On April 30, 2014, the PSAC Prairie Region hosted a live and interactive telephone town hall. Nearly 4,000 members throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba participated in the one-hour call to discuss important information about the attack on sick leave.
PSAC Prairies Regional Executive Vice-President Marianne Hladun, PSAC National President Robyn Benson and PSAC Research Officer Bonnie Bates answered questions from members live on the call.
Listen to the full audio from the telephone town hall below.
While we only had time to answer 18 questions from members during the telephone town hall, over 100 members entered the queue to ask a question live on air. We also had 80 members leave us messages with their feedback and questions immediately following the event. All of those questions were captured and are being looked over. Keep checking back for more information and answers to your questions.
We also had the capability to ask thousands of members on the call poll questions and receive instant feedback. When we asked participants how much sick leave they take in an average year, 51% answered between 4-8 days, with another 33% indicating between 0-3 days. Subsequently, when we asked participants if they'd ever worked while sick, 65% answered they've come to work sick because of workload pressures, while another 20% answered they've come to work sick because of workload pressures and because they've ran out of sick leave.
As bargaining proceeds and this issue unfolds, we will continue to inform members about what's going on and how to show support to your bargaining team and fight back against concessions.
In the coming weeks, PSAC will be holding multi-local meetings throughout the Prairies. Find a date near your, or contact your regional office for more information.