On Friday January 20, 2023 a long time USJE member, colleague and friend to many, Janice Froats passed away unexpectedly. Janice was a Parole Office at Millhaven Institution and fulfilled numerous roles at various sites within the ‘Kingston corridor’ during her decades long career with the Correctional Service of Canada when she acted as a Manager of Assessment and Intervention for the sexual offenders’ program.
Ken was actively involved with the USGE since the 1970s, holding numerous positions within his Local and was elected as Regional Vice-President for the National Parole Service/National Parole Board from 2005 until 2011 when he retired.
The Sherbrooke CCC is located in a high-traffic, residential area of Montreal. Since the shooting, USJE has been strongly advocating for changes and improvements to security at the facility. The safety and security of USJE’s members working in the CCC, and those residing there, is a key priority.
Regional Vice-President Carol Osborne met with Conservative MP John Williamson in St. Stephen, NB to discuss USJE and the 18 departments we represent. The meeting gave RVP Osborne the opportunity to raise member concerns with the MP, including issues affecting our Parole Board, RCMP, Public Prosecutions and Correctional Service members, to name a few.
USJE is actively connecting with federal members of Parliament across the country to seek their support in making crucial changes to federal legislation—the Government Employees Compensation Act (GECA) that would enable federal public safety and justice employees to access presumptive injury workplace compensation.
Regional Vice-President Carol Osborne met with Fundy Royal MP Rob Moore in Hampton, New Brunswick to educate him about the USJE and the work our members do. Mr. Moore is the vice-chair of the Standing Committee for Justice and Human Rights, and the shadow critic for Justice.
Despite recent assurances of some flexibility, the new Treasury Board directive is clear that federal employees must report to the worksite “a minimum of 40 to 60 percent” across the board, no matter the job, role, department or location. While a lack of consultation was hardly a good move, more problematic is that this new approach flies in the face of what we learned about workplace productivity during the pandemic.
National President David Neufeld has been appointed to a committee of the National Joint Council (NJC) that is responsible for the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive. The National Joint Council is comprised of employers and bargaining agents (unions) for the purpose of sharing information, consulting on workplace policies and developing directives for the Public Service.
Regina RCMP members were pleased to have a visit from National President David Neufeld and Regional Vice-President Heather McKinnon in December.
While USJE is glad to see that the Treasury Board has recognized the value of a hybrid work environment, USJE strongly objects to the lack of consultation with federal public service unions in regards to the development of this policy. Further, USJE is deeply concerned about a lack of flexibility in the application of this policy, regardless of the particular work circumstances or capacities of individual employees.