Workplace Issues

The cost of living isn't slowing down, and neither should our fight for fair compensation.

We believe in:

• Strong wage increases;

• Compensation that reflects the real value and complexity of the work;

• Protection of benefits and pensions;

• Better leave and other forms of compensation;

• Economic security across members' entire careers; and

• Wage increases that reflects the real cost of living in Canada

Our standard of living should not decline because our employer does not value our work.

We reject arbitrary return-to-office mandates that ignore the realities of members' jobs and lives. Not every job can be done remotely, and members don't all need the same thing. What they need is a real say.

We believe in:

• Meaningful flexibility in where and how work gets done

• Arrangements based on the nature of the work, not arbitrary office-day quotas

• Physically and psychologically safe and accessible workplaces; 

• Enforcing workers' right to accommodations and ending the discriminatory practice of mishandling remote work accommodations as exemptions;

• Evidence-based approaches to workplace design and productivity; and

• A real union voice in decisions about how work is organized

We deserve workplaces that work for us, whether that’s remote or in-office, our needs matter.

Restructuring, budget cuts, automation, and shifting government priorities can upend members' lives and communities. Job security is collective security.

We believe in:

• Stronger job security;

• Real union involvement before decisions are made;

• Transparency around restructuring and staffing; 

• Fair and equitable treatment throughout workforce adjustment; 

• Real opportunities for affected members to stay in the public service; and

• An end to restructuring as a backdoor to contracting out.

We are not just boxes. Job cuts have real impacts on our lives, families and communities. We deserve transparency, accountability and protections from arbitrary workforce adjustment. 

Bargaining should be something members do, not something that happens to them. And participation shouldn’t stop at consultation.

We believe in, and will support, a bargaining model built on:

• A democratic process where members shape negotiation strategies and demands;

• Strength in numbers through member participation;

• Transparent communication, every step of the way;

• Coordinated action across the union and federal public sector; and

• The power to mobilize when the employer refuses to move.

As the NEC, we'll do everything we can to bring members into bargaining early, and keep them there.

Every member deserves a safe, healthy workplace. That means the union at the table identifying hazards, preventing harm, and holding employers to account.

We believe in:

• Stronger prevention and enforcement;

• Real resources for health and safety;

• Meaningful worker participation;

• Safe, accessible, properly equipped workplaces;

• Stronger protection against workplace violence and harassment;

• Ergonomic protections; and 

• Real attention to psychological health and safety.

Cutting costs is not an excuse for rolling back health and safety standards in our workplaces.

We can't build a strong public service by asking fewer people to do more, indefinitely. Members are burning out under rising workloads and chronic understaffing.

We believe in:

• Reasonable, sustainable workloads;

• Adequate staffing;

• Recognition that workload drives service quality; 

• Real mechanisms for members to raise workload concerns; and

• Collective solutions to burnout and understaffing.

We deserve a workplace that values our well-being and doesn’t put deadlines before people.

AI and automation are already reshaping how public services are delivered. Members deserve a say in how that happens.

We believe in: 

• Transparency about how AI and automated systems are used; 

• Meaningful consultation with workers and the union; 

• Protection against discriminatory or opaque automated decisions; 

• Training and reskilling when technology changes the job; 

• Recognition of members' professional knowledge and expertise; and

• No excuse for job losses, surveillance, or deskilling dressed up as "innovation".

Technology should improve public services and working lives, not just hand management more power.

Members shouldn't have to choose between doing their jobs well and having a life outside of them.

We believe in:

• Meaningful flexibility;

• Reasonable workloads;

• Predictable, sustainable working conditions;

• Adequate leave; 

• Respect for members' time; and

• Policies that reflect the real lives members lead.

Flexibility won't look the same for everyone. Our job is to fight for real choices, not a one-size-fits-all model.

Canadians deserve high-quality public services delivered by skilled, fairly compensated public servants, not outsourced to the lowest bidder.

We believe in:

• Pushing back against unnecessary contracting out and privatization; 

• Transparency about contracting and outsourcing decisions;

• Real union involvement before work is contracted out;

• Recognition of the expertise and institutional knowledge public servants bring;

• Protection of public-service jobs; and

• Real investment in the federal public service's capacity.

When public services are weakened, workers and the public both pay the price.

Equity can't live in a policy binder. It has to shape how members actually experience their workplace and their union.

We believe in:

• Stronger support for members facing discrimination or harassment; 

• Meaningful workplace accommodations; 

• Accessible workplaces and union structures; 

• Action on systemic barriers; 

• Stronger representation of equity-seeking members; and

• Bargaining priorities that reflect how policies land differently across our membership.

Members shouldn’t have to fight for their unique needs to be met and equity should be a priority in every workplace.