Without prior consultation, the government has unilaterally announced plans to cut costs across the federal public service as part of the Refocusing Government Spending Initiative.

PSAC is concerned that these spending cuts will not only impact services to Canadians but will result in job cuts. PSAC will be fighting back against these cuts and protecting workers caught in the crossfire.

PSAC collective agreements have protections against job cuts. Employers must ensure that employees are treated equitably and given every opportunity to continue their careers. This section of our website outlines your rights and options as a worker facing these challenges and contains more information about the process.

What is workforce adjustment (WFA)?

Workforce adjustment (WFA) is the term used to describe a process for reducing indeterminate positions in the core federal public service, agencies and separate employers. The process was negotiated by PSAC with your employer as an important job protection measure. Its main purpose is to protect the jobs of our members.

The WFA process is outlined in your collective agreement, usually in the Workforce Adjustment Agreement, an appendix to the collective agreement. For the largest federal bargaining units, the WFAA is found in the following places:

Treasury Board:

• EB: Appendix B
• FB: Appendix C
• PA: Appendix D
• SV: Appendix I
• TC: Appendix T

Canada Revenue Agency: Appendix C

Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Appendix B (Employment Transition Policy)

Parks Canada: Appendix K

 

How is WFA defined?

Workforce adjustment is a situation that occurs when a deputy head decides that the services of one or more indeterminate employees will no longer be required beyond a specified date due to one of the following:

• A lack of work
• The discontinuance of a function
• A relocation of a work unit in which the employee does not wish to participate
• An alternate delivery initiative, including: 
  • the service is being transferred to another level of government
  • public-private partnerships (P3s)
  • contracting out and privatization of your work

Budget cuts most often take the form of a discontinuance of a function, which refers to the elimination of a specific job function or activity within a federal department or agency. Positions associated with the discontinued function may be declared surplus. Employees occupying these positions could be affected by the workforce adjustment process.

What does the WFA Appendix oblige the employer to do?

Departments and organizations must:

• Consult with the union as soon as possible.
• Maximize employment opportunities for indeterminate employees.
• When possible, provide alternative employment opportunities and give employees every “reasonable opportunity” to continue their careers in the public service.
• Make sure employees are treated equitably.
• Establish joint Work Force Adjustment Committees.
• Review the use of private temporary agency personnel, consultants, contractors, term employees and all other non-indeterminate employees and where practicable not re-engage them when it will facilitate the appointment of surplus or laid off persons.
• Identify situations where retraining can help workers continue their careers in the public service.
• Advise employees in writing about their status and any change to it.
• Actively cooperate with the Public Service Commission and other departments/ organizations. Interdepartmental cooperation is essential to maximize employment opportunities, although an organization’s first priority is to find jobs for workers in-house.

Additional employer obligations can be found in Part I of the WFA Appendix.

What does the WFA Appendix oblige workers to do?

In a workforce adjustment situation, it’s important to be proactive and investigate other potential employment opportunities within the federal public service. Once it’s clear that a work force adjustment is inevitable, employees are obliged to:

• Actively seek alternate employment in cooperation with their department and the Public Service Commission.
• Actively seek out information about their entitlements.
• Submit any documents (like résumés) or additional information that could help the employer to find them new work.
• Ensure that they can be contacted easily.
• Seriously consider training and job opportunities.
• Be aware of timelines and proactively consider options when they are required to make decisions.

What does it mean to be an “affected”, “surplus” or “opting” employee?

The WFA Appendices in collective agreements all begin with a general section that includes definitions of these terms and many others used in the WFA process. This is the best reference tool for understanding WFA.

How do I read and understand the WFFA?

The Work Force Adjustment Appendix is organized around key decision points. Some parts may apply to your work force adjustment situation. Other parts might not. It is comprised of a General section that outlines the objectives and definitions followed by these seven Parts and three Annexes:

• Part 1 outlines the roles and responsibilities for departments and organizations, Treasury Board Secretariat, the Public Service Commission and employees.
• Part 2 outlines the process for departments and organizations to notify the union. It is important that the Union knows when a work force adjustment situation is going to occur so that it can actively represent members impacted by the situation.
• Part 3 outlines the process that the Employer must follow when there is a relocation of a work unit.  The Employer has unique obligations when a whole work unit is being relocated.
• Part 4 outlines the Employer’s obligations to provide retraining opportunities. There are different obligations for affected, surplus and laid-off employees. 
• Part 5 outlines when the Employer must provide salary protection when employees are appointed to lower-level positions as the result of workforce adjustment.
• Part 6 outlines the choices members need to make if they are not provided with a guarantee of a reasonable job offer. This part spells out how the process works in general, the role that the voluntary departure program plays; how the Alternation process works; and the Options that members must choose from, including a one year paid surplus priority (Option A), a lump sum departure payment called a Transition Support Measure (TSM), (often combined with a Public Service Superannuation Pension waiver), or an Education Allowance combined with a TSM (Option C).
• Part 7 contains special provisions regarding Alternate Delivery Initiatives (ADI), where work is being devolved or contracted out to an organization outside the federal public service. These are unique obligations that are in most cases separate from those found in Parts 1 to 6, unless otherwise specified. As a result of the collective bargaining process, Part 7 has been removed from the Workforce Adjustment Appendix in the CFIA PSAC collective agreement.
• Annex A contains a Statement of Pension Principles that applies to Part 7 Alternate Delivery Initiatives. 
• Annex B include a chart outlining the number of weeks of Transition Support Measure available to opting employees based on years of service who choose Option B or C. 
• Annex C describes some of the roles of the Public Service Commission with respect to the Work Force Adjustment Appendix and the Public Service Employment Act.

Download the Key Elements of the PSAC Workforce Adjustment Appendix flowchart.

How do I know if I am subject to WFA?

Indeterminate employees must be notified in writing by their department or organization that they will be impacted by a work force adjustment. 

The Deputy Head must notify you in writing that your services may or will no longer be required, depending on the situation. The notice must also include whether you:

• Are officially “affected” and if a process for determining who will be laid off is required,
• Will receive a guarantee of a reasonable job offer, and
• Have access to the opting provisions in the WFA Appendix.

Depending on the situation and if the jobs being eliminated are unique, you may be notified that your job will be eliminated and that you will have access to the opting provision of the WFA Appendix at the same time the notice is given.

On the other hand, if you essentially perform the same functions as others, a process for determining who will be retained and who will be laid off must be administered. In this instance affected members’ jobs will be retained or eliminated subsequent to that process.

During the Harper Conservative government's Deficit Reduction Action Plan (DRAP) from 2012 to 2015, the Public Service Commission implemented a flawed system called the Selection of Employees for Retention or Layoff (SERLO) to determine which employees would be retained or laid off. PSAC continues to push the government to implement a fairer system.  

Where applicable, the notification should also provide the information relative to the employee’s possible layoff date.

Other important notices must also be issued during the process. These notices include surplus letters, job offers, opting decisions, requests for résumés and other personal information, as well as job interview notices. Many of these will specify timelines for responding or making a choice.

It is very important for you to respond to the notices by the deadlines provided. 

What do I do if I hear about a WFA or I am notified of one?

When you are first notified about a workforce adjustment situation, or even if you believe you may be subject to one in the near future, please follow these general guidelines:

• Don’t trust hearsay propagated by individual managers and supervisors.
• Keep local and national union leadership and PSAC regional staff advised about what you are hearing. This way your union may raise the issues at a Union Management Committee meeting or a standing Joint Workforce Adjustment Committee meeting, to verify the claims.
• Do not to make any rash or quick decisions. Instead become informed and ask questions about your particular situation and your options from both the union and the employer.
• After becoming informed, seriously consider all the options available to you with particular emphasis on what the best option is for you, given the situation. The WFA Appendix requires you to make difficult choices, and the choice that each must make depends on your individual circumstances.
• Ensure that you respond to requests from the employer within the specified deadlines. Understandably, you may just want the whole situation to disappear because the decisions you are forced to make are so difficult. Unfortunately, not doing anything will make the situation worse and potentially force you to accept an option that isn’t the best one for you.
• If you are deemed surplus and your choice is to remain employed by the federal government, you must actively seek alternate federal government employment and seriously consider all job offers. Be assertive in questioning your departmental human resources advisors about what they are doing to help you find new employment in another department or agency.
• Ensure you can be easily contacted by both the union and your employer.
• Union protections and processes are the most important resource assisting you through the job loss or transition process and you have the right to representation throughout, from before the process starts until after it ends.

What does WFA mean for term employees?

Term and casual employees are not covered by the Workforce Adjustment Appendix. Term employees are entitled to a 30-day written notice period if their term isn't renewed or is terminated early.

Section 51 of the Public Service Employment Act and the Treasury Board’s Directive on Term Employment specify that term employees who have been employed in the same department for a period of three continuous years, without a break of 60 consecutive calendar days or more, must be appointed as an indeterminate employee at the level of their substantive position. Unfortunately, when a WFA is called departments can invoke an exception that allows them to stop the accumulation of service toward the required three years to become indeterminate. 

If your term rollover to indeterminate is paused due to WFA, it should be credited when the workforce adjustment is over if you are still on strength.

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