be well.

“That pretty much sums it up,” said CEIU National Vice-President Donna MacDonald, “all is not well, and it won’t be until we have the staff and resources to get the job done.”

MacDonald has been speaking out in the media around the EI processing issue, including December 21 and January 6 interviews with CBC television. “We won’t stop speaking out until the government starts to take serious steps to address this problem,” said MacDonald.

MacDonald is also organizing her members against the planned closure of the processing centre in Montague. The closure would be a blow to both EI processing capacity and the local economy in PEI. The union is joining with local, provincial and federal politicians in the effort to have Ottawa rethink its position.

“Four years of automated claims processing has not delivered results for claimants,” said CEIU Manitoba National Vice-President Susan Norman, “and staff cuts are making a bad situation worse.”

The Winnipeg Free Press recently reported that Manitoba, despite having a low unemployment rate, has seen an increase in the number of welfare recipients. Part of the reason is the delay in the processing of EI claims, according to experts like Neil Cohen of the Winnipeg Unemployed Help Centre.

Minister Finley recently enraged CEIU members by blaming delays on a work to rule campaign by the union. The union has denied the allegation and demanded an apology.

CEIU has been consistent in its call for a return to adequate staffing levels to ensure that claimants are paid in a timely manner. The unemployed have a right to receive help when they need it and CEIU members deserve the resources they require to get the job done.

Joined by West Nipissing Mayor Joanne Savage, Nickel Belt MP Claude Gravelle and Temiskaming-Cochrane MPP John Vanthof, CEIU members demonstrated outside the Service Canada office in Sturgeon Falls.

Mayor Savage has written to the Minister, Diane Finley, asking for a reconsideration of the decision to close the office. In her letter, the Mayor writes:

The announcement that the services presently being provided to residents in our area will be replaced by a mobile unit visiting our municipality twice a week will jeopardize access to services we have counted on for many years in the past.

With no transit service in Sturgeon Falls, our residents will also have to commute to North Bay which is anywhere from 30 to 85 kilometers for some, incurring expenses in times when the economy is affecting the elderly and the young adults. Some do not have vehicles or funding to make this possible.

The two workers at the Sturgeon Falls office have been offered jobs in North Bay, so there is no job security issue involved for the union. According to Laura St. Jean, CEIU Ontario’s Northern Representative, “It’s about small communities having access to government services on an equitable basis. We need to protect the service in Sturgeon Falls and in small towns across this country.”

The victory for staff in the SDA-II position was announced in July 2011 after a battle that had begun 15 years earlier. SDA-II’s had challenged their work description and were finally successful in having the employer recognize the contribution they were making to the CPP/OAS programs.

“It’s important to celebrate this victory,” said local president Nathalie Paulin, ”but equally important to recognize the value in taking collective action to make things right. There will be more issues in the future and members have to be ready to take a stand, just as the SDA-II’s did.”

At local 60254’s latest membership meeting there were cheers, smiles and cake to mark the SDA-II win. Across the country there are hundreds more SDA-II’s with something extra to cheer about this holiday season.

Call centre workers put aside the frustration they experience as growing numbers of desperate EI claimants contact them over delayed payments. Despite claims by Minister Finley, employees are working flat-out to process claims and deal with inquiries, but staff cuts mean there are simply not enough resources to get the job done.

Joining the call centre staff in the “Christmas in a Bag” program are workers at the Winnipeg claims processing centre as well as those at the regional office and ITC. Collectively they will distribute 216 gift bags plus $600 in cash donations to the less fortunate in Winnipeg. Members in smaller centres have added their efforts as well, donating to shelters in Brandon, Thompson, The Pas, Flin Flon, Swan River, Dauphin, Selkirk, Morden, Winkler and Steinbach.

“Our members care about EI claimants and others in their community,” said National Executive Vice-President Steve McCuaig, “and they won’t let cutbacks get in the way of showing it.”

The particulars of the grievance are available here.

Note that the name of the authorized bargaining unit representative in section 1 of the Group Grievance Presentation should be a National Union Representative in your region.

Update:

Further to the group grievance regarding the minister’s comments, I’ve been reminded that instructions need to be clarified. First and most importantly, the grievance is time sensitive.
 
With the holiday season upon us, many members will be away for at least part of it, so it’s imperative that the grievance be circulated immediately.  Once completed, please forward them to your Regional Union office . They must arrive at the RUOs by January 4, 2012.  By Friday the sixth, the RUOs will courier them to National office. Presentation will take place in Ottawa soon after that. The National Union rep making the presentation will be Joanne Daniel.
 
With your support, this action will have considerable impact and will speak loudly in condemnation of the minister’s untrue and defamatory statements.
 
I wish you and your families well.
 
In solidarity and with much respect,

Don Rogers
National President

The IRB did agree however to sign a monitoring agreement with the Commission whereby their staffing activity would be reviewed on a regular basis moving forward. A Report on that agreement was just released in October 2011 and it notes that while IRB is showing improvement in some areas it is steadfastly refusing to deal with the initial recommendations of the Audit and its subsequent investigations. This response from the IRB has the Public Service Commission almost as upset at the IRB management as CEIU members who have been the victims of their improper staffing actions.

The Public Service Commission notes in its October, 2011 Report:

“The PSC is concerned about the impact of this disagreement on the Commission’s overall responsibility for ensuring an effective staffing system that includes appropriate recourse…. In cases where the PSC is of the opinion that the delegated authority is not properly exercised, the Commission can withdraw the entire delegation, impose conditions on it or seek exclusion to it. The PSC believes that internal appointment investigations must still conform to the values of the PSEA, including that all public service appointments be based on merit. The PSC believes that it will need to find ways to ensure that it plays a greater role in addressing issues that affect the independent safeguarding of merit and the guiding values.

As a result, the PSC is in the process of developing recommendations for an exclusion from the PSEA and its regulations whereby internal investigations and corrective actions will be the responsibility of the PSC rather than of the deputy head of the IRB.”

In more simple terms this means that the PSC is sufficiently concerned about IRB’s stubbornness to deal with its staffing problems that it is threatening to take away its delegation to staff positions and bring that authority back within the Commission itself. This is a position that CEIU wholeheartedly agrees with.

Norm Murray, CEIU National Vice-President for IRB believes that the IRB has lost credibility with its employees to deliver a fair and transparent staffing system based on the merit principle and welcomes the continued involvement of the Public Service Commission.

“The Immigration and Refugee Board has consistently ignored the concerns of its employees, of its union, CEIU, and now of the Public Service Commission. No agency of Government has the right to act with such callous disregard for the legislation and principles of the staffing system and we believe that the PSC should act now to withdraw its staffing delegation authority. It should not be restored until the IRB fully complies with the recommendations from the PSC and agrees to completely abide by the merit principle in all its staffing actions.”

Both Brother Murray and CEIU National Executive Vice-President Steve McCuaig have met with the Chair of the Public Service Commission, Madame Maria Barrados and have offered their support for the Commission’s effort in this regard. CEIU will continue to monitor this situation and provide regular updates to the members at the Immigration and Refugee Board.