Newsletter
Participation of other bargaining agents in the Joint Learning Program
The Joint Learning Program (JLP) is pleased to welcome more bargaining agents whose members have the Treasury Board as their employer. The JLP and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) made a presentation to the bargaining agent side of the National Joint Council on December 3, 2013. At that meeting, the bargaining agents present expressed their interest in getting on board the JLP. In January 2014, the Board of Directors of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada confirmed the Institute’s participation in the JLP.
At the December 3 meeting, the following options for the participation of the other bargaining agents were discussed:
- Representation of the other bargaining agents on the JLP’s Joint Steering Committee and on the advisory committees that promote the JLP
- Encouraging the members of other unions to become JLP facilitators and to organize workshops.
Since the last round of collective bargaining in 2011, all union members within the core public administration are eligible to participate in JLP workshops.
New Joint Learning Program Workshop on Mental Health at Work
Mental health in the workplace is a matter of ever increasing concern. That’s why the Joint Learning Program (JLP) is announcing a new workshop on the subject. Mental Health in the Workplace will be offered in the summer of 2014 to union members and their managers in the core public administration.
The new workshop aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills they need to proactively and effectively foster and maintain a psychologically safe and healthy workplace.
This workshop is part of the commitment made by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the other participating unions to raise awareness about mental health issues in the workplace. This commitment starts with creating and maintaining an inclusive and healthy workplace, and involves a coordinated and proactive effort to engage everyone in the workforce. This workshop is one of seven offered by the JLP to improve labour relations.
For details about the kit development and posting, visit the JLP’s site at jlp-pam.ca.
National Bargaining Conferences
The Joint Learning Program (JLP) set up a booth on the first day of the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s (PSAC’s) national bargaining conferences, February 13, 2014, in Ottawa.
While PSAC was preparing its bargaining teams for the renewal of collective bargaining for the PA, SV, TC, EB and FB groups, the JLP took the opportunity to remind participants of the importance of the program to maintaining and improving labour relations. The JLP exists under a memorandum of understanding with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat that is included in the conventions collectives. The renewal of the JLP therefore hinges on the upcoming round of collective bargaining.
2,500 Joint Learning Program Workshops
In January 2014, the Joint Learning Program (JLP) hit a milestone: 15 months after delivering its 2,000th workshop, in October 2012, it delivered its 2,500th. Requests for workshops are on track. It took 40 months to complete the first block of 1,000, and the second block was completed in 30 months, between April 2010 and October 2012. If this trend continues, the 3,000th workshop will be given in April 2015. Since it started, the JLP has obtained the support of more than 1,500 facilitators who have given workshops to more than 45,000 participants in more than 100 union and management organizations.
The pace could even pick up, with other unions joining the JLP, the creation of a new workshop on mental health in the workplace, and the increase in the number of memorandums of understanding (MOUs). Also, nearly 33,000 public servants could, at some point in the coming months, receive an invitation to participate in a workshop on their workplace under one of the 11 MOUs with the JLP that are currently in effect.
Quebec Region Welcomes New Facilitators to the Joint Learning Program
From February 10 to 14, in Montreal, the Quebec Region hosted an orientation session on facilitation, given by Marcia Vergara, Joint Learning Program (JLP) Program Officer, andMonique Bernier, from Service Canada. A total of 16 facilitators, including those who fall under memorandums of understanding that the JLP has with Service Canada and the Canada Employment and Immigration Union, with the Canadian Space Agency and the Natural Resources Union, and with the Canada Border Services Agency and the Customs and Immigration Union. Carolle Lajoie and Manon Bouchard, regional coordinators for the Quebec Region, welcomed Jean-Philippe Paquet, Mathieu Landry, Manon Poirier, Sandra Lemaire, René Huacuja, Fabienne Jean-François, Paloma Carrera, Guylaine Soucy, Paola Cavagna, Suzie Labrosse, Carmelo Fortunato, Mathieu Champagne, Danielle Poulin, Sophie Laflamme, Cynthia Ramacieri and Véronique Bédard.
Clinic on the Labour-Management Consultation Kit
The National Capital Region of the Joint Learning Program (JLP) held a clinic on the Union-Management Consultation kit on February 12 and 13. A total of 18 facilitators from the Ontario, Quebec and National Capital regions participated.
Over the course of the two days, the facilitators explored the learning activities in the kit, developed facilitation techniques and acquired the tools they need to deliver the workshop.
Inside the clinic
Upcoming Activities
Here are our upcoming activities for the month of March:
- Three pilot sessions of Mental Health in the Workplace workshop in February and March 2014
- Mental Health in the Workplace workshop clinic, National Capital Region, May 21 to 23, 2014, Ottawa
- Mental Health in the Workplace workshop clinic, Ontario / Eastern Arctic Region, May 27 to 29, 2014, Toronto
- Mental Health in the Workplace workshop clinic, British Columbia / Yukon Region, June 3 to 5, 2014, Vancouver
- Mental Health in the Workplace workshop clinic, Atlantic Region, June 3 to 5, 2014, Halifax
- Mental Health in the Workplace workshop clinic, Prairies / Northwest Territories Region, June 17 to 19, 2014, Winnipeg
- Mental Health in the Workplace workshop clinic, Quebec Region, June 17 to 19, 2014, Montréal
- 40 additional workshops delivered by the end of March
International Women’s Day, March 8
International Women’s Day was celebrated for the first time more than a century ago. Over time, it became a day of recognition and celebration around the world. In 1977, the United Nations adopted a resolution proclaiming March 8 International Women’s Day. Every year, March 8 provides an opportunity to celebrate women’s accomplishments toward equality and their full participation in all aspects of society. It also provides a time to reflect on the challenges and barriers that remain and to consider other measures that could be taken to achieve equality for all women, in all aspects of their lives.
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on March 21 to commemorate the tragic events of March 21, 1960, in Sharpeville, South Africa, when 69 peaceful demonstrators were killed during a protest against apartheid.
Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination. Canada was one of the first countries to support the UN initiative.
International Day of La Francophonie
The International Day of La Francophonie is a global celebration established by the Organisation internationale de la francophonie (OIF) and held every year on March 20.
The event was created in 1998 as a way for the OIF’s 70 member states and governments to celebrate their common bond, the French language, as well as their diversity. The Journée internationale de la Francophonie is dedicated to the French language, which is spoken by 220 million people around the world. It is an opportunity for Francophones around the world to celebrate by expressing their solidarity and their will to live together, recognizing their differences and their diversity, thereby sharing the values of La Francophonie. The date chosen for this event is the anniversary of the first Francophonie organization, the Agence de coopération culturelle et technique, at the Niamey Conference on March 20, 1970.
In March, in connection with this day, the OIF and a number of countries organize the Semaine de la langue française et de la francophonie.