Education in Winnipeg

This intensive two day course will focus on the needs of workplace Health and Safety committees. Over the two days we will explore the internal responsibility system, look at who’s getting hurt and why, worker’s rights and responsibilities, and the legal framework for occupational health and safety, for both federally and provincially legislated PSAC members.

Have you been working in your local as a steward and wish you had more knowledge about specific workplace issues?   Do you want to develop your skills to better represent your members?   Then this is the course for you!  You will develop your representation skills, but also practice turning workplace problems into opportunities to involve members.  Topics include the role of an effective union steward; duty of fair representation; collective agreement interpretation; building a complete file; discipline; resources within the union and dealing with harassment complaints.

This Friday night/Saturday course is the union’s key “introductory” education event.  If you have wondered what it means to be a union member, how the PSAC works, and what happens to your dues dollars, then Talking Union Basics provides answers to these questions.  The course also introduces the collective agreement, your employee rights and your rights as a member of the PSAC.  You will learn about the many opportunities to be active in the union and ways you can make a contribution to building strong locals in the Prairie region.

This is a one day course and is being offered for the first time out of the Winnipeg RO.  The course is designed to expand our understanding of the concepts of mental health, how mental health issues impact our workplaces, and the challenges stewards face when representing members experiencing mental health issues.  We will review and learn from actual cases, as they have gone through the grievance and adjudication process.  We will also review the union’s duty to represent members, and the employer’s duty to accommodate responsibilities.

This one and a half day course examines the role of employers, unions, and workers in meeting the “Duty to Accommodate”.  Participants will learn about the legislative basis as well as the practical application of the duty to accommodate.  The course will explore case law, and assess measures the union can actively promote to ensure a more accessible workplace for all.

Please note that this is a weekend course being held on both Saturday & Sunday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. This course will develop participants’ knowledge, skills, and confidence in effectively solving problems at the workplace. A major portion of time will be spent on the relevant technical skills i.e. identifying, investigating, writing up, and presenting grievances. 

The PSAC Prairie Region presents…The Activist School! Are you…

The PSAC’s Union Development Program (UDP) has been one of the most comprehensive union leadership training programs in Canada for more than 35 years. 

Fighting for Our Lives: Bill C-4 and Health and Safety This new, one day course is being offered in the region as a result of the recent changes from Bill C-4, most importantly with the changes to the definition of danger, and changes with the right to refuse. The objectives of this course include; highlighting the changes to the Canada Labour Code Part II, understanding the political context from which Bill C-4 emerged, and to try and determine the implications of the changes on workers, workplace committees and on unions.

New this year, the Mini-Union School for union activists is targeting those from Regional Committees, Area Councils and Locals.  This course will run Friday night and all day Saturday and will cover the following areas:  - general roles and responsibilities for committees and officers- good meetings                              - decision making- agendas                                        - meeting minutes- the "Treasurers’ Chest"                 - building relationships