Some memories aren't as fond as others, and 2013 had its fair share of moments we'd all like to forget. Here's our year-end-list featuring the worst moments of 2013.
Bill C-4 Introduced & Passed
Bill C-4 undermines the right to collective bargaining, eliminates important human rights protections, and will make every federal workplace less safe for its workers and the Canadians they serve. The Bill was drafted with no consultation with public sector bargaining agents and eliminates labour rights gained over the last fifty years, and severely undermines the ability of federal employees to negotiate on a fair playing field.
The Cuts Continued
As of November 7, 2013, 22,733 of our members in 60 departments received notices saying they could lose their jobs, including 2,778 in the Prairies. The cuts throughout the year affected almost 200 members working at DND, 297 members working for Veterans Affairs, and 235 members who work at Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, to name a few.
The Cat Came Back
On June 26, the Senate voted blocked Bill C-377 from becoming law, making major changes to a deeply flawed piece of legislation that singles out unions to provide detailed and intrusive reports to the Canada Revenue Agency. The amended Bill was scheduled to go back to the House of Commons in the fall, however, when Harper prorogued Parliament in September, it bounced the Bill back to the Senate in the same state it had been when it was passed at third reading by the House in December 2012, prior to the Senate amendment. Regardless of the amendments, many of the expressed concerns remain. C-377 doesn't need amending, it needs defeating.
Private Members Pretense
On June 5, Conservative MP Blaine Calkins for Wetaskiwin (Alberta) introduced Bill C-525, an Act to change the certification and revocation sections of the Canada Labour Code, the Public Service Labour Relations Act and the Parliamentary Employees Staff Relations Act. These proposed changes to existing federal legislation would put in place the highest barriers to unionization in the country. It is another attack from the Conservatives against the labour rights of hard working Canadians.
Bad Faith Bargaining
On June 7, the employer decided call a vote on their final offer for FB members. PSAC took the employer to court to force the government to respect the bargaining process and won. The government tried but failed to circumvent the bargaining process by forcing FB members to vote on an offer that was not agreed to at the bargaining table.