Greetings Sisters, Brothers and Friends:
In keeping with recommendations from both local and national health authorities, the union has made the difficult decision to suspend activities that would require a large gathering of members.
In addition, PSAC Regional Offices will be closed until March 31, 2020, as staff will be working remotely. Members will continue to have access to PSAC services, with staff working off-site.
Area Councils and Committee meetings during this time will be suspended, unless the Area Council/Committee members wish to meet via Skype or conference calls. Please contact your PSAC staff representative if you wish to arrange alternative remote meetings (Saskatoon_RO@psac-afpc.com).
Below you will find additional information as it relates to ongoing strike votes and PSAC events.
Members are encouraged to regularly visit the PSAC webpage (www.psacunion.ca) and Regional page (https://prairies.psac.com/ ) for more information as it becomes available.
After the March 31st date all PSAC events will be reviewed and members will be updated on any changes, such as for the Prairies Regional Convention.
Strike votes
As the number of reported cases of the coronavirus rise in Canada, it is important that PSAC take precautions and act proactively to safeguard the health and safety of our members, as well as the Canadian public.
In keeping with recommendations from both local and national health authorities, the union has made the difficult decision to suspend activities that would require a large gathering of members.
Strike votes in particular will be suspended until March 30, and at that time the union will re-evaluate whether to continue the suspension or resume the strike votes. This includes the over 120,000 PSAC members of the Canada Revenue Agency, Treasury Board, and Parks Canada bargaining units. We must put the wellbeing of our members and all Canadians first at this critical time.
Despite the suspension of votes, PSAC will continue to bargain for all units currently in negotiations.
For updates on the 2019-n-CoV/COVID-19 situation in Canada, please visit: Government of Canada (Public Health Agency of Canada) - 2019 Novel Coronavirus infection: Outbreak update
PSAC events
Some large gatherings will also be postponed for the time being. This includes the upcoming 2020 PSAC National Women’s Conference that was set to take place in Ottawa from April 3 to 5.
Should additional events be postponed, the union will be in touch directly with any participants that have registered for events and will update members on scheduling changes.
To ensure the safety of our members, we also ask that smaller gatherings like local meetings, committee meetings, and regional activities be conducted remotely via teleconference or video conference wherever possible, or postponed.
We will be updating our national and regional websites, social media, as well as sending information by email as the situation develops. We encourage all our members to check these resources regularly and subscribe to our mailing list.
Please share with your membership and co-workers and post on union boards.