Unions refuse to consult with Harper government over sick leave benefits, file complaint with labour board

Canada's public sector unions fighting back against the Harper government's latest efforts to change their sick leave benefits.

Currently, federal public servants get 15 days of sick leave a year which they can bank year to year. Long-term disability is available — at 70 per cent of salary — after a 13-week waiting period.

As explained by the Ottawa Citizen, Harper government — led by Treasury Board President Tony Clement — want to claw back those benefits by instituting a new short-term disability scheme which would purportedly result in fewer sick days.

To that end, the government has organized consultation sessions over the summer.

The problem is that all 17 federal unions have refused to participate.

Moreover, the Public Service Alliance of Canada — Canada's largest public sector union — has filed a complaint with the labour board claiming that the "Treasury Board is violating its duty to bargain in good faith, and that their behaviour constitutes interference with PSAC’s representation of employees contrary to the Public Service Labour Relations Act."

"The employer’s actions to implement an STD plan are in violation of the statutory freeze provisions of the Act," notes a PSAC statement released on Wednesday.

"Sick leave is part of the collective agreements and any changes must be brought to the bargaining table. If Treasury Board truly wants to engage in a discussion about improvements to the health and work life of employees, the bargaining teams are ready to talk."

[ Related: Ontario labour movement ‘sold their souls to the Liberals’ says union leader ]

Gregory Thomas of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says PSAC's decision is confrontational.

"The Harper government is often criticized for not consulting with federal government employee unions. But when they do take the time to organize a consultation, the union boycotts it. It seems hypocritical and inconsistent," Thomas told Yahoo Canada News.

"A reasonable person would question whether the union is behaving in good faith. We believe this kind of behaviour undermines the union’s credibility with the public."

[ More Politics: Economists hail British Columbia’s carbon tax a success ]

Public sector sick days have long been a rallying cry of the CTF. Last year, on the eve of Labour Day, they sent out at a release urging the Harper government to crack down on what they called an "epidemic" of sick-days in the federal public service. Using data from the Treasury Board, they claimed that federal government employees took a whopping 17.9 days of sick leave in 2012 (compared to 6.7 days in the private sector).

A 2012 report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) suggested that the public sector sick days cost taxpayers of $3.5 billion.

The unions have countered saying that those figures are skewed — that those numbers include people on long-term disability — and that most federal government workers are taking between 0 and 8 days in sick leave, not 18.

They also say that comparing the public sector to private sector isn't fair.

"Comparing sick leave in the federal government to sick leave in the private sector is like comparing apples and oranges," the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) stated in a recent press release.

"For starters, many private sector workers who are off sick aren't being paid, and therefore aren’t being counted as 'off sick'. Federal government workers employed through temporary placement agencies, for example, have no sick leave. If they’re sick, they just don’t get paid."

PSAC does admit that there has been a rise in sick leave and long-term disability over the past few years but blames that on public service cuts that has created stress among workers and a 'toxic workplace.'

A PSAC spokesperson sent data to Yahoo Canada News which suggests that since the Tories started cutting jobs in 2010, long-term disability has spiked. In the first four months of 2012, for example, it had risen by 20 per cent.

"We are seeking fair working conditions and decent living standards for our members and for all workers," Chris Aylward, PSAC Vice President, told Yahoo.

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

Are you a politics junkie?
Follow @politicalpoints on Twitter!