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News - November 2009

The headlines for news items published during this month are listed below.

Click on the headline of your choice to see the entire text of the article.

• Senior Atlantic Region management sets example by urging employees

to play a greater role in their NHU Locals

• Atlantic NHU leadership in Halifax this week for intensive Local Officers’ development

• Public Service Alliance 2010 calendars available through PSAC Regional Offices

• Health Canada Union-Management Consultation Committee Minutes posted

Senior Atlantic Region management sets example by urging employees to play a greater role in their NHU Locals

Posted November 24, 2009

As coincidences go, this was a most welcome and appreciated one.

At the very time the NHU was providing skills development to our Local Officers in the Atlantic Region, management in that part of the country went out of its way to encourage more employee involvement in our Union.

Senior Regional executives for both Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada are jointly urging employees “to participate actively in union activities”.

So, what’s the catch? There is none. Just a common-sense notion that co-operative union-management relations are a win-win situation for employer and workers alike.

Here are some of the key passages of the joint statement:

"The regional management of Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada would like to take this opportunity to recognize the valuable contribution that union representatives...make to the improvement of our workplace, and to express management’s support for union involvement by employees.

"Union representatives, together with management, strive to foster a labour-management partnership that works to identify problems and find solutions. Being a union representative, or participating in a union, can offer many benefits to an individual as well. Representing employees or participating in consultations with management on various workplace issues offers a chance to learn more about our work environments and the public service as a whole and to develop career-enhancing skills in areas such as communication, mediation and negotiation.

"We look forward to continuing to develop strong, productive working relationships with all of our union partners in the months to come.”

It’s not often one hears such words from the upper levels of management. This should serve as a clear example to other regional managers of the importance of mutually-respectful and productive labour relations practices in HC and PHAC workplaces right across the country.

Atlantic NHU leadership in Halifax this week for intensive Local Officers’ development

Posted November 17, 2009

NHU Local Officers from across the Atlantic Region will meet in Halifax this week to participate in an intensive day-and-a-half session designed to equip them with the knowledge and skills to confidently represent their members in the workplace.

Delegates to our August 2008 National Convention – the first since our former Income Security Program members were transferred to another PSAC component union – recognized the need to provide skills development to the many new Local Officers who stepped up to serve their members as NHU Locals were reorganized. A one-time expenditure was authorized for this purpose.

The result was the creation of ‘Local Officers Development’, our own in-house program specific to the needs and concerns of NHU Local leadership. The course is being rolled out in every region across the country.

With an emphasis on group interaction and team-building, ‘Local Officers Development’ addresses a wide range of everyday concerns, including:

           • the respective structures of the Local, the NHU and the PSAC;
           • the roles and responsibilities of Local Officers,
           • Local administration and finances;
           • the function of Union-Management Consultation Committees;
           • the grievance procedure;
           • dealing with harassment and discrimination in the workplace;
           • the role of the Local Health and Safety Committee; and
           • handling human rights and Public Service Staffing Tribunal complaints.

Thanks to this unique opportunity, our Local Officers in the Atlantic Region will leave the November 18-19 NHU session well-equipped to represent their members’ workplace interests.

Public Service Alliance 2010 calendars available through PSAC Regional Offices

Posted November 13, 2009

The ever-popular annual calendar produced by the Public Service Alliance is now being distributed through PSAC Regional Offices across the country.

However, to ensure you obtain sufficient quantities of the 2010 calendar, NHU Locals should get in touch with their closest PSAC Regional Office to arrange for delivery or pick-up.

A list of contact information for these Offices can be accessed by clicking HERE.

Health Canada Union-Management Consultation Committee Minutes posted

Posted November 12, 2009

Union-Management Consultation Committees (UMCCs) are an official forum where management and employee representatives meet to exchange information on policy, procedures, conditions of employment and other matters of interest to the parties.

The minutes from the two most Committee meetings are now available on our Web site and can be viewed by clicking HERE.