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• Have your say on review of NJC Isolated Posts Directive

Have your say on review of NJC Isolated Posts Directive

Posted January 19, 2012

The National Joint Council’s Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive is an important document for a number of NHU Locals. And it’s up for its regular cyclical review and amendment.

Intended to facilitate the recruitment and retention of staff delivering government programs in isolated locations, the Directive is designed to recognize the disadvantages and abnormally high costs of living and working in isolated posts, as well as to ensure that employees in government housing are treated in a manner equivalent to employees renting/owning similar accommodation from private or commercial sources.

The NJC, a consultative body of representatives of management and public service unions, develops and issues 'Directives' covering public-service-wide benefits and conditions of employment. A number of these are included in collective agreements, along with a grievance procedure for settling disputes on their interpretation.

Our bargaining agent, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, represents the interests of NHU members at the NJC. It has issued a formal call for input into possible changes to the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive.

The PSAC’s input call should be taken seriously, as Locals can and do lose their Isolated Post status, with significant impacts on the cost-of-living in those areas.

The PSAC has provided a downloadable input form HERE. Once filled out, it must be e-mailed to deana@psac-afpc.com no later than April 30, 2012.

The current NJC Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive can be viewed HERE.

Any and all submissions from the NHU and our Locals will be compiled and vetted by the PSAC prior to being consolidated with the proposals from other bargaining agents. The NJC is expected to begin its latest cyclical review of the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive in June of this year.