Karen Jackson, the President of the PEI Union of Public Sector Employees welcomed delegates to UPSE’s 61st Annual Convention and delivered her report to the membership. She thanked all UPSE members for their work in serving Islanders every day. She also thanked the UPSE board of directors, executive, staff, stewards, committees, and all UPSE activists for working together to strengthen the Union and improve workplaces across PEI. She reports that UPSE has had continued success on the bargaining front since last Convention with new collective agreements for the Civil Service/IRAC/WCB, the Atlantic Tourism and Hospitality Institute, Whisperwood Villa, Tremploy, and a wage reopener for the Grain Elevators Corporation. The Union is currently in negotiations or will begin negotiations with Health PEI, Community Connections, Community Inclusions, Garden Home, Holland College Administrative and Support, and Early Learning Centre, and Morell and Area Early Learning Centre. Jackson emphasized that “with ongoing staffing shortages, inflationary pressures, and higher interest rates affecting our economy, we find ourselves in a worker-centric market, and your Union is focused on negotiating fair and competitive wage packages and benefits for the membership.”
She touched on a list of Union accomplishments since last Convention including a review of the Constitution, bylaws, and policies that have resulted in the creation of several resolutions being brought to the floor this evening. She spoke about UPSE’s legislative input on a labour and social issues during the past year including the Labour Act, Employment Standards Act, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and a host of other positive actions including enhanced communication and education for UPSE members, labour wins through grievances and arbitrations, the conversion of casual and temporary positions into permanent positions, return of service agreements, labour market adjustments, establishment of labour management groups, the appointment of members to national committees, and more.
Along with the achievements of the Union, Jackson also talked about the challenges facing UPSE members. She reports that UPSE Labour Relations Officers are receiving calls on a regular basis from members who are experiencing violence and harassment in the workplace. Many members have also told us that they do not feel safe to speak up out of fear of retribution. UPSE surveyed the membership in November about workplace bullying and harassment and Jackson says UPSE will analyze the new survey results and strategize to address a culture of bullying, harassment, and violence in the workplace, and we are committed to working with our members and employers to identify the challenges and ensure that work is done to create healthier and safer workplaces for all.”
Jackson also talked about group home members experiencing violence at work. “There has been a lot of work on violence and the union has been integral in establishing violence committees, specifically in Health sites and Group homes. The Provincial Violence Steering Committee will be announcing a campaign within the coming weeks with new policies to address abuse in worksites which hold family and visitors to account, and education on violence. The Group home violence committee has seen a dramatic improvement in reporting and addressing issues at the worksites. The issue of violence is one of the most important issues and we still have work to do, but I am pleased with the progress over the past year.”
Another major concern for UPSE is the privatization of public services in the province. Jackson reported that she met with the Minister responsible for Labour to express these concerns. Privatization is creeping into the health system and the civil service through home care, private agency liquor stores, travel LPNs, virtual health care, and the contracting out of TIE services such as plow routes. Privatizing public services runs contrary to the language in our collective agreements, removes public insight, and changes the channel from service provision to profiteering. For example, the province’s response to the chronic staffing shortages in healthcare has included hiring private travel LPNs to work in Health PEI worksites. UPSE has filed grievances citing a lack of consultation with the Union and the contracting out of bargaining unit work to private entities. We have asked the employer to stop using travel LPNs, and issue job postings for positions as per the collective agreement. Paying exorbitant wages for travel LPNs is not affordable and it’s a band-aid solution to the staffing shortage.
Jackson concluded by saying that as unionists our goals and objectives are focused on improving the working lives of our members and all workers in Prince Edward Island. We do this by strengthening our collective agreement language through negotiations, lobbying the government for important legislative change, conducting campaigns on key labour issues, and representing our members when they face challenges in the workplace. She encouraged the membership to enjoy and to get the most out of Convention over the weekend by working and connecting with each other as members of this great Union!