Government Operations committee  At the present time, two different views are being expressed. The C.D. Howe Institute and members of that group are saying that our federal pension system is threatened, and yet the Chief Actuary for Canada is saying that the system is sound. It cannot be both black and white at

Government Operations committee  One of the day-to-day consequences we already see--because, as I said earlier, it's been going on for a while--is how the workload of our labour relations officers has changed. They hear more harassment complaints now, and there are more violence problems in the workplace because

Government Operations committee  I'd like to quickly come back to the 4.5% increase in the public service. In fact, you cannot expect to hire people on a 15-day notice and get them up to full speed right away. So what the public service has been doing in the last few years is hiring more people because guys like

Government Operations committee  I've received calls every week for a couple of months. People are asking me, “Listen, I'm turning 55. I might be eligible for early retirement. Even if I receive a lesser amount, should I leave now?” This shows you what kinds of concerns people have.

Government Operations committee  I can give you a few examples. I will refer to the Translation Bureau, since that is the agency I am from. There was a wave of massive terminations or lay-offs in the middle of the 1980s. Then there was a second wave in the spring of 1991. Following that, there was a total freeze

Government Operations committee  I really think it's been going on for a while. Today's problem is the consequence of a succession of actions that started years ago but have been culminating in recent years. You probably should meet with the real managers of the public service, because deputy heads don't reall

Government Operations committee  Good afternoon. My name is Claude Poirier. I am President of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, or CAPE. With me today is Claude Danik, Executive Director of CAPE, and Hélène Paris, CAPE's Research Officer. We represent about 12,000 economists, sociologists and

Finance committee  The reality is that we have a range of pay scales. Economists just starting out in their career are not paid the same as economists at the top of their pay range, which can be anywhere up to $100,000. That's how the process works. Together, the parties examine the value of the wo

Finance committee  The parties would be the employer, who is represented by Treasury Board, and the bargaining agent. Together, they look at whether the salary scale is equivalent and proportional to the value of the work performed. In some cases, the pay scale may be adjusted downward, while in ot

Finance committee  This affects about 10,000 employees, most of whom are economists and sociologists.

Finance committee  The TR group is comprised of between 1,000 and 1,100 translators, terminologists and interpreters. There are 90 Library of Parliament analysts.

Finance committee  Currently, there are seven different pay scales. In fact, there are eight pay scales in the collective agreement, but in reality, only seven are used. Each pay scale includes different pay levels. And here is where an objective, not subjective, re-evaluation is required.

Finance committee  The outcome could be neutral. There may be no pay increase at all. Part of the process involves an evaluation, the other, some negotiation.

Finance committee  The amendments that we would like to see are included verbatim in our submission. A word of caution is in order, however. All this does is open the door to some negotiation, and we have seen that this can work. It would be a balanced approach involving both parties, given economi

Finance committee  I don't think we can make any comparison between the private sector and the federal sector, that's for sure. You also have to consider that these people have careers that run 30 years, or 35 years for some people. They do expect their employer to be just from one group to another