Public union demand for 'aboriginal spirit friend' bereavement leave chastised by wat

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
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Public union demand for 'aboriginal spirit friend' bereavement leave chastised by watchdog




The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is urging the federal government not to give-in to what they call the public sector unions’ “crazy” demands.
Currently, the Treasury Board is in the midst of negotiating 27 collective agreements with 15 bargaining agents. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) — Canada’s largest public sector union — is one of those agents negotiating five different agreements.
In a scathing release, distributed to media on Thursday, the CTF published some of unions’ demands.
According to the taxpayer watchdog, PSAC and its affiliates are asking for three additional statutory holidays (January 2nd, February 16th and May 1st); they want new hires to be given four weeks paid vacation — up from three; they are demanding that any critical comments in a performance review be deleted after one year; and they want taxpayers to contribute to a “social justice fund” controlled by the unions.
What seems to have drawn the most outrage, however, is the Educational and Library Science Group’s demand to add “aboriginal spirit friend” to the definition of family. Essentially PSAC wants its members to receive bereavement pay if an “aboriginal spirit friend” dies.
"While the term “aboriginal spirit friend” appears to be a creation of PSAC,” notes the CTF press release, “spirit friends are commonly considered to be religious spirits or ghosts and can take a human or animal form.”

According to the union, the criticism is unfair. They say that the “aboriginal spirit friend” clause is for its First Nation members.
"We celebrate our diversity and encourage all members to be part of the collective bargaining process by making proposals to improve working conditions," read a statement from PSAC to Yahoo Canada News.
"This proposal, among many others, was brought forward in a democratic fashion. It refers to the loss of a spiritual leader in the community, such as an elder. We have negotiated bereavement leave in other agreements for such losses.
"We hope the government starts to take seriously all our proposals instead of trying to gut sick leave and other provisions that ensure a healthy and productive federal public service.”

Still, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation isn’t backing down.
"Nowhere in the union’s written list of demands is the ‘aboriginal spirit friend’ defined as an elder or a living being. If they were talking about an aboriginal elder, they could have easily said so," Gregory Thomas, the CTF’s national director told Yahoo Canada News, after reading PSAC’s response.
"My sense is that they’ve been called out on a demand that is plainly ridiculous and that they are backtracking.
"That said, the union’s demand for 10 days paid leave to mourn the passing of a community elder is almost nearly as outrageous."

The spirit friend debate aside, Thomas argues that the unions demands are over the top.
"Counting weekends, vacations, statutory holidays, sick days, family days and personal days, federal employees can already get between 150 and 165 days off every year with full pay," Thomas says.
"If the unions get their way, some full-time federal government employees could soon have more days off than days on the job."
Are the demands fair or unfair? You can judge for yourself here.



http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/cana...nd-bereavement-leave-for-death-205555778.html
 

55Mercury

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May 31, 2007
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oh goody!

I'ma aks Bear to be my abosprite friend.

*fingers crossed that it doesn't really mean anything*
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
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Clearly the writer of the article has no clue how union negotiations work. Entertaining read though.
 

55Mercury

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May 31, 2007
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yeah, well the natives get family-related leave like everyone else.

but I've always felt that for those who don't have any family - everyone, not just natives... they're somehow getting short-changed.

maybe the proposed leave could be combined with the family-related so that either would be up to a total 5 days/yr. which is where I think F/R currently is. 10 days is just ridiculous. but it's negotiating, asking 10 in order to settle for 6. whatever... and if more eders/spirits die, then the natives could be allowed leave without pay.

but how does one prove to the bureaucrats that their imaginary friend has died?
 

Tecumsehsbones

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yeah, well the natives get family-related leave like everyone else.

but I've always felt that for those who don't have any family - everyone, not just natives... they're somehow getting short-changed.

maybe the proposed leave could be combined with the family-related so that either would be up to a total 5 days/yr. which is where I think F/R currently is. 10 days is just ridiculous. but it's negotiating, asking 10 in order to settle for 6. whatever... and if more eders/spirits die, then the natives could be allowed leave without pay.

but how does one prove to the bureaucrats that their imaginary friend has died?
Why not? The Canadians of European extraction get a day off for when their imaginary friend was born.
 

55Mercury

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May 31, 2007
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yeah, but at least with an elder there is a death certificate.

bureaucrats are extremely dry, like a cAn4l without the sea, C?
 

captain morgan

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Mar 28, 2009
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yeah, well the natives get family-related leave like everyone else.

but I've always felt that for those who don't have any family - everyone, not just natives... they're somehow getting short-changed.

maybe the proposed leave could be combined with the family-related so that either would be up to a total 5 days/yr. which is where I think F/R currently is. 10 days is just ridiculous. but it's negotiating, asking 10 in order to settle for 6. whatever... and if more eders/spirits die, then the natives could be allowed leave without pay.

but how does one prove to the bureaucrats that their imaginary friend has died?

Any reason that someone can't take off as much time as they need at their own expense?

Why not? The Canadians of European extraction get a day off for when their imaginary friend was born.


I notice that FN workers also get this time off on a paid basis.

How unequal
 

55Mercury

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May 31, 2007
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Any reason that someone can't take off as much time as they need at their own expense?

I think anyone can have up to a year off -without pay - for personal reasons and their position is held. Mind, someone will have to fill their position and will be jerked around on their return.

So what's fair? hell if I know!
 

captain morgan

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I think anyone can have up to a year off -without pay - for personal reasons and their position is held. Mind, someone will have to fill their position and will be jerked around on their return.

So what's fair? hell if I know!


I agree.

My point is that there is no tangible reason that this circumstance needs to be negotiated on a 'paid' basis
 

55Mercury

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May 31, 2007
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And Canadians of European extraction will get paid spirit friend bereavement leave if it's negociated.
which is fair, I think (if there is to be any such leave at all), that then even those who have no family could also have an occasional leave, even a sanity break from the madness that passes for 'government'.
 

captain morgan

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Mar 28, 2009
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Well, they gotta bullshyte and yell bout something. Not necessarily going to be in the final draft of the contract..........if they get one.

Their demands seem ludicrous.


Pretty silly in the long run.

I really wonder if there is any room to use old-school negotiating tactics these days (ie. demand a pound when your goal is to get 2 ounces).
 

taxslave

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Nov 25, 2008
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Clearly the writer of the article has no clue how union negotiations work. Entertaining read though.

Clearly government sector unions are out of touch with reality.

Why not? The Canadians of European extraction get a day off for when their imaginary friend was born.

All Canadians get that one. We get two for when he supposedly croaked too. Double time for both.