Author Archives: Grain and General Services Union

GSU annual meetings complete for 2017

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October and November are a very busy time for GSU elected officers and staff reps as the annual meetings of the union’s locals and sub-locals are held throughout Saskatchewan.

The 2017 round of annual meetings reviewed GSU operations, finances, the GSU Defense Fund and the union’s bargaining calendar for 2018. A major feature of most of the meetings was beginning to identify priorities for agreement renewal bargaining. The last two meetings will be held this week.

“The 2017 annual meetings provided one of many opportunities for GSU members to participate in building the union’s bargaining agenda with their employers,” said GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner. “Union members spend a big part of their lives in the workplace and they are the ones who are best placed to say what should be changed in the collective agreements GSU bargains.”

“Like any democracy, GSU works best when members participate,” said Wagner. “Thanks to everyone who took the time to attend their 2017 annual union meeting.”

Claim your health spending credit by Dec. 31

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Health spending accounts are a provision in several GSU collective agreements.They may have different names – such as health spending account, health flex account, or health flex spending account – but they all cover different additional health benefit costs that occur throughout the year.

Contact your GSU staff rep if you are unsure if your agreement has a health account or if you need clarification on your account coverage.

ANOTHER PROBLEM SOLVED: Layoffs and top-up

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Staff Rep Steve Torgerson recently assisted GSU members with questions about layoffs, top-up, and what that entails. 

GSU staff can provide additional assistance you may need regarding layoff or any other employment insurance claim. We can even help you with EI appeals.

Contact a GSU staff rep with your questions and concerns. We will work with you to find answers to your questions, find solutions that work for you, and we won’t act on your behalf without your direction and approval. 

Contact information for GSU staff is available here.

Hints for surviving your Christmas office party

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‘Tis the Season for office Christmas parties. Whether you are excited, disinterested, or obligated to attend, the following guidelines will help you navigate the office party. 

Learn more here: How to behave at the Christmas office party

This article has been printed for entertainment purposes. The views and opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of GSU, its members, officers, or staff.

ANOTHER PROBLEM SOLVED: maternity leave issues

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An employee called the union office to discuss issues dealing with maternity leave. 

Each of the different collective agreements in GSU have their own provisions for maternity, paternity and adoption leave. It is always best to check in with your staff representative to determine what rights you have and the benefits that are included. In this employee’s case, the staff rep reviewed the provisions of the agreement and clarified some issues for the member. 

Contact a GSU staff rep with your questions and concerns. We will work with you to find answers to your questions and find solutions that work for you. Contact information for GSU staff is available here.

Joint Executive Council approves staff rep hiring

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GSU’s Joint Executive Council (GSU’s board of directors) held a conference call meeting on Nov. 30 to receive the report and recommendation of the committee assigned to conduct the recruitment to the staff representative position advertised on Oct. 31.After hearing and discussing the recruitment committee’s report, the Council approved a motion to hire Ms. Donna Driediger as GSU’s next staff rep.

Donna has previously worked for GSU in an administrative capacity and most recently as a staff rep from 2004 to 2009. She left GSU in 2009 to accept a similar position with her current employer, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses. Donna is expected to re-join GSU’s ranks at the end of January 2018.

“The Joint Executive Council and I ask GSU members to join with us in extending a hearty welcome to Donna,” said general secretary Hugh Wagner. “We look forward to working with Donna again and drawing on her considerable and varied experience in representing union members.”

GSU Defense Fund directors meet, receive fund update

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The board of directors of GSU’s Defense Fund met by conference call Nov. 30. The meeting included an update on the value of the Fund, which is currently $4,153,000. The assets of the Fund consist of $3,798,000 invested with RBC Dominion Securities and $355,000 on deposit with Affinity Credit Union in Regina.

The board of directors approved a motion to transfer $250,000 from Affinity Credit Union to be invested with RBC.

The next meeting of the board is tentatively scheduled for January 12, 2018 when they intend to review the investment strategy for the Defense Fund.

SFL partners with Hillberg and Berk to offer Burgundy Sparkle Ball earrings

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The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour has partnered with Hillberg & Berk, and proceeds from the sale of these earrings directly supports survivors of domestic violence through the members of the Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS)

Looking for a special sparkly gift this holiday season?

These special edition earrings are $70 per pair and available for purchase at the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour office at 220-2445 13th Avenue, Regina. You can also call 306.525.0197 (SFL office) or 306.287.7423 (Lori) to order or learn more.

Single purchase and large orders welcome.

View this information as a printable PDF

Union members in Ontario to oversee cannabis sales at government’s retail stores, online service

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When the sale of marijuana becomes legal in Canada in July 2018, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s (LCBO’s) website and their 150 stand-alone stores will be the only places where cannabis can be legally sold in the province. Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union will oversee all retail sales and online service through the government-run website. 

“When it comes to retail distribution, the LCBO has the expertise, the experience and the insight to ensure careful control of cannabis, to help us discourage illicit market activity and see that illegal dispensaries are shut down,” said Ontario’s Finance Minister, Charles Sousa.

According to the Ontario government, cannabis will be supplied by medical marijuana producers licensed by Health Canada and it will be priced competitively to curb black market sales. A boost in tax revenues is expected.

Items you just shouldn’t wear in the workplace

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If you want to be taken seriously by your employer and your co-workers, there are some definite no-nos around the office. Showing up for work with wet hair, fishnets, or sweatpants will never be career-enhancing moves.

Check out the following link for a little extra guidance:  Things you should never wear to work.

This article has been printed for entertainment purposes. The views and opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of GSU, its members, officers, or staff.

Painting of No. 1 Pool graces GSU office foyer

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( L-r) GSU general secretary Hugh Wagner and president Jim Brown with GSU’s new painting of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool No. 1 elevator.
 

The Nordal LeBlanc Law Office is located on the first floor of GSU’s Regina office. As a token of friendship and appreciation for the warm welcome the firm has received at the office, GSU legal counsel and friend Ronni Nordal recently gifted a painting to GSU.

 “My sister, Paige Mortensen, took up art after her children were grown and she had retired from the paid work force.  This summer Paige created a batik painting of the first Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevator in Saskatchewan – located in Bulyea, SK, near my farm.  The minute I saw the painting, I knew the perfect home for it was in the front entrance of GSU,” Nordal said. 

“Being from the Bulyea area, I was saddened when Saskatchewan Wheat Pool closed the wooden crib elevators and even more disappointed when it sold off the No. 1 elevator without recognizing its important place in the history of Saskatchewan. Paige’s painting commemorates the No. 1 Pool and it seems fitting to me that it is a part of GSU, as without GSU, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevators would not have played the significant role in life in rural Saskatchewan that they did.”

 We appreciate Ronni’s kind gesture and the work she has done for GSU and its members.

 More of Paige’s artwork can be seen at paigemortensen.ca or on Facebook under Paige Mortensen Art. 

ANOTHER PROBLEM SOLVED: Working with a new manager, good communication

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GSU staff rep Steve Torgerson has been talking to members who are anxious about working with a new manager. 

The members want to be sure they are protected as the new manager assumes the role and approaches things in a new way. Steve coached the members about being up front with any questions that might arise and practicing good communication to help reduce the potential for miscommunication or mistakes. Armed with Torgerson’s recommendations, the members are planning to be particularly observant and to encourage open communication with fellow staff members to ensure things continue to go well. 

Contact a GSU staff rep with your questions and concerns. We will work with you to find answers to your questions and find solutions that work for you. Contact information for GSU staff is available here.

ANOTHER PROBLEM SOLVED: Questions regarding benefits under the SWP/GSU Pension Plan

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A former member of GSU had a number of questions regarding their benefit under the old SWP/GSU pension plan. With the permission of the pensioner, staff rep Lawrence Maier contacted the pension officials and got the required information.

“One issue we often encounter is pensioners who turn 60 years of age and are surprised when their monthly pension drops. In checking with the papers filled out when they retired, it is almost always due to the fact that they chose to integrate their pension with their CPP and OAS benefits,” Lawrence advises. “In this way, they are paid more money up front, but the monthly benefit from the pension plan drops when they become eligible for CPP at age 60. There is another drop in the pension benefit when the retiree becomes eligible for the Old Age Security benefit from the government.”

Integration is a way for those who retire before age 60 to increase their income from the pension plan against taking a reduction in pension once they become eligible for CPP and OAS.

Always check with a trusted financial adviser before you make your decision on what pension option to choose. 

Contact a GSU staff rep with your questions and concerns. We will work with you to find answers to your questions and find solutions that work for you. Contact information for GSU staff is available here.

OPINION PIECE – TIM QUIGLEY, EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF LAW: Bill 40 says winding-up/shutting down a Crown corporation is not privatization. There should be a complete repeal of Bill 40.

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Do we trust the government?

The citizens of Saskatchewan know that Crown corporations act in the public interest to provide services and revenue to the province that private corporations do not always do.  Sasktel provides internet and cellular coverage to pretty much the entire province at competitive rates.  SGI provides car insurance that is cheaper than private insurance.  Natural gas to heat our homes and businesses is delivered by SaskEnergy and electricity by SaskPower.  Without these publicly-owned corporations, many Saskatchewan residents, especially in northern and rural areas, would either have to pay a great deal more for these services or do without altogether.

But our Crown corporations are under threat.  In the spring, the Sask Party government passed legislation, Bill 40, that permits the privatization of 49% of a Crown corporation without the public process that would otherwise be required under another law.  Bill 40 also says that winding up (shutting down) a Crown corporation is not privatization.

Bill 40 was also used to wind up the Saskatchewan Transportation Company.  As Saskatchewan residents are finding out already, this has deprived many people of the means to travel from one community to another, including for medical appointments and the like.  The end of STC has also complicated sending lab samples for testing, library materials for interlibrary loans, and the shipping of countless goods such as farm machinery parts.  

Saskatchewan residents have such strong support for the Crown corporations because they know the valuable services the Crowns provide—services that would certainly be more expensive through the private sector but perhaps not available at all.  That is why there has been a great deal of controversy about Bill 40.  That is likely why Premier Wall announced a couple of weeks ago that his government has listened and will repeal the Bill.  However, the Throne Speech opening this session of the Legislature indicated that the repeal will not include the repeal of the winding up portion.  This means the government will retain the legal power to shut down all or part of a major Crown corporation without the public input required under The Crown Corporations Public Ownership Act.

Some might say that the partial repeal is required because the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) was shut down in accordance with Bill 40.  However, that is not true because, unless the repeal Bill was made retroactive, the STC shutdown would not be affected.  In other words, if the Premier was truly listening to the people, a complete repeal of Bill 40 is called for.

The possibility of a partial repeal is very suspicious.  Just last week, new legislation was introduced in the Legislature that would change the law governing SaskEnergy.  Some will recall that the Devine government (for which Brad Wall was a functionary) split SaskEnergy off from SaskPower and was going to privatize it until opposition from the public and the opposition NDP forced it to back off.  

At the moment, SaskEnergy and TransGas, both Crown corporations, have exclusive jurisdiction over our natural gas distribution system.  A change to that has, until now, required public scrutiny and debate in the Legislature.  The proposed amendments, however, would allow the cabinet to make these changes by regulation without public debate and scrutiny.  If the legislation passes in its present form, it means that the government could (a) wind down the gas distribution network; (b) quickly pass a regulation to permit private ownership of the gas distribution system; and (c) sell off the distribution system assets to those private owners.  Much the same could happen with other Crown corporations:  selling off the fibre optic network for Sasktel, for example.  

This would be privatization in an underhanded way and very contrary to Premier Wall’s statements about listening to the public and deciding to repeal Bill 40.  That is why there should be a complete repeal of Bill 40.  Privatization could still occur, but the government would have to do it openly with full scrutiny and debate and with the supporting vote of the people of Saskatchewan.

Tim Quigley
Emeritus Professor of Law
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Canadian unions believe anyone with a health card should have coverage for the medicines they need.

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Canada’s unions are proud that we’ve won health insurance coverage for many of our members. But we believe anyone with a health card should have coverage for the medicines they need.

That’s why we’re working to win a universal prescription drug plan that covers everyone in Canada, regardless of their income, age or where they work or live.

Learn more and sign the petition here.

 

Source: aplanforeveryone.ca