Bargaining teams and union members can play an enormous role in advancing truth and reconciliation in the workplace. Indigenous members from PSAC DCL Local 55602 on Treaty One territory in Winnipeg experienced this firsthand. They won breakthrough improvements in their most recent round of bargaining with their employer, the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development (CAHRD). PSAC members at CAHRD provide important services to Indigenous families, including quality adult education and daycare facilities. 

Along with negotiating important gains for workers with an improved wage scale and new language protecting workers against harassment, their bargaining team also secured new articles recognizing the knowledge and practices of Indigenous members. 

With strong support from their members, the team fought hard to get five days a year of leave to engage in traditional Indigenous practices such as hunting, harvesting, beading, fishing, traditional food preservation, gathering of medicines or ceremonial activities into their collective agreement.  

“Our success in this round of bargaining is fully a result of the work of the bargaining team, local executive and the membership. They were involved, vocal and engaged throughout the process,” says Marianne Hladun, Regional Executive Vice-President for the PSAC Prairies region. “The work they do to provide education and childcare to Indigenous students is significant to the community, and a strong collective agreement ensures our members can continue to provide these services.” 

The bargaining team also successfully negotiated National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a designated paid holiday. This is the kind of important work PSAC is working on across the board as we continue to push for Indigenous-specific provisions in our next collective agreements.