The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB; , LCRTESPF) is an independent

quasi-judicial A quasi-judicial body is non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, that can be a public administrative agency but also a contract- or private law entity, which has been ...

tribunal that administers the

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The ...

and "grievance

adjudication Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the p ...

systems" in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

federal public service The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-mini ...

and in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. It formed on 1 November 2014 through the merger of the former Public Service Labour Relations Board and the former Public Service Staffing Tribunal. It resolves

labour relations Labor relations is a field of study that can have different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. In an international context, it is a subfield of labor history that studies the human relations with regard to work in its broadest ...

issues and staffing complaints among federal public servants through adjudication and mediation.

History

The Public Service Labour Relations Board () was an independent quasi-judicial statutory tribunal that reported to

through the

Minister of Public Services and Procurement The minister of public services and procurement (french: ministre des services publics et de l’approvisionnement) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the Government of Canada's "common service ...

. It was responsible for administering the collective bargaining and grievance adjudication systems in the federal public service and in Parliament. Moreover, by agreement with the Government of the Yukon, the Board also administered the collective bargaining and grievance adjudication systems under the ''Yukon Education Staff Relations Act'' and the ''Yukon Public Service Staff Relations Act''. In 2003, a new ''Public Service Labour Relations Act'' was passed by Parliament (S.C. 2003, c.22), coming into force on 1 April 2005. In 2014, the Board was merged with the Public Service Staffing Tribunal under the ''Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act'' to form the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board. As such, today's Board is responsible for the duties that were previously dealt with by the former tribunals under the ''Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board Act'' and the ''Public Service Employment Act'', respectively.

Organization

Members

The Board is composed of a chairperson, up to 2 vice-chairpersons, up to 12 full-time members, and additional part-time members as required. The

Governor in Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of a ...

appoints full-time Board members for terms of no longer than 5 years and part-time Board members for terms of up to 3 years, and may be re-appointed any number of times. , full-time members include: * Catherine Ebbs, Chairperson — term ending 2021 April 8 * David P. Olsen, Vice-Chairperson — term ending 2021 April 29 * Margaret T.A. Shannon, Vice-Chairperson — term ending 2021 April 29 * Nathalie Daigle — term ending 2022 December 13 * Bryan R. Gray — term ending 2025 July 5 * Chantal Homier-Nehmé — term ending 2025 September 7 * John G. Jaworski — term ending 2022 November 5 * Steven B. Katkin — term ending 2021 April 30 * Marie-Claire Perrault — term ending 2025 July 12 * Nancy Rosenberg — term ending 2023 September 3 * James Knopp — term ending 2023 September 3 * David Orfald — term ending 2023 September 3

Legislation and clients

Under the ''Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act'', the Board is responsible for interpreting and applying the following legislation: * ''Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act'' (FPSLRA) —

Collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The ...

and grievance adjudication systems for the federal public sector and

, as well as

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

members and reservists. * ''Public Service Employment Act'' (PSEA) — Complaints related to internal appointments, appointment revocations, and lay-offs in the federal public service. * ''

Canadian Human Rights Act The ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' (french: Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure equal opportunity to individuals who may be vi ...

'' —

Human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

issues in grievances and complaints under FPSLRA and PSEA. * ''Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act'' — Collective bargaining and grievance adjudication for the institutions of Parliament. * ''Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act'' —

Pay equity Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full ...

complaints in the federal public service. This Act is to be repealed and replaced by the ''Pay Equity Act'', which received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 13 December 2018 but is not yet in force. * Canada Labour Code, Part II — Complaints related to workplace health and safety and reprisals in the federal public service. The

Treasury Board of Canada The Treasury Board of Canada (french: Conseil du Trésor du Canada) is the Cabinet committee of the Privy Council of Canada which oversees the spending and operation of the Government of Canada and is the principal employer of the core public se ...

, employing over 180,000 public servants in 27 bargaining units, is the main employer covered by the Board's mandate. The majority (60%) of

unionized A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

federal public service employees are represented by the

Public Service Alliance of Canada The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC; french: Alliance de la Fonction publique du Canada, link=no, AFPC) is one of Canada's largest national labour unions and the largest union in the Canadian federal public sector. PSAC members work in e ...

, while 23% are represented by the

Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) is the largest multi-professional labour union in Canada, representing some 60,000 public service professionals employed at the federal and some provincial and territorial levels ...

as the second-largest bargaining agent, and 17% are represented by the other 25 bargaining units.

References

External links