Dear members,
It’s hard to believe that we have just passed the ten-month mark of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. So much has changed since March 2020, but in many ways, so much remains the same. We’re all still wondering the same things: when we can go back to the office, when will we get a vaccine, when will things get back to normal, and why can’t I remember to unmute? Monday, January 18 is known as “Blue Monday,” a day when people report disproportionately high levels of sadness and anxiety in ordinary years, and this year is already far from ordinary.
It might seem like we’re not moving forward, but there are some major developments that point to real progress. The science on COVID-19 has never been better. We now have multiple vaccines currently in production, and most countries in the world have embarked on ambitious inoculation programs, and the inauguration of a new US administration points to a change in the global crisis response. We are also hoping for some fresh perspectives on the situation facing our friend and colleague Michael Kovrig, who, along with fellow Canadian Michael Spavor, has now been imprisoned for 774 days. No matter how difficult things may seem now, there is reason to remain hopeful.
PAFSO would like to know how you are all coping with things now that we are ten months in. Last spring, we sent out a questionnaire to members to gauge how the pandemic, and the Employer’s response to it, was affecting your mental health, productivity and morale. Now, ten months later, we want to check in again. We are currently putting the final touches on a follow up questionnaire to help us understand how you have adapted over the last several months, how you feel about the Employer’s response to date, and what you think of PAFSO’s communication and advocacy efforts. Your responses will be anonymized and used in aggregate form to help us refine our advocacy and programming to better meet your needs. We’ll be sending a separate email out with all the details next week, so keep your eyes open for that.
One of the issues we will be looking into is the question of work pressures and compensation. Even before the pandemic, heavy workloads, conflicting priorities, demands for overtime, and the requirement to remain connected and responsive outside regular business hours were serious issues for the FS group. By all reports, the situation is growing worse rather than better.
In the short term, I would like to remind you that TBS has reaffirmed its understanding that the full provisions of the collective agreement remain in place despite the pandemic. For PAFSO, these provisions include Article 15 on overtime, Article 16 on call-backs, and Article 17 on stand-by. If you are being given tasks with deadlines that cannot be met without working outside business hours (e.g., a request comes in on Friday at 1700 with a deadline of Monday at 0900), you are being instructed to work overtime and should be claiming accordingly. Similarly, if you are expected to answer work-related inquiries outside your regular hours, and/or are performing work functions upon request outside those hours, you should be claiming under the stand-by and call-back provisions. If you have any questions about interpretation of these articles, or about how they apply to your individual situation, please reach out to info@pafso.com.
Last week, the National Joint Council’s COVID-19 Task Force held its first meeting of 2021. Among the issues discussed was the government’s strategy for the rollout of its vaccination program, which is of great concern to all of us. Health Canada explained that most public servants will be vaccinated through their provincial plans. A small number of employees who work in high-risk environments, as well as federal populations including Canada Based Staff (CBS) and dependents abroad, will be vaccinated through Health Canada. We are still trying to get greater clarity on what occupational groups the Employer identifies as high-risk, how they and the federal populations will be prioritized, and whether CBS can be vaccinated by their host country systems if those are available. Also, we are seeking answers as to how the vaccination strategy will extend to the dependents of employees currently abroad but not living with the employee, and to those who are about to be cross-posted. As always, we will provide you with more details as they become available.
As we work on these Covid-19 issues, we have not forgotten about the other important areas of concern for members. I am happy to report some positive developments in the Phoenix file. Treasury board announced last week that the Government of Canada has launched a new claims process to compensate employees who have experienced severe personal or financial impacts as a result of issues with the Phoenix pay system. This new “Level Three” claims process is another element of last June’s damages agreement developed jointly between the Employer and federal public service unions in order to compensate close to 150,000 employees affected by Phoenix. The severe personal or financial impacts covered by this process include financial losses, mental anguish or other severe impacts attributed to the failure of Phoenix. You can get all the details here on the Government of Canada’s website.
And, a reminder that our working group on the integration of the FSIA stream continues to work on the priorities identified for this year. In the next few weeks they will be holding a brainstorming session with members. We will have more information on that soon. Meanwhile, should you have any questions, or if you wish to join the GAC FS (IA) Cohort Facebook group, you can contact Emily Alexander and Tanya Belleau via info@pafso.com.
Throughout the pandemic crisis, it has become very apparent how important our mental health and psychological well-being can be. Next Friday is Bell’s Let’s Talk Day, and all public servants are invited to take part in a virtual event featuring Daniel Quan-Watson, Deputy Minister, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, who recently shared a personal account of the racism he experienced in and out of the halls of power. Make sure to register here for what promises to be a very important and interesting discussion.
We are also continuing to host our own useful discussions in the virtual PAFSO Breakfast format. On 9 February, I will have the honour of hosting Myriam Montrat, head of GAC’s Anti-Racism Secretariat, for a discussion on the role of her organization, the trends and issues she and her team have identified so far, and the ways in which PAFSO and its members can help make things better. Please register here for the session, which starts at 0800 EST.
On 12 January, Blair Cooper and Luc Basaillon of Tradex gave an interesting presentation on investments. If you couldn’t make it, you can watch the recording of the session here and follow along with the presentation deck.
As always, should you have any other questions or concerns about your current work situation, please reach out to our executive director, Kim Coles. She will be sure to put you in touch with someone on our labour relations advisor team. For anything else, feel free to send an email to info@pafso.com at any time, and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
Also, if you just feel like checking in over a coffee to catch up with colleagues and feel a little less alone, don’t forget that we get together for a virtual chat every Wednesday at 1030 Ottawa time. Click here if you’d like to join in.
2021 has started in earnest. And, though at times it can seem that not much has progressed since last March, we are worlds ahead of where we were. We just need to keep our spirits up, stay optimistic and remember to unmute 🙂 !
We’ll chat again in a few weeks. Until then, please stay safe, and take care of yourselves and each other.
All the best,
Pam Isfeld
President