The
Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU) is one of seventeen
components under the umbrella of the powerful Public Service Alliance of
Canada (PSAC).
Pat Wakefield is the National Vice President (NVP) for the CEIU component in
British Columbia and the Yukon. Pat understands our workplace situation because
she works as an Insurance Officer (Agent II) in the Human Resource Centre in
Kamloops, British Columbia. As NVP she also has special leave to work for her
membership on a full time basis.
Courage, Excellence,
Integrity and Unity
Pat is what CEIU is all about.
In a small gift of appreciation our local once gave Pat a long time ago, we
wrote that CEIU is also an acronym for Courage, Excellence, Integrity and Unity.
She immediately took a liking to the acronym because she believes this is what
our union should emulate. I really don’t think that Pat perceived the irony; I
say this because Pat’s own humility precludes her from recognizing that courage,
excellence, integrity and unity are those valued elements she already embodies.
Pat has gone above and beyond for our local as she has for many others. With
just what I am aware of, her contribution to this Region is staggering. When I
include those instances that are unknown, it is incalculable. Over time and
through our mutual experience she has won from me two things I don’t readily
give; my respect and my trust. I respect her for her intelligence, boundless
commitment to her membership and her unique leadership style. I trust her
because her sense of integrity has never faltered.”
Bob Aplin, CEIU Local President 20947—December 2004
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Published on Wednesday, Mar. 03, 2010 5:30PM EST
Co-operation, not confrontation, is the path to fiscal salvation
For a hint of the turmoil to come
between Canada's public-sector workers and government, look to Europe.
The centrepiece of Ireland's recent budget was salary cuts across the
board: Nurses, the national police force and parliamentarians were all
caught in the dragnet. The British government is trying to trim its
public payroll, while austerity measures aimed at resolving a debt
crisis in Greece have led to riots. (More)
Public service bracing for cuts
By Kathryn May, Ottawa Citizen March 3, 2010
OTTAWA The Harper government targeted the public service with "aggressive" plans to freeze salaries, the operations of all departments and launch a major spending review that many predict will cut jobs and services to Canadians.
The plans, laid out in the federal government's throne speech Wednesday, came as no surprise for Canada's bureaucrats who were braced for the government to turn to its own employees, along with their pay and pensions, for savings. (More)
Civil servant unions pushing back on feared cuts to pensions
Civil servant unions pushing back on feared
cuts to pensions
By Kathryn May, Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — Canada's bureaucrats are steeled for this week's budget to
reduce the value of the deluxe pension plan that the government pitches
to new recruits as a reason to join the public service.
While
the two largest federal unions and the Canadian Labour Congress showed a
united front Tuesday to fight any cuts to federal pensions, the
government is wrapping up a recruitment campaign partly built around
"attractive compensation," including one of the best pension plans in
the country.
Departments have a target to hire 4,000 new
graduates by the end of March.
But the uncertainty over
pensions could deter new recruits and spark a stampede of retiring
workers who may opt to leave before the government guts their pensions,
said Gary Corbett, president of the Professional Institute of the Public
Service. He said the union is getting calls from workers pleading to
know whether they should retire now before pensions are cut. (More)