FAQ: TBS Agreement with the AJC to Provide Employees' Home Contact Information

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat in the name of the employer, the Treasury Board of Canada, has agreed to provide the Association of Justice Counsel (AJC) with all employees’ home contact information that it possesses in its human resources information systems. This will allow the bargaining agent to contact all employees within the bargaining unit in order to fulfil its duties in accordance with the Public Service Labour Relations Act. The employer will provide:

• Employees’ family and given names;
• Employees’ home mailing addresses;
• Employees’ home phone numbers; and
• Employees’ Individual Agency Number (IAN), which uniquely identifies each bargaining unit member.

It is important to note that employees’ Personal Identification Number (PRI) will not be provided to the union.

The employer endeavours to provide this information to the Association of Justice Counsel within a period of three weeks. The information will thereafter be provided on a quarterly basis.

The employer also encourages employees in the Law (LA) bargaining unit to contact the bargaining agent directly to provide it with the required information.

This means that the Treasury Board Secretariat will provide the names, home addresses and phone numbers of about 2,500 employees in the Law Group (LA) to the Association of Justice Counsel.

The agreement between the Treasury Board and the bargaining agent stipulates the safeguards for privacy and security of information in accordance with the principles embodied in the Privacy Act and Privacy Regulations. Amongst others, the bargaining agent has committed to using the information solely for its legitimate purpose under the Public Service Labour Relations Act.

Further questions in this regard should be addressed to the bargaining agent.

As a member of a bargaining unit, it is in all employees’ interest to ensure that their bargaining agent has this information. The agreements require the employer to provide the information for all employees of the Law (LA) bargaining unit. Employees should contact the Association of Justice Counsel to deal with any concerns.

A 'Use of Employer Facilities' clause, commonly found in collective agreements, sets the parameters for the union’s activities in the workplace. The purpose of the clause is to provide the bargaining agent with limited access to employees in the workplace, yet, sets limits with respect to the use of the Government of Canada’s facilities to conduct union business.

Giving the bargaining agent unfettered access to its members in the workplace would be in violation of the principles currently contained in collective agreements and, in the employer’s opinion, could also be disruptive to the daily business of the core public administration.

The employer has already reached similar agreements with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) in May 2008, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) in July 2008, as well as with the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) in April 2009, and would welcome the opportunity to reach similar agreements with other bargaining agents.

The jurisprudence is clear that bargaining agents are entitled to this information regardless of the chosen dispute resolution process.

No. There is no additional cost. Further questions in this regard are to be addressed to the bargaining agent.