PSAC will defend the use of 699 leave for federal public service workers during the pandemic at adjudication hearings with the Federal Public Service Labour Relations Board August 30 to September 3, 2021. This will be a virtual public hearing. 

PSAC filed several policy grievances with Treasury Board, CFIA and other agencies for restricting the use of 699 leave for members who were unable to work because of child care, elder care, disability or other issues brought on by COVID-19. We will also be challenging Treasury Board’s policy that forces members to exhaust all other available leave like vacation, sick, or family leave before they can access 699 Leave for COVID-19-related reasons.  

The restrictions disproportionately impact marginalized groups who have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, including women, Indigenous people, racialized employees, workers with disabilities, high-risk workers and workers with family obligations. This violates both members’ collective agreements and the Canadian Human Rights Act. PSAC will also be filing a human rights complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. 

PSAC has combined the Treasury Board policy grievances so that they can be heard together at adjudication to speed up the process, and grievances filed with agencies will be on hold until the Treasury Board hearing is resolved. 

We continue to fight to ensure that all PSAC members – especially those most affected – have the support they need to get through the pandemic.  

If you need leave related to COVID-19, you should continue to request 699 leave, and if your request is denied or you’re forced to take other types of leave like vacation, family or sick leave, you should immediately reach out to your PSAC representative or your component labour relations officer to discuss whether you should file an individual or group grievance.  

Members employed by Treasury Board and PSAC-UTE members are also eligible for paid 698 leave to attend COVID-19 vaccination appointments.  

We’ll continue to provide regular updates throughout the adjudication process.