CANADA

Basic income could play an important role in creating a more just and sustainable food system

Story by Charles Z. Levkoe, Canada Research Chair in Equitable and Sustainable Food Systems, Lakehead University

 Kristen Lowitt, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies, Queen's University, Ontario   

Yesterday  The Conversation, 

A farmer at the Roots Community Food Centre urban farm in northwestern Ontario harvests Gete-Okosomin squash in summer 2021.© (C. Levkoe)

Canada’s food system is experiencing ongoing stresses from supply chain disruptions, price inflation and extreme weather events. Canadians are feeling the effects of these stresses: in 2021, nearly 16 per cent of provincial households experienced some degree of food insecurity.

Federal programs such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and the recent grocery store rebate point to the impact direct government income interventions can have on ensuring equity in times of emergency, including access to food.

Some have discussed the new grocery store rebate, which is to be delivered through the GST/HST tax credit system, as closely aligned with proposals for a basic income guarantee. But a basic income guarantee would involve regular payments, not just a one-time rebate.

A basic income guarantee could play a key role in reducing individual and household food insecurity among society’s most vulnerable and ensure everyone can meet their basic needs with dignity.

What the research says

There is general support among basic income advocates in Canada for implementing income-tested basic income, which would involve delivering cash transfers to individuals whose incomes fall below a certain threshold.

As sustainable food systems experts, we suggest that a basic income guarantee could not only be an important tool for addressing economic access to food, but also in supporting sustainability across the food system.

We draw on our research with Coalition Canada, a network of basic income advocacy groups. Our research brought interdisciplinary teams of scholars and practitioners together to develop a series of case studies examining basic income through the lens of different sectors. These sectors include the arts, finance, health, municipalities and the criminal justice system.

Our work focused on the agriculture and fisheries sectors and involved members of the National Farmers Union, Union Paysanne, EcoTrust Canada and the Native Fishing Alliance.

Overall, our research suggests that a basic income guarantee could have a significant impact on the economic uncertainties faced by farmers and fishing communities in Canada. It could also contribute to a more just sustainable transition in the food system.

Reducing economic uncertainty

One potential impact of a basic income guarantee would be reducing economic uncertainty for the most vulnerable agriculture and fisheries workers.

People employed in food and fish processing and as farm labourers are especially vulnerable to seasonal unemployment, low wages, uneven employee benefits and unsafe working conditions, including high rates of occupational injury and illness.


A guaranteed basic income could have a significant impact on the economic uncertainties faced by those working in the agriculture and fishing industries in Canada.© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A basic income guarantee could offer individuals more financial security and control over their employment choices, and thus address the racialized, classed and gendered disparities prominent in food systems labour.

Supporting new fishers and farmers

A second potential impact of a basic income guarantee could be supporting new entrants in agriculture and fisheries. Across Canada, the commercial fishing and farming workforces are aging.

Supporting new farmers and fishers, especially those using more socially and ecologically sustainable practices, is an essential part of building a more resilient food system.

New entrants face substantial barriers related to high entry costs, such as access to land and equipment or purchasing a boat and fishing license, combined with uncertain and fluctuating prices for their goods.

While a basic income guarantee alone can’t address these challenges, it could provide greater economic stability for new farmers and fishers when they invest in infrastructure and training.

Preparing for future stressors

A basic income guarantee could also be a step towards building resilience against ongoing stressors, like the climate crisis and extreme weather events, along with preparing for future emergencies.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that those with more stable incomes and flexible work arrangements are better able to adapt to unexpected shocks. For example, during the pandemic, boat-to-fork seafood businesses better weathered seafood chain disruptions because of their adaptable supply chain configurations and proximity to consumers.

At present, small-scale farmers and fishers tend to receive the least support, because most subsidies go to larger industrial enterprises. However, these small-scale producers play a crucial role in supplying food for regional and local markets, which can serve as important buffers during times of crisis and reduce the stress of long-distance supply chains.

Establishing a basic income guarantee would be a proactive step in supporting equitable livelihoods for small-scale farmers and fishers.


Indigenous fishermen leave the harbour in Saulnierville, N.S. in October 2020.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Next steps for the food system

Although a basic income guarantee has the potential to bring about many positive impacts, it shouldn’t be a substitute for existing government-funded agricultural and fisheries programs such as grants, public research, and training and skills development programs.

A basic income guarantee also shouldn’t replace contributory programs, like the Employment Insurance fishing benefits. A basic income guarantee would offer support to fishers whose earnings are too low to qualify for employment insurance, or who are unable to go out on the water.

Further research and policy efforts will be crucial for gaining a fuller understanding of how a basic income guarantee might intersect with other financial supports like insurance, loans and climate funding.

Additional research will also be crucial for understanding how a basic income guarantee could support migrant workers brought in through the Temporary Foreign Worker program. Migrant workers are an essential part of fisheries processing and meat and horticulture production.

There is also a need to think systematically and holistically about the role of basic income across the food system. The only way to accomplish this is with further input from farming and fishing communities and Indigenous communities in collaboration with anti-poverty, food sovereignty and food justice organizations.

We believe a basic income guarantee is a promising tool for contributing to sustainability and justice across agriculture and fishing sectors, while encouraging the development of cross-sectoral networks, research and policy agendas.

The authors would like to acknowledge the author teams of Coalition Canada’s Case for Basic Income Series for their contributions to this article.

This article is republished from a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation, 

Read more:
The Canadian government should make the grocery rebate permanent to combat the affordability crisis

A guaranteed basic income could end poverty, so why isn’t it happening?

Kristen Lowitt receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Charles Z. Levkoe receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Government of Ontario.

Quebec's Minimum Wage Increase Takes Effect On May 1

Story by Sofia Misenheimer • 2h ago

Quebec's Minimum Wage Increase Takes Effect On May 1© Provided by MTL Blog

Minimum wage in Quebec is increasing by a dollar to $15.25 per hour as of May 1. The change will affect almost 300,000 workers in the province, including those who receive tips. But some say it's not enough.

The government announced this move in January as part of its plan to improve the standard of living for low-income earners. It will mean an extra $2,080 per year for a full-time worker who puts in 40 hours per week.

Employees who receive tips will see an increase in their base pay from $11.40 to $12.20 per hour, an increase of 80 cents.

Labour Minister Jean Boulet is calling Quebec's wage hike "A historic increase that will help employees better meet their needs while respecting companies' ability to pay."

However, a study by the Institut de recherche et d’informations socioéconomiques (IRIS) in 2022 shows that one in five Quebecers falls below the income threshold required to meet their basic needs. According to the report, a living wage in the current economy is at least $18 per hour, which is the minimum income needed for an individual to lead a dignified life and cover essential expenses.

The cost of living in Quebec has risen significantly due to inflation since the study, adding to the financial strain on low-income workers.

Quebec's minimum wage is the third highest in the country, behind British Columbia at $15.65 and Ontario at $15.50 per hour.

Stop-work order after underground fire at Nova Scotia's Donkin coal mine, no injuries

Story by The Canadian Press • Today

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour says it has issued a stop-work order following a fire at the Donkin coal mine in Cape Breton.

The department says in a tweet that the fire, which broke out Sunday in the underground mine, is under control and no injuries were reported.

It says no workers were underground at the time of the incident.

The mine resumed operations last year after it was shuttered in March 2020 amid slumping coal prices and roof collapses that led to repeated government stop-work orders.

In January, it was revealed that owners Kameron Coal Management Ltd. had been cited for a lengthy list of safety violations since the operation reopened in mid-September.

The violations ranged from an unqualified employee doing electrical work and the use of an unapproved ventilation control device to the improper storage of compressed gas cylinders.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

UK 

Nurse Strikes to Go On Even as GMB Union Accepts Pay Deal

Ambulance staff also plan two-day walkout beginning Monday

Health leaders warn of significant disruption to service


Royal College of Nursing members protest in London, UK, on April 27.

Photographer: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

By Kwaku Gyasi and  Alexandra Muller

April 30, 2023

UK nurses warned there will be no quick conclusion to strikes as health-care workers prepare for a new walkout beginning tonight.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing will strike from 8 p.m. Sunday until midnight on Monday. Ambulance staff in some regions will also walk out on Monday and Tuesday, in the sixth consecutive month of industrial action for the National Health Service.

The strike is particularly controversial after members of another major health union, the GMB, voted Friday to accept the government’s latest pay offer. That may add to pressure on the RCN to accept a deal with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government after a May 2 meeting of the NHS Staff Council, an umbrella labor body.

In an interview with Sky News, RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen said that her membership had made it “loud and clear” that the current deal still wasn’t good enough and that the offer does nothing to address the staffing crisis at the NHS.

“The current pay structure does not work for nurses otherwise we would not have the retention and recruitment problems we’ve got,” Pat Cullen told Sky News on Sunday, adding that if the Secretary of State and the government continue to ignore the nurses’ voices and try to impose a settlement, “we will be re-balloting our members come to mid may, close to mid June, and that means we could face strike actions right up until the Christmas period.”

Health leaders in England warned of significant disruption to services this bank holiday weekend, with the walkout affecting emergency departments, intensive care and cancer wards for the first time. Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said the strike action by nurses was the “most worrying so far.” Some hospitals were struggling to find enough staff for specialist areas including children’s services, he said in an emailed statement.

“It is hugely disappointing some unions are escalating strike action this week — including the RCN, despite only a third of its members rejecting the government’s fair and reasonable offer on pay, which other unions accepted,” Steve Barclay, the health secretary, wrote Saturday in an emailed statement.

Cullen said that national exemptions were in place to make sure patients received critical care. “Our nurses, as I’ve said time and time again, will never leave their patients unsafe or create more risk that’s already in the system at this point in time,” she said on Sky.

The GMB union voted on Friday 56%-44% to accept the government’s offer, which has split NHS staff including nurses, dietitians and ambulance attendants across the country. Earlier on Friday, members of the Unite union turned down the same nationwide package by a similarly narrow margin of 52%-48% and are participating in the weekend walkouts.

“I would urge them to think again and to do what the other trade unions in the health service have done, which is to accept what I think is fair and reasonable pay offer, reflecting the value that we do place on hardworking NHS staff,” Transport Secretary Mark Harper said on Sky.

The vote by the GMB could be pivotal for the government’s effort to end the dispute, since it is one of the larger unions and could tip the balance toward acceptance.
Understand power in Washington.
Get the Bloomberg Washington Edition newsletter to find out how the worlds of money and politics intersect in the US capital, delivered daily.

The Conservative government has been battling with industrial disputes across multiple sectors as union leaders demand workers’ pay keeps up with soaring inflation, which remains around 10%. The walkouts in health care, education, train services and other critical industries are now entering a 12th month. The unrest appears to have hurt Sunak’s Tory party, which is trailing Keir Starmer’s Labour Party by a double-digit margin ahead of a general election expected next year.

UK

Warning nurses could hold strikes ‘up until Christmas’ as NHS workers walk out in latest industrial action

Story by Matt Watts

EVENING STANDARD  • MAY 1,2023

Nurses could continue to hold strikes “up until Christmas” if the current dispute is not resolved, the leader of the Royal College of Nursing has warned.

NHS services across England are facing major disruption on Monday after nurses walked out in a 28-hour strike over pay.

NHS England warned that staffing levels in some areas of the country will be “exceptionally low, lower than on previous strike days”.

The strike, which will end just before midnight, comes after a High Court judge ruled it would be unlawful for the industrial action to continue into Tuesday as originally planned.

But members will be reballoted after rejecting a pay offer put to them earlier this year, despite other unions accepting it.

Pat Cullen, chief executive and general secretary of the union, said a failure by the government to change its approach to pay would mean the same cycle of strike action repeating again and again.

“It is for the secretary of state to come back around the table and put a better offer on the table,” Ms Cullen told Sky News on Monday.



(REUTERS)© Provided by Evening Standard

If this fails to materialise, Ms Cullen said the country could “see our nursing staff on picket lines up until Christmas. But we don’t want that”.

“We do need to bring this health service back from the brink”, she said.

Ms Cullen urged Health Secretary Steve Barclay "not to be disrespectful" to nurses amid their "biggest strike yet" over the bank holiday.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary's comment came after Mr Barclay described their ongoing industrial action as "premature" and "disrespectful" to the other trade unions who are meeting to discuss the Government's pay offer on Tuesday.

Under the NHS Staff Council, the unions will consider the offer of a 5% pay increase for 2023/24 along with a one-off payment worth between £1,655 and £3,789 for the current financial year for nurses in England.



(PA)© Provided by Evening Standard

NHS workers are taking part in march in central London on Monday. Unite said the march coincides with a strike by its members in Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

Related video: Nurses' strikes could last 'until Xmas' (Sky News)

Duration 0:45 View on Watch

It follows concerns over the impact of the strike action on patient safety.

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen said on Sunday that measures were in place to keep patients safe after concerns were raised about the impact of the strike action on emergency services.

The union initially said it would not agree to derogations - broad areas of care where staffing is guaranteed despite industrial action - but granted some exemptions on Friday in an apparent U-turn.

Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) is among organisations where nurses have agreed to derogations after it voiced “serious concerns” about patient safety during the walkout.

The hospital said it was “incredibly grateful” to RCN members for offering assurances but took the decision not to stand down a “business continuity incident” until it was confident it could staff services during the strike.

The Unite walkout follows rejection of the Government’s pay offer by its members.

The union said that with inflation still in double figures, the offer is a “substantial real-terms pay cut” for NHS workers.

Unite members at South Central, South East Coast and West Midlands ambulance trusts alongside workers at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, The Christie Pathology Partnership, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust will all take part in industrial action on May 2.

It added the number of rescheduled appointments due to strike action is set to hit half a million next week.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said the 28-hour nursing strike is “premature” and “disrespectful” to other unions.

The comments come ahead of a meeting of the NHS Staff Council, made up of health unions, employers and Government representatives, which will discuss the Government’s 5% pay offer.

“I think this strike is premature and is disrespectful to those trade unions that will be meeting on Tuesday,” he told broadcasters.

But Ms Cullen said there are national exemptions in place for “those really acute urgent services”.

Urging the public to use NHS services wisely, NHS England asked those who need non-urgent care to go to pharmacies or dial 111 as their first port of call.

Dame Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, said: “We are grateful to the RCN for agreeing a process of safety critical mitigations and we continue to support all nurses, those who work and those who take industrial action.

“These mitigations do not represent a return to standard staffing. The industrial action will still have a very significant impact on services during the strike period and patients can expect to see longer waits for care.

“The public should use the NHS wisely, with those needing non-urgent care using pharmacies and 111 online as their first port of call. And if you have a life-threatening emergency, please seek help in the usual way by dialling 999.”

Nurses make up a quarter of NHS staff and are the biggest proportion of the health service workforce.

Post-pandemic work in the public sector: A new way forward or a return to the past?

Story by Eric Champagne, Professeur agrégé, École d'études politique, Directeur, Centre d'études en gouvernance / Associate professor, School of Political Studies, Director, Centre on Governance, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa, 

Aracelly Denise Granja, Research Assistant, Centre on Governance, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Olivier Choinière, Professor of Project Management, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)

THE CONVERSATION • Thursday, April 27,2023

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada picket outside a Service Canada office in Canmore, Alta., in April 2023. More than 150,000 federal public-service workers are on strike across the country after talks with the government failed. Remote work is a negotiation issue.© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Three years after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, many public health restrictions have been lifted and organizations are requiring workers to return to the office.

The desired return to pre-pandemic societal norms versus the pushback from employees who want to continue to enjoy the benefits of working from home has sparked debate about what the future job market will look like.

Hybrid and remote arrangements became commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic and became vital tools for the continued functioning of society, the economy and all levels of government.

These arrangements enabled thousands of employees to keep their jobs, companies to remain operational and the public sector to continue providing essential goods and services to citizens.


Schoolchildren participate in online lessons while their mother works from home in January 2022 in Mississauga, Ont.© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Dramatic changes to how we work

Consequently, the pandemic caused sudden and profound changes to traditional work models.

While some thought these changes would be permanent, a partial and gradual return to the conventional workplace has begun.

Does this simply involve adapting the full-time, pandemic-fuelled remote work model to current times, or does it signal a complete return to the pre-pandemic way of working?

We’re exploring the behaviour and decision-making process of the government of Canada in terms of remote and hybrid work environments before, during and after the pandemic.

Our analysis results from a thorough review of several official government documents, including new information released through access-to-information requests and additional informal observations and insights from the field.

The evolution of remote work

A year prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, the federal government started experimenting by offering “new and flexible (shared) workplace solutions” for employees in 14 departments who could work remotely.

But prior to 2020, the number of Canadian employees who worked at home full-time was statistically low: Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey 2016 reported that less than four per cent of employees were working from home most of the time.

This suggests that even though remote work was already recognized as a viable employment option by some organizations before the pandemic, it wasn’t used efficiently as a widespread work arrangement until COVID-19.

As a result of the pandemic, the government of Canada has provided guidance to departments and agencies to outline how the public sector can best provide remote and hybrid work arrangements to their employees in an effort to normalize this new way of working.

Related video: 32 Pandemic Habits We Should Continue (Money Talks News)

Duration 1:24 View on Watch

No direct contact with citizens

The pandemic has dramatically changed the way public sector employees work, especially in the federal government, where a wide variety of jobs don’t require direct interactions with the public.

As Evert Lindquist, a public administration scholar at the University of Victoria, has noted, remote and hybrid work models were accelerated by the digitization of the government:

“Many governments have instituted digital service agencies, established open data platforms, adopted social media channels, created innovation labs and proclaimed commitment to ‘open government.‘”

In the public sector, remote work became a way for governments to continue functioning remotely during COVID-19.

Once the pandemic stabilized, the government of Canada began a gradual, partial return to the designated workplace, initially giving departments considerable latitude to experiment with different hybrid models and the opportunity to make their own choices with few limitations.

But this strategy — based on flexibility and managerial discretion — didn’t last very long.

New rules were imposed by the Treasury Board Secretariat on departments in December 2022, including a requirement for public servants to work 40 to 60 per cent of their regular monthly schedule at the designated workplace. These rules have been criticized by many who believe they mark the beginning of a return to the pre-pandemic way of working.



President of the Treasury Board Jean-Yves Duclos, shown on video, joins other public officials, including Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam, in a COVID-19 briefing in January 2021.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Remote work as a negotiation issue

All these changes happening in a short period of time have created uncertainty and even distrust on the part of federal government employees toward their employers — so much so that remote work is now a central issue in the negotiations for the new collective agreement with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) representing 120,000 employees.

The ability to continue to work from home is a point of contention, particularly pertaining to employees who were hired during the pandemic since they don’t have a physical office and have only ever worked from home, especially those in rural areas.

The federal government and federal employees are both navigating uncharted territories.

On the one hand, those who currently work remotely want to preserve as much flexibility as possible in their work patterns.

On the other hand, enshrining the right to work remotely in a collective agreement will significantly limit the employer’s ability to impose return-to-office mandates over the long term. It could also create inequality and competition among those whose jobs can easily be done remotely and those who provide direct services to the public.

Multiple issues at play

In addition, there’s uncertainty about the long-term impact on the quality of team work, the management and design of government buildings and the psychological impact of isolation on employees. There’s a lot more at stake in these negotiations than salary issues.

Although the rules have recently been tightened and are still a major focus of the current bargaining process, the government of Canada has shifted significantly when it comes to the role of remote and hybrid work before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The crisis has irrefutably transformed the workforce in all sectors, and a complete reversal to pre-pandemic work models isn’t likely.

Even though many political and administrative decisions on remote work loom on the horizon, we argue that workplaces will continue to evolve in the months and years ahead.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:
The pandemic deepened gender inequality in dual-career households

Employees are feeling burned over broken work-from-home promises and corporate culture ‘BS’ as employers try to bring them back to the office

Olivier Choinière is affiliated with the Centre on Governance (University of Ottawa). Olivier is a former Government of Canada executive (2018-2022). During this period, he held several responsibilities, including the Director of the Future of Work Office in a major department (2021-2022).

Aracelly Denise Granja and Eric Champagne do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

CANADA

Canadian federal workers get May Day deal to end strike

Story by By Ismail Shakil and Akriti Sharma • 

 Approximately 155,000 public sector union workers continue to strike in Ottawa

© Thomson Reuters

By Ismail Shakil and Akriti Sharma

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada's government struck an agreement with 120,000 federal workers on Monday, effectively ending the country's largest public sector strike in history, which had crippled services from passport renewals to immigration.

While most strikers are set to return to work after almost two weeks of deadlock, more than 35,000 revenue agency workers who also went on strike on April 19 are still negotiating, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) union said.

That will continue to slow down the processing of annual tax returns.

"This agreement delivers important gains for our members that will set the bar for all workers in Canada," PSAC President Chris Aylward said in a statement.

PSAC said it had secured a total wage increase of 12.6% over four years, having turned down an offer of 9% over three years when it called the strike. The deal includes a one-off payment of C$2,500 ($1,845).

PSAC fell short of getting work from home enshrined in the collective bargaining agreement as the Treasury Board - the federal employer - refused. But there is an deal to address remote work requests individually and in writing, which opens up the government to the employee grievance process.

This is the first new contract to be negotiated since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which forced millions to work remotely.

The deal "will have a ripple effect, quite frankly, for the rest of Canada," said Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske told Reuters before the agreement had been finalized.

"All large private sector employers and all the other provincial and territorial governments" are going to take note of the details of the deal, Bruske said.

On remote work, the Treasury Board said that up to three days a week from home would be allowed - as was the case already - and that departmental panels would be created to address employee concerns.

"These deals are fair, competitive, and reasonable, and bring stability to public servants and Canadians," Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said in a statement.

PSAC had been in collective bargaining for a new contract since 2021, causing delays and disruptions in services such as immigration and passport renewals.

(Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru and Ismail Shakil and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Clarence Fernandez and Philippa Fletcher)

Strike over for 120,000 public servants as union inks tentative deal with feds

Story by The Canadian Press • 35m ago

OTTAWA — The country's largest federal public-sector union reached a tentative contract agreement with the government overnight, covering more than 120,000 public servants across the country and bringing them back to work after a 12-day strike.

It meant that the majority of Public Service Alliance of Canada workers who had hit the picket lines since April 19 were expected to sign in for duty on Monday morning or at their next scheduled shift.

But some 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency employees were still on strike on the day of the federal tax filing deadline, as negotiations over a separate collective agreement continued.

"PSAC members held the line together and secured a fair contract that keeps up with the cost of living, increased protections around remote work and creates safer, more inclusive workplaces," Chris Aylward, the union's national president, said in a statement.

The union said that its Union of Taxation Employees bargaining team would enter a "blitz of negotiations" with the CRA on Monday.

The tentative agreement announced in the wee hours of Monday morning came after the Treasury Board, which oversees the administration of the federal government, tabled what it described as a "final offer" on Friday.

"The best deals are reached at the bargaining table," Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said in a statement.

"We respect the right to negotiate and appreciate Canadians' patience and understanding over the past two weeks."

PSAC strike: No word on working from home for deal with feds | Watch 

(Global News)

The union said the new contract agreement secured wage increases totalling 12.6 per cent over four years, along with a one-time, pensionable $2,500 lump sum payment that represents an additional 3.7 per cent of salary for the average union member in Treasury Board bargaining units.

It said members will have access to additional protection when the employer makes arbitrary decisions about remote work, and managers will have to assess telework requests individually, not by group, and provide written responses.

The tentative agreement also includes protections against the contracting out of work. According to the union, in the event of a layoff, an employee who can carry out work that is being conducted by a hired contractor will not lose their job.

PSAC said the tentative deal also addresses its demands regarding seniority rights in the event of layoffs.

It said both parties have agreed to jointly submit a proposal to the Public Service Commission of Canada to include seniority rights in future "workplace adjustment" plans — or changes to the workforce to reflect the executive's priorities.

Fortier was slated to hold a news conference at 12:30 p.m. EDT on Monday.

Public servants had hit picket lines at locations across the country for a dozen days in what the union said was one of the biggest job actions in Canadian history.

Service disruptions loomed large during the strike, from slowdowns at the border to pauses on new employment insurance, immigration and passport applications.

Initial negotiations on a new collective agreement had initially begun in June 2021, and the union had declared an impasse in May 2022, with both parties filing labour complaints since then.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

The Canadian Press

Federal government reaches agreement for a new wage deal with striking workers

Story by Reuters • 2h ago


Federal civil servants form a picket line as over 150,000 PSAC federal employees begin the sixth day of their strike across the country Monday, April 24, 2023 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz© Provided by National Post

Canada reached agreement for a new wage deal with a union representing 120,000 federal workers, the union said on Monday, bringing an end to the country’s largest public sector strike that had crippled services from tax returns to immigration.

While the 120,000 Treasury Board employees are set to return to work, more than 35,000 revenue agency workers striking since April 19 are expected to continue into Monday, the union, which represents both groups, said in a statement.

“Strike action continues across the country for 35,000 members at Canada Revenue Agency,” the union said, adding that talks would resume with a new mandate for a fair contract.

Their key outstanding concerns include fair wages, the right to work remotely, and the role of seniority in layoffs.

However, the Treasury workers’ deal exceeded “the employer’s original offer before the launch of strike action,” the union added.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) union, which had been in collective bargaining for a new contract since 2021, ramped up pressure on the government last month by calling for the rare wide-ranging strike.

The resulting shortage of staff at about two dozen government agencies caused delays and disruptions in services such as passport renewals. 

(Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru and Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Clarence Fernandez)

PSAC strike partially resolved | Watch (msn.com)

NB Power cuts ties with private instructor for driving truck into federal picketers

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday

NB Power cuts ties with private instructor for driving truck into federal picketers© Provided by The Canadian Press

OROMOCTO, N.B. — New Brunswick's Crown energy corporation has cut ties with a private instructor after a video surfaced showing a heavy NB Power truck driving into a group of federal public service picketers and pushing one down the street.

The driver was contracted from an unnamed private company to train truck drivers and NB Power will no longer be using him as an instructor, said an email Sunday from NB Power spokesperson Clayton Beaton. Two students in a lineman training program were in the truck with the instructor, NB Power said in a news release earlier on Sunday.

"This behaviour is truly unacceptable and will not be tolerated by NB Power," the release said. "No NB Power employees were involved in this incident, but an NB Power vehicle was involved and therefore our reputation is at risk."

The RCMP said Friday they were investigating after a video surfaced on social media showing a large NB Power truck honking at a group of people crossing a street in Oromocto, N.B. The truck then drives slowly forward, grazing one person and causing them to stumble out of the way.

The heavy truck then bumps into another person who'd stopped in the street. The looming vehicle nudges the man down the road until he drops his Public Service Alliance of Canada flag and finally jumps out of the way.

Onlookers can be heard in the video yelling, "Oh my God!" and "Move!"

More than 100,000 federal public service workers walked off the job on April 19 after the union and government failed to reach new contract deals for agreements that expired in 2021. The public service union says negotiations with the federal government have been ongoing throughout the weekend.

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Hans Ouellette said Sunday the police investigation into the incident in Oromocto was also ongoing. Officers were already in the area Friday and were able to get to the scene quickly, pull the truck over and identify the driver, he said in an interview Sunday.

The picketer wasn't hurt, Ouellette added.

NB Power could not say Sunday if the driver was still employed by the private company through which he was contracted.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2023.

The Canadian Press

Rutgers union leaders approve tentative agreement with school less than a month after historic strike

Story by Liam Reilly • Yesterday

Leaders of three Rutgers University unions approved a tentative agreement with the school Sunday evening, just weeks after going on a five-day strike – the first in the New Jersey university’s 257-year history.

Elected officials from the three unions – Rutgers AAUP-AFT, the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union and the AAUP-BHSNJ – convened Sunday evening to approve the agreement and recommend that their 9,000 members ratify it after nearly a year of negotiations, according to a statement from one of the unions.

The tentative agreement provides salary increases for full-time faculty, graduate assistants, teaching assistants, and others; provides new compensation programs for medical school faculty; and provides both salary increases and job security for part-time lecturers, Rutgers University said in a statement.

“We are a democratic union, and our members will have the final say,” the unions said in a statement. “We’re proud of what we achieved by going on strike and joining together for the Rutgers we and our students deserve.”

“We didn’t win everything we asked for and deserve, but no labor contract ever does,” the unions said. “We will continue fighting for a better Rutgers starting the day after we have a ratified contract.”

The strike on three campuses began earlier this month after almost a year of gridlocked contract negotiations. A framework agreement was reached after the fifth day, but union members still need to approve it.

The three unions represent some 9,000 educators, researchers, clinicians and counselors at Rutgers University.

Union members will decide whether to ratify the tentative agreements as contracts through the end of June 2026, the statement says. To do so, they will meet, read, and discuss the items in town hall meetings over the coming days, after which they will cast ballots in a ratification vote.

If ratified, the provisions would be applied retroactively, the Rutgers University statement said.

Macron faces Labour Day protests as pension reform anger festers

Story by By Richard Lough and Matthieu Protard • May 1,2023

Traditional May Day labour union march in Nantes© Thomson Reuters

By Richard Lough and Matthieu Protard

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron faced nationwide protests on Labour Day on Monday as he struggles to turn the page on a deeply unpopular increase in the retirement age that has unleashed a wave of social unrest.


Traditional May Day labour union march in Nantes© Thomson Reuters

Macron's popularity has plunged to near record lows hit during the "Yellow Vest" crisis after he stared down trade unions and multi-sector strikes and lifted the retirement age by two years to 64.

The move crystallised anger against a president perceived by many as indifferent to their daily hardships and Macron has been met by boos, pot banging and heckles as he confronts citizens on walkabouts.

Unions hope more than 1 million people will march through towns and cities on Monday.

Related video: Pension reform protest at French football Cup Final (SNTV)

Duration 2:09  View on Watch

"This May 1st will be a milestone," said Sophie Binet, leader of the hardleft CGT union. "It will serve to say that we will not move on until this (pension) reform is withdrawn."

Laurent Berger, head of the reform-minded CFDT trade union, said Macron's government was deaf to the demands of one of the most powerful social movements in decades. Even so, he said on Sunday that did not mean an end to talks with the government.

Macron says the reform is needed to keep one of the industrialised world's most generous pension systems in the black.

French pension payments as a share of pre-retirement earnings are comfortably higher than elsewhere and a French man typically spends longer in retirement than those in other OECD nations.

But the trade unions say the money can be found elsewhere.

Macron's government, which lacks a working majority in parliament, rammed the pension legislation through without a final vote due to a lack of cross-party support.

A hardening of the political opposition risks complicating the rest of his reform agenda, including an employment bill that would require those receiving the minimum welfare benefit to work or get training for 15-20 hours per week.

Fitch cut France's sovereign credit rating on Friday by one notch to 'AA-', saying a potential political deadlock and social unrest posed risks to Macron's agenda.

(Reporting by Matthieu Protard and Richard Lough; Editing by Nick Macfie)

French mass in May 1 show of anger against Macron pension reform

Story by AFP •

Some have taken to banging pots and pans during protests against Macron© Philippe LOPEZ

Hundreds of thousands of people on Monday massed in France on labour day to vent their anger against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, with unions vowing not to stop fighting even after the changes were signed into law.


When President Emmanuel Macron attended a football match on Saturday, some activists waved red cards at him in protest© FRANCK FIFE

Unions had been hoping for a vast turnout across France for the May 1 protests to further rattle Macron, who has been greeted by pot-bashing and jeers as he toured the country seeking to defend the reforms and relaunch his second mandate.

Macron last month signed a law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite months of strikes against the bill.

"The law has been passed but has not been accepted, there is a desire to show discontent peacefully to have a reaction in response that shows a certain level of decency," said Celine Bertoni, 37, an academic in the central city of Clermont-Ferrand.


Radical ecological activists sprayed orange paint around the Place Vendome in central Paris, known for its jewellery shops© Alain JOCARD

"I still hope that we are going to be told it will be withdrawn," she added.

"Macron has the impression that as he was elected he has all the power! But I want him to cede his place to the people," added Karine Catteau, 45, in the western city of Rennes.



Police used tear gas in Toulouse in southern France as tensions erupted in the demonstrations© CHARLY TRIBALLEAU

The main march in Paris kicked off at 1200 GMT along the traditional protest route of Place de la Republique to Place de la Nation, with a heavy downpour suddenly beginning at the very moment it started.



Protests in Paris were marked by tensions and a sudden downpour

© Geoffroy Van der Hasselt

Police had been given a last-minute go-ahead to use drones as a security measure after a Paris court rejected a petition from rights groups for them not to be used.

Police used tear gas in Toulouse in southern France as tensions erupted during the demonstrations, while a car was set on fire in the southeastern city of Lyon.

In the western city of Nantes, police also fired tear gas after protesters hurled projectiles, AFP correspondents said. The windows of Uniqlo clothing store were smashed.

Related video: France: Thousands Join Labor Day Protests In Lyon (StringersHub)

Duration 0:45  View on Watch

- 'Page not going to be turned' -

Macron and his government have tried to turn the page on the episode of popular discontent, one of the biggest challenges to his second term.

"The page is not going to be turned as long as there is no withdrawal of this pension reform. The determination to win is intact," said the head of the CGT union Sophie Binet at the Paris protest.

"The mobilisation is still very, very strong," added Laurent Berger, head of the CFDT union.

"It is a sign that resentment and anger are not diminishing."

Monday marked the first time since 2009 that all eight of France's main unions have joined in calling for protests.

"This workers' holiday will take place amid union unity and that alone is historic," said Frederic Souillot, the secretary general of the Force Ouvriere (Worker's Force) union.

Radical ecological activists from Extinction Rebellion earlier sprayed orange paint on the facade of the glitzy Fondation Louis Vuitton museum in Paris, which is backed by the LVMH luxury goods giant.

In a separate action by a different environmental protest group, activists sprayed orange paint around the Place Vendome in central Paris, known for its jewellery shops, targeting the facade of the ministry of justice.

- 'Red card' to Macron -

France has been rocked by a dozen days of nationwide strikes and protests against Macron and his pension changes since mid-January, some of which have turned violent.

But momentum has waned at recent strikes and demonstrations held during the working week, as people appear unwilling to continue to sacrifice pay.

When Macron attended the final of the French football cup on Saturday, he was met with activists waving red cards.

Almost three in four French people were unhappy with Macron, a survey by the IFOP polling group found last month.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, with Macron's support, invoked in March the controversial article 49.3 of the constitution to ram the pension reform through parliament without a vote in the hung lower house.

Macron won a second five-year term last year but lost his parliamentary majority in June elections.

Borne last week pledged to cut unemployment and make industry greener as she sought to move on to other affairs of state.

She also postponed any discussion on a controversial immigration bill until the autumn for lack of a parliamentary majority, saying she believed it was not the time for another divisive debate.

Labour unions early last month walked out of talks with Borne after she refused to budge on the pension reform's headline measure of raising the retirement age.

bur-sjw/kjm

American Airlines pilots vote for potential strike while airline says negotiations are progressing

Story by Leslie Josephs • 

American Airlines and the pilots' union are negotiating a new contract.
More than 99% of pilots who voted approved of allowing the union to call a potential strike, a step other airlines' pilots have recently taken.

Pilots talk as they look at the tail of an American Airlines aircraft at Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport.© Provided by CNBC

American Airlines pilots have voted overwhelmingly to allow their labor union to call a strike while the carrier said talks for a new contract are getting close to a conclusion.

Pilot strikes are rare and would require permission from the federal National Mediation Board. The vote doesn't mean a decision to call a strike would happen immediately.

More than 96% of American's pilots participated in the vote and 99% of them voted to allow the union to call a strike, the Allied Pilots Association said Monday.

The APA called the strike authorization vote in March as talks for a new deal dragged on. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom had said the airline was ready to raise pay to match rival Delta Air Lines, whose pilots approved a four-year deal earlier this year with 34% raises and other improvements.

"Today marks a proud milestone in our pilot group's unity and resolve and an important step on our path to securing the contract we have earned and deserve — one that prevents management from operating at a discount to our competitors and includes our 'must have' quality-of-life priorities," APA president Capt. Ed Sicher wrote to pilots Monday.

A spokeswoman for American Airlines said the carrier believes a deal is "within reach" and that a "handful" of issues are left to complete.

"The finish line is in sight," she said in a statement. "We understand that a strike authorization vote is one of the important ways pilots express their desire to get a deal done and we respect the message of voting results."

Including higher 401(k) contributions, at the end of a potential four-year deal at American, a captain flying narrow-body planes would make $475,000 at the top of the scale while the most senior captains of wide-body planes would make $590,000 per year, based on a recent contract proposal.

Pilot contract talks have been difficult throughout the industry, including at American, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, as pilots seek not only increases in pay but quality-of-life improvements such as better, more predictable schedules as travel demand improves following the pandemic.