Current Month's News

Headlines of the current month's news items are listed immediately below. Click on the headline of your choice to see the entire text of the article. Last month's news can be viewed HERE.

News articles are then saved by year and month under 'Archived News', which can be found HERE.

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Our February ‘Rand’ sign-up contest winner…

New chart outlines how delegates are selected to PSAC Equity conferences

Act now, to protect your pension…and your retirement!

Our February ‘Rand’ sign-up contest winner…

(Posted March 10, 2010)

Congratulations to Hélène Mayer! Helene is the latest monthly winner in our 2010 contest to sign up ‘Rands’, dues-paying co-workers who, for one reason or another, have yet to sign a union card.

Hélène is a newly-signed-up member of Local 75, which represents our Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada members in National Capital Region.

Welcome to your union, Hélène!

New chart outlines how delegates are selected to PSAC Equity conferences

(Posted March 2, 2010)

Have you ever considered applying to be a delegate to one of the PSAC Equity conferences?

There are a lot of questions from our members about all the steps in the process. So the Agriculture Union’s Human Rights Committee decided to get it down on paper.

The Committee has produced an easy-to-understand flow chart that lays out the steps that must be followed to secure delegate status. Of course, all delegates must self-identify as members of the particular equity group in order to attend these PSAC Conferences.

For access to this new chart, and information on the various PSAC equity conferences, please click HERE.

Act now, to protect your pension…and your retirement!

(Posted March 1, 2010)

If you’re working, you’re paying for it with nearly 10 per cent of your wages.

If you’re about to retire, you’re depending on it for a secure living into your old age.

But that could change for the worse if we all don’t act now!

Thanks to the economic meltdown that began in 2008, the Harper government is staring into the fiscal abyss of a record deficit. And, with a budget to be handed down on March 4, many of the Conservatives’ ideological supporters on the right are looking to federal public service pensions to help fill the hole.

The Ottawa rumour mill is working overtime these days. And many pundits are suggesting that Agriculture Union members may see contribution rates rise. Or benefits clawed back. Or both.

Our pensions don't come cheap; they cost us dearly. This year, federal public service workers will contribute 10.45 per cent of every dollar they make under $47,200 and 8.4 per cent of every dollar above $47,200 towards their pension, which is a combination of CPP and the federal public service pension plan.

That's why we say that our pensions are in fact deferred wages.

And that’s why Agriculture Union strongly supports the recently-launched campaign by our bargaining agent, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, to protect the integrity of the current pension plan.

The PSAC campaign includes leaflets, rallies regional tours and an on-line petition. We urge every one of our members to sign this petition by clicking on the following logo (which is also prominently displayed on the main page of our Web site).

The PSAC has also produced a highly informative information sheet that debunks many of the persistent myths about federal public service pensions. It is available for viewing and downloading HERE.