(31 January 2011—Ottawa) The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is now representing 228 workers with the Information Technology Service Division at the Bank of Canada. The Canadian Industrial Relations Board issued a ruling on January 26 following an organizing campaign PSAC began at the request of a majority of employees in that sector.
These 228 members join some 30 employees in the security division PSAC organized in 2005.
"We are very pleased to welcome these new members to PSAC," said Maria Fitzpatrick, PSAC's Regional Executive Vice President for the National Capital Region. "They turned to the PSAC to negotiate a collective agreement that will give them dignity, respect and better working conditions."
The application for certification initiated by a group of employees in 2010 came in response to numerous upheavals caused by the management of the Bank of Canada.
Many employees lost their jobs to subcontractors, others had to accept scaled-down working conditions, and everyone experienced tremendous uncertainty due to the many changes.
By joining one of the largest unions in Canada, these workers have given themselves strength to bargain collectively in order to ensure that they will be treated fairly. Over the last four years, PSAC has conducted numerous organizing campaigns across the country, particularly in the university sector, adding 25,000 new members. With a membership of 180,000, PSAC is one of the largest unions in the country.