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Treasury Board’s PA group tentative agreement 

How do I know if I’m covered by the PA agreement?

The PA Group (Program and Administration Services) is made up of any PSAC dues paying member whose job title is included in the following categories: 

• Office Equipment (OE) 
• Secretarial, Stenographic and Typing (ST) 
• Programme Administration (PM) 
• Welfare Programs (WP) 
• Communications (CM) 
• Data Processing (DA) 
• Clerical and Regulatory (CR) 
• Administrative Services (AS) 
• Information Services (IS) 

Where can I find out what we’ve negotiated in the new collective agreement?

The full text of the tentative settlement is posted here. 

When do the new contract terms come into effect?

Apart from the monetary provisions, which are retroactive, the new contract terms come into effect on the signing date.

Members will be updated when the contracts are signed. Please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal.

Why did we negotiate a three-year contract instead of a four-year deal like other unions? 

A three-year agreement will allow PSAC, as the largest bargaining agent, to set the pace of negotiations for the public service in the next round of bargaining.

How much of a delay can we expect before our new collective agreement is implemented?

Treasury Board has 180 days from the date of signing the new collective agreement to:

• raise the pay according to the new rates
• provide retro pay for the time elapsed since the expiry of the old contracts and
• pay $500 as a penalty for extended implementation timelines

If the employer fails to provide retro pay within the 180 day deadline they will face additional financial penalties. Upon that failure, employees will be awarded $50 on day 181 and again every 90 days. This is in addition to the $500 listed above.

Will retroactive pay be taxable?

Yes, retroactive pay is subject to taxes.

Did the bargaining team reach an agreement to align the salaries of PM-05s and AS-05s with EC-05s?

During every round of negotiations, the bargaining team needs to drop some proposals in order to achieve a fair collective agreement.

Unfortunately, the bargaining team wasn’t able to negotiate salary adjustments for PM-05s and AS-05s. This proposal can be brought to next round of bargaining beginning in 2021.

 

Common issues

What are common issues and how are they negotiated?

Alongside negotiations for the PA group, PSAC bargaining teams for the TC, EB and SV groups also joined the PA group to reach a settlement for Treasury Board issues common to all groups.

What did PSAC negotiate at the common issues table?

You’ll be able to see a full list of improvements in the ratification kit we’ll prepare before the ratification vote, but until it is posted on the Treasury Board bargaining page, here is a summary of what we negotiated:

• A one-time payment of $500 in recognition of the extended collective agreement implementation deadline and an additional $50 for every subsequent 90-day delay 
• ​10 days of paid domestic violence leave 
• Better language on return to work following a maternity or parental leave, giving more flexibility to parents who wish to change positions within the federal public service. 
• Improvements to parental leave pay 
  • Updated language to match the new legislation including a new extended leave option and the sharing of parental leave 
  • Expanded supplementary allowance for every week an employee is on extended or shared parental leave 
  • Additional weeks for parents covered under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, when both parents work in the public service. 
• New memorandum of understanding to explore the issues related to childcare in the public service 
• Updated and improved language to match the new legislation on compassionate care and caregiving leave 
• Better language to allow the use of employer facilities for union activities 
• New memorandum of understanding to protect certain working conditions of civilian members of the RCMP 
• New memorandum of understanding on mental health in the workplace to support the work of the Centre for Expertise on Mental Health 
• In the event of workforce adjustment, the education allowance has increased to $17,000 
• Deletion of Memorandum of Understanding on Supporting Employee Wellness. As a result, sick leave will remain untouched. 

When will we receive our Phoenix damages compensation?

Due to the work required to implement our new collective agreements and retroactive pay, we anticipate a delay, but the employer has committed to balancing these priorities in order process Phoenix damages as soon as possible. 

Will my Phoenix compensation be tax-free?

We believe that this compensation for pain and suffering should be tax free. However, we will have to await a formal ruling from the Canada Revenue Agency. We will communicate with members once a ruling is issued.

Parental allowance

Please note that this new parental allowance is part of the common issues settlement for all of our Treasury Board groups. The changes only apply to the parental allowance. The maternity allowance remains unchanged. 

When will the new parental allowance provisions under the agreement become effective?

The new parental allowance provisions will become effective the date of signing of the collective agreement. The date that determines an employee’s parental allowance is the date on which the employee starts parental leave, regardless of when the leave period was requested or approved.

Employees who start their parental leave before the signing of the new collective agreement will be subject to the allowance provisions of the previous collective agreement, those who start parental leave on or after the date of signing will be subject to the allowance provisions of the new collective agreement.

If an employee is on maternity leave before the signing of the collective agreement and is required to put in a leave request for the parental leave after the signing of the collective agreement, what parental allowance provisions will apply?

The employee will be subject to the provisions of the collective agreement under which they start their parental leave regardless of the timing of the maternity leave.

What does the new agreement provide for an employee who opt for the extended EI parental benefit?

If an employee opts for the extended parental leave option under EI and starts the leave after the signing of the collective agreement, they will receive a supplemental allowance equivalent to 55.8% of their weekly rate of pay for all weeks they are on parental leave and in receipt of EI

If an employee opts for the extended parental leave option under EI and starts their leave prior to the to the signing of the collective agreement, they will receive a supplemental allowance equivalent to 93% of their weekly rate of pay for all weeks they are on parental leave and in receipt of EI up to a maximum of 37 weeks. If the employee remains off work on extended parental leave, the allowance ceases after a maximum period of 37 weeks. However EI will continue until the employee returns to work or the EI benefit runs out.

When does an employee have to decide whether to take the standard or the extended parental leave?

Employees will have to opt for the standard or the extended leaves prior to the start of the parental leave period, and once that decision is made, it is irrevocable. Parents already on leave at the time of the signing of the new agreement cannot opt for a different option.

How will the parental allowance apply if two parents are subject to two different collective agreements that do not have the same language?

In circumstances where employees are subject to different collective agreements that do not feature identical language, each employee will be subject to the provisions of their respective collective agreement for their parental allowance eligibility and amount.

If I’m working in Ontario but living in Quebec should I apply to QPIP or EI for maternity and parental benefits?

Employees apply to the regime of the province in which the employee lives. For Quebec, an employee would apply to QPIP, for all other provinces an employee would apply to EI.

How many weeks is an employee entitled to under the standard parental leave?

The standard parental leave under EI is 35 weeks to be taken within a 52-week period. Under the collective agreement an employee is entitled to a supplemental allowance of up to a maximum of 37 weeks. This would cover the one week waiting period and an additional week. The new agreement will also allow for the inclusion of five weeks of paternity leave, under the QPIP or five additional weeks of shared parental leave under the EI.

Are the five additional sharing weeks available under the standard EI parental benefit eligible for the parental allowance?

Yes. The five additional weeks available to parents who share the standard EI parental benefit are eligible for a further parental allowance equivalent to 93% of the employee’s weekly rate of pay if both parents are employed in the public service. However, one parent cannot get more than 35 weeks of standard parental benefits, the other parent is required to take some leave without pay in order to receive the allowance for the five additional weeks.

How many weeks is an employee entitled to under the new extended parental leave?

The extended parental leave under EI is 61 weeks to be taken within a 78-week period. Under the collective agreement an employee is entitled to a parental allowance of up to a maximum of 63 weeks. This would cover the one week waiting period and an additional week. The new agreement will also allow for the inclusion of eight additional weeks of shared parental leave under the EI.

Are the eight additional sharing weeks available under the extended EI parental benefit eligible for the extended parental allowance?

Yes. The eight additional weeks available to parents who share the extended EI parental benefit are eligible for a further parental allowance equivalent to 55.8% of the employee’s weekly rate of pay if both parents are employed in the public service. However, one parent cannot get more than 61 weeks of extended parental benefits, the other parent is required to take some leave without pay in order to receive the allowance for the eight additional weeks.

Under the QPIP regime, is an employee entitled to the new extended parental allowance?

No. The QPIP regime does not offer an extended parental leave benefit; however, employees are eligible to take the extended parental leave as provided in the collective agreement without the allowance. Their allowance will then be as if they had taken the standard leave, for up to 52 weeks (if one parent is working for the public service) or 57 weeks (if both parents are working for the public service).

What is the maximum combined maternity and parental allowances payable under the standard option in the new agreement?

- For an employee who is in receipt of EI:

The total amount of maternity and shared standard parental leave eligible for a top up allowance is 57 weeks if both parents are employed in the public service. This includes 15 weeks of maternity leave, one week waiting period, one additional week and a shared parental benefit of up to 40 weeks. 

- For an employee who is in receipt of QPIP: 

The total amount of maternity, parental and paternity leave eligible for a top up allowance is 57 weeks if both parents are employed in the public service. This includes 18 weeks of maternity leave, a parental benefit of 32 weeks and a paternity benefit of 5 weeks. Under certain conditions an additional two weeks could be available, please refer to your collective agreement for eligibility.

What is the maximum combined maternity and parental allowances payable under the extended option in new agreement?

The total amount of maternity and shared extended parental leave eligible for a top up allowance is 86 weeks if both parents are employed in the public service. This includes 15 weeks of maternity leave, one week waiting period, one additional week and a shared parental benefit of up to 69 weeks.

Following a maternity and/or parental leave how much time do I owe back to my employer to avoid a repayment?

An employee returning from a standard parental leave, having received a parental allowance of 93%, is required to work an equivalent number of weeks to the number of weeks that s/he was in receipt of the parental allowance.

An employee returning from an extended parental leave, having received a parental allowance of 55.8%, is required to work 60% of the equivalent number of weeks to the number of weeks that s/he was in receipt of the parental allowance.

This work may be fulfilled in the original position or a new position within the core public administration, an agency or another eligible public sector employer.

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