PEG employees have actually become a key part of the provincial government’s “reforms” to the school system. We have witnessed a ballooning number of these positions — all of them non-union.

The unceremonious yanking of 200 or more school psychologists and speech and language pathologists from the Nova Scotia Teachers Union was widely reported. But less well-known are the social workers and new positions in the expanding Schools Plus program who are being shifted in the same direction.

Curiously, a spokesperson for the department was recently reported as saying there is actually no such thing as the Professional Employees Group, and suggested job posting notices may not have been worded correctly. A quick visit to the Halifax Regional Centre for Education’s website, however, suggests otherwise:

“The Halifax Regional Centre for Education employs more than 9,000 full-time, part-time and casual employees within four union groups (NSTU, CUPE, NSGEU, NSUPE) and a non-union group (PEG — Professional Employees Group). To access the collective agreements for any of the unions representing our employees, click here.” 

Add these PEG positions to the 1,000 principals and vice-principals who were legislated out of the teachers’ union, and it becomes increasingly clear that our current government is falling back on a tried and true tactic for undermining the education unions.

While this may be a less sensational way of weakening the unions than, say, imposing wage freezes and concessions that force teachers and other education workers out onto the picket line, it poses no less a threat to their very existence.

John McCracken, Head of St. Margaret’s Bay

The post Letter: ’Pegging’ unions appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

Some picketers made their displeasure known in no uncertain terms.  

The Nova Scotia workers, members of Local 12 of the Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees (NSUPE), were there to conduct a mobile clinic at Miscouche.

Doing so was part of their trditional job description, they weren’t doing work otherwise done by members of the PEI local.

Refusal to cross the picket line could result in discipline against the individuals and fines against the union, the Nova Scotia workers had been advised. The union, rather than push the envelope, decided to follow that advice.

To witness the workers crossing the line was very hard on the PEI workers, says a disappointed Tanya Herrell, president of the eight members strong Local 19.

“My emotions are a bit rough right now. Today is the last day. Another long day, but we’ll do it, and go from there,” she tells the Nova Scotia Advocate.

The PEI workers, all women, want a guaranteed number of hours of work each week, in order to have a bit of certainty in their lives and qualify for health benefits. Their employer, Canadian Blood Services (CBS), has not budged.

Some Nova Scotia workers joined the striking women on the picket line on their lunch hour, Herrell says.

This was the first mobile clinic conducted in PEI since the start of the strike. CBS has stated that it decided to hold the clinic so as to maintain its connections with PEI donors, but Herrell doesn’t buy that.

“CBS is trying to get the two locals fighting,” she says. “The Nova Scotia contract is up as well. Division between the two locals will work in their favour.”

It is widely assumed that CBS intends to challenge the guaranteed hours clause in the Nova Scotia workers’ collective agreement as well.

“We want to make sure that both locals realize that this is not one local doing this to another. This is CBS doing this to us,” says Joe Kaiser, president of NSUPE, who joined the PEI workers on the picket line on the first day of the three-day mobile clinic.

“The PEI local is striking for everybody,” Kaiser adds.

Could the union defy the legal threats and send a clear signal of solidarity?

Given the potential heavy fines and discipline Kaiser doesn’t think so. There is no clause in the collective agreements to deal with this situation, because nothing like thist has ever happened before, he explains.   

There is a silver lining, says Herrell. The number of people who ended up crossing the line to donate is very low.

“Many people who came to give blood decided to leave once we talked with them.. Most didn’t know we were still on the picket line, they assumed that the strike must be over if they were holding a clinic on PEI,” Herrell says.

:A huge thanks to all the donors that supported us, we met a lot of great people the last couple of days,” she says.

May 20th: Amended to clarify that the mobile clinic has always been conducted by the Nova Scotia workers. It was not a job typically done by workers in the PEI local.

Email Graham Sher, CEO of CBS (who scrapes by on a mere $700,000 a year) to let him know you support the Charlottetown workers. Stay current with the latest developments and show your support by joining the workers’ Facebook page.

See also:

Striking PEI blood collection workers reject employer’s latest offer

Canadian Blood Services, a bloody shame

Healthcare activists hold information picket on -pay-for-plams clinics

The post Nova Scotia blood collection workers cross the picket line in PEI appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

KJIPUKTIK (Halifax) – Eight PEI blood collection workers, all women, all part timers, have been on strike for close to eight months now.

As reported in January, the women want a guaranteed minimum number of hours each week. That would allow them to qualify for benefits, and bring a bit of predictability into their daily lives.

Their employer, Canadian Blood Services (CBS), isn’t budging.

CBS is a not-for-profit, charitable organization operating everywhere in Canada except Quebec. Its sole mission is to manage the blood supply for Canadians. Its budget of roughly $1 billion is mostly provincial money.

Eight months is a very long time to be out on the picket line.

“We have each other, that’s really what it all comes down to,” says Tanya Herrell, president of the Nova Scotia Union of Public & Private Employees (NSUPE), Local 19. “We’re a small workforce, and we are all friends, and sort of hold each other together.”

A mediator is trying to find a way to get the parties talking again, says Nancy Elliott, a NSUPE official who is involved in the negotiations. “Now we need to consult with members.”

No matter what happens, the significance of the strike extends well beyond PEI.  The Charlottetown workers are fighting the same issues CBS workers Canada-wide are facing.

Not just workers, generous donors anywhere are also encountering obstacles when looking to donate blood.

Some argue that CBS is in such a rush to cut costs that it even puts the safety of our blood supply in jeopardy.

Workers squeezed everywhere

CBS likes its workers part time and precarious, not just in PEI but anywhere in Canada.

That was the consensus when unions representing CBS workers all across Canada met in Vancouver last fall, Mike Davidson tells Rankandfile.  Davidson is the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) national representative for three CBS Locals in New Brunswick.

“If CBS had it their way, their clinics would  be all staffed by volunteers, and if they couldn’t have that, they’d settle for an entirely casual workforce,” says Davidson.

Two of the New Brunswick locals have a few part-timers with guaranteed hours, and it has been an ongoing struggle to keep it that way, Davidson says.  In all of the three New Brunswick locals there are only three full-time unionized employees.

“There is no stability. (CBS) doesn’t want stability,” says Davidson. “Meanwhile, they complain about a lack of commitment by the workers.

“I always respond that commitment is a two-way street.  Give the workers something they can bank on. Give them regular hours and regular work.”

Davidson also has an idea where to find the money.

“We always tell them to look at their executives wages. It’s definitely a top heavy bloated organization.”

Indeed, CBS CEO Dr. Graham Sher, earned more than $800 thousand last year. An astounding nine Vice Presidents together made another cool $3.2 million.

“You are a piece of meat giving blood”

It’s one thing to want to keep your workers poor and precarious. Many companies do it. But donors?

“These days donors probably have more complaints about scheduling and clinic times than employees do.”

That’s what Ron Stockton told us when we first talked to him in January of this year. Stockton is the  NSUPE business agent for the PEI local now on strike.

“With CBS it is never about delivering service, it is always about getting the biggest bang for your buck,” Stockton says.

A 2015 press release issued by CBS announced the Canada-wide closure of three permanent clinics, the replacement of a permanent clinic with a mobile one, pulling mobile clinics from 16 communities, and “adjusting clinic schedules across the country.”

“CBS is being transformed into a business, as opposed to a public service or a humanitarian organization. These days it’s all about automation and squeezing efficiencies out of donors and workers,” Stockton concludes.

The latest trend is an obsession with automation, Stockton says.

“When you walk into the clinic you register by inserting your health card into some kind of ATM machine, then you have your blood taken by an employee who is too rushed to talk to you, then you schedule your next appointment at another machine.

“Having  been a donor, I can tell you donors want to see people,” Stockton says. “I am old enough to remember the days when staff taking your blood had time to talk to you.

“Doesn’t happen anymore, to CBS you are a piece of meat giving blood, you could be a bag.”

Blood safety concerns

Lately CBS has been in the news because of its endorsement of Canadian Plasma Resources, a private for-profit company that wants to pay for plasma donations.  The Saskatchewan company is eying Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for expansion.

Organizations such as Bloodwatch and public healthcare advocates in the Maritimes have strongly opposed the introduction of private for-profit clinics while we have an effective not-for-profit blood service already in place.

Paying for donations is asking for trouble, they believe.

But concerns around the quality of our blood supply go deeper.

“Workers in our locals fear for the safety of this blood system altogether,” Davidson warns.

“CBS is more concerned about cost savings than about the safety of the blood supply. They have  pared the organization down so much that all resilience and safety is removed, and we are going right back to 1997,” Davidson says.

1997 is when the Krever inquiry issued its final report on the  so-called tainted blood tragedy.

Between 1980 and 1985 at least 2000 recipients of blood and blood products contracted HIV because the Canadian Red Cross Society and government officials were more interested in cost saving and cutting corners than safety

Another 30,000 transfusion recipients were infected with hepatitis C. Thousands lost their lives as a direct result.

As a result of the Krever findings criminal charges were laid against Red Cross functionaries, the organization was stripped of its blood collection functions, and CBS was created to replace it.

Now history threatens to repeat itself, Davidson believes.

“CBS tries to make its operation as lean as possible,” he says. “We cautioned them to make sure that there are no system failures such as the Krever enquiry identified. But they are continually watering it down. It’s all about dollars and cents for them.”

When front line CBS workers are concerned about safety, then provincial Health ministers who fund CBS to the tune of $1 billion per year should listen, says Davidson.

“We call upon the responsible ministers to step up and pay attention. We need to raise the alarm that things are not good.”

See also: Striking PEI blood collection workers reject employer’s latest offer

Email Graham Sher, CEO of CBS (who scrapes by on a mere $700,000 a year) to let him know you support the Charlottetown workers. Stay current with the latest developments by joining the workers’Facebook page.

The post Canadian Blood Services: A bloody shame appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

Canadian Blood Services’ (CBS) latest offer included that the workers would not return to work until August 8th and still did not address the workers’ concern about having a guaranteed number of hours for their part-time positions.

The eight CBS workers, members of the Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees (NSUPE) are all part-timers. And they’re all women.  

Guaranteed hours would provide some much needed economic certainty in the workers’ lives. And it would allow them to qualify for health benefits.

All that the employer offered was to guarantee hours for only the next  seven months.

“CBS wants to limit the timeframe for the guaranteed number of hours,  so that it is no longer in place leading up to the next round of negotiations,” says Nancy Elliott, a NSUPE official. “Once you have been working without that provision for a year than it is much easier for the employer to keep it out forever.”

“It doesn’t make any sense that they think we, or any CBS worker anywhere, would agree to that,” NSUPE Local 19 president Tanya Herrell tells the Nova Scotia Advocate.

“It’s very disappointing. When we asked CBS to agree to a mediator, we were hoping for much more,” Herrell says.

The offer was rejected unanimously, says Herrell

Workers were shocked when CBS’ offer included that they wouldn’t return to work for another four months, the press release states.

Apparently that is how long it would take CBS to hire some nurses, do training, and implement a new automated intake system.

“I have never heard of an employer keeping its workers another four months off the job after the end of a strike,” says Elliott. “The workers feel that if CBS truly felt it important to get the clinic opened they could do it much sooner.”

The striking workers are well aware that the outcome of the strike will have repercussions for CBS workers anywhere in Canada.

“They are amazingly steadfast and brave. I think they’re very tired of being on strike, they want to go back to work,” says Elliott.  “They miss working with the donors, they certainly miss having an income. But they found the offer totally unacceptable.”

“We’re showing everybody that you can stand up for yourself, no matter how large the corporation,” says Herrell.

Email Graham Sher, CEO of CBS (who scrapes by on a mere $700,000 a year) to let him know you support the Charlottetown workers.

Stay current with the latest developments and show your support by joining the workers’ Facebook page.

The post Striking PEI blood collection workers reject employer’s latest offer appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

Canadian Plasma Resources (CPR), a Saskatchewan company that pays plasma donors, has announced that it hopes to set up shop in Nova Scotia.

Introducing a for-profit company into our health system, and paying donors for giving blood doesn’t sit well with the protesters.

“We think that Canadian Blood Services (CBS) should be making the effort to collect sufficient blood plasma through the volunteer method,” says Ron Ron Stockton.

Stockton is  business agent for the Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees (NSUPE), representing Nova Scotia and PEI employees of CBS. CBS is the national not-for-profit organization that manages the blood supply.

“The answer to shortages is not to start paying for it here, the answer is to implement a program to start collecting it on a volunteer basis,” says Stockton. “But instead we have seen CBS cutting back on its clinics and staff, while they should be expanding these services.”

Stockton also believes that safety of the blood supply is an issue if private clinics were to be introduced. That risk would be better managed by a single organization such as CBS.

“There is always the risk of bloodborne disease. We believe volunteer donations lessens that risk. The risk may be small, but the potential damage will be huge,” says Stockton.

The process of plasma donation is similar to that of donating blood, but the cells are returned to the donor during the process, and only the plasma is taken. The process takes longer, but people can give more frequently. The plasma is used as as a substitute for whole blood and for transfusion purposes.

Ian Johnson is the vice chair of the Nova Scotia Citizens’ Health Care Network. He is also a frequent blood donor.

“I am worried about the entire idea of a for-profit coming in to run this when we have a very effective not-for-profit blood service,” Johnson says.

“We don’t know what will happen to the plasma, whether it will be for export or for other purposes. We have enough trouble as it is getting sufficient donors and and adequate supply, and this could effectively undermine that,” Johnson says.

Johnson, who is active in several anti-poverty groups is no fan of paying for blood donations.

In other jurisdictions similar clinics have tended to open up in poor neighborhoods.

“Drawing people in and exploiting them, just so the company can make a profit, it’s sort of a payday loan version of blood services,” Johnson says.

Ontario and Quebec have made pay-for-plasma clinics illegal. The protesters want Nova Scotia to follow suit but Health minister Leo Glavine says he has no such intention.

Four CBS employees from Charlottetown, PEI, joined the information picket.  The women have been on strike for close to seven months now.

The workers want a guaranteed minimum number of hours of work each week. That would provide some much needed economic certainty in their lives. And it would allow them to qualify for health benefits.

See also: Say no to pay-for-plasma clinics – Send Health & Wellness Minister Leo Glavine a personalized message and let him know you are opposed to for-profit blood clinics.

The post Healthcare activists hold information picket on pay-for-plasma clinics appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.