News

2024-07-19

On June 5th, we presented our policy grievance on the Invasive Medical Questionnaire and Medical Examination to the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS). On July 16th, TBS denied our policy grievance. TBS’s opinion is that “The Employer acted appropriately and reasonably to protect the health and safety of employees as well as the individuals they serve and interact with.” Our stance is that this policy is discriminatory, unjust, and intrusive.

Given the nature and importance of our work, we should be subject to some medical evaluation and/or monitoring. We have had hearing and psychological standards for a long time. However, we must be a part of determining how any new or updated evaluations are implemented so that we can ensure the process is fair and reasonable and that your private medical information is kept confidential between you and your medical providers. The employer should not be privy to any of our personal medical information.

We are committed to challenging this discriminatory, unjust, and intrusive policy so that it is overturned. In addition to the legal and health and safety experts at CUPE National, we have engaged outside legal counsel, with expertise in the Federal Public Sector, to ensure we have the best information available to determine the most effective next steps. At this time, all individual grievances will remain in abeyance while we work on the next steps with our legal counsel.

Please continue to share your experiences with us. These first-hand accounts are invaluable for us to be able to give real-life examples of how the implementation of this policy is affecting you.

If you are facing disciplinary action relating to this program, for choosing not to undergo these health evaluations by an employer-selected medical practitioner, immediately contact your CUPE 104 Regional Chairperson for guidance and assistance.
In Solidarity,

Your CUPE Local 104 Executive

2024-04-19

Many of our CUPE 104 Members (PSE only at this time) have now received requests for personal and medical details as part of the RCMP’s push to their new “health program” for our members. They are also warning our members that failure to comply will result in disciplinary action. We have an active policy grievance against the employer for this program. For more information, please refer to our previous communications about this Invasive Medical Questionnaire and Medical Examination.

If you are facing disciplinary action relating to this program, for choosing not to undergo these health evaluations by an employer-selected medical practitioner, immediately contact your CUPE 104 Regional Chairperson for guidance and assistance.

We have also been advised by our members of some instances where the employer has sent personal information to the wrong person. We have submitted another policy grievance against the employer for these blatant breaches of your privacy.

If you suspect or know that your personal information has been mishandled, you should contact your CUPE 104 Regional Chairperson for guidance. We recommend filing an individual grievance against the employer and also filing a formal complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. This will ensure that the incident is recorded and investigated by a competent authority.

We will continue to pursue all available avenues to oppose the current version of this program and we will keep you informed of all developments and the actions we are taking. Please be sure to contact your Steward or CUPE 104 Regional Chairperson as soon as you think you may need assistance or guidance so that we can help you through the processes right from the start.

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE Local 104 Executive

2024-03-28

This is a notice for a CUPE 104 Special Membership Meeting.

There are only two agenda items (see below). We hope that you can attend as we need to have quorum to proceed with the meeting.

Date: April 2, 2024
Time: 1900 Eastern Time
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Registration link: Link sent by e-mail

IMPORTANT: You must pre-register and use your full first and last name when registering and logging into the meeting to be admitted.

PLEASE REGISTER EARLY! We manually approve the registrations in advance so it may take some time to receive your personal link to the meeting after you register. Members who try to register on the day of the meeting may not get their link in time.

If you are unable to attend, we recommend that you ask another member to fill you in after the meeting.

Agenda Items

1. Motion to approve one additional Executive Member for full-time book off on an ongoing basis.
   In accordance with our by-laws, we are seeking membership approval for another member of our Executive to be booked off for union duties on a full-time basis. Currently, only the President is booked off full-time. We strongly recommend that this motion be approved.
2. Notice of intent to propose by-law amendments.
   In accordance with our by-laws and the CUPE Constitution, we are providing notice of our intent to propose updates to our Local’s Bylaws. This item is only to provide notice of intent. Once a draft with the proposed changes is completed, it will be presented to the membership for a vote at a meeting. There are some changes required to better align with CUPE Constitution updates and it is good practice to review and update our by-laws since we have been using them for a while now. If you have any suggestions, please reach out to your Regional Chairperson.

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE Local 104 Executive

2024-03-13

It has come to our attention from our membership that the RCMP is canvassing CUPE 104 members about their willingness to be deployed to Edmonton Police Service to work as scabs during the anticipated strike action being taken by the Civil Service Union 52 (CSU 52). CSU 52 includes Emergency Communications Operators who are responsible for 9-1-1, police call taking, and police dispatching duties.

We stand in solidarity with our Brothers, Sisters, and Friends of CSU 52. We are outraged that the RCMP is considering using our hard-working CUPE 104 members as scabs to undermine CSU’s fight for a fair deal. CUPE 104 is firmly against the use of any CUPE 104 members to do the work of other Unionized workers.

It is our position that CUPE 104 members should NOT volunteer to work as scabs during CSU 52’s strike. Doing so would undermine CSU 52’s strike action and will negatively impact our own position in future rounds of bargaining. A fair deal for CSU 52 helps us get a fair deal in future rounds.

If you are being pressured, forced, or ordered to do the work of another Union, contact your local Steward or Regional Chairperson immediately for guidance.

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE Local 104 Executive

2024-03-01

our Maple virtual healthcare benefit is now available. To create your Maple account, check your email for your unique registration invitation from hello@getmaple.ca. If you run into any issues, you can speak with Maple’s customer support team via the chat window at getmaple.ca/contact-us.

As a reminder, you and your family members can now use Maple’s platform to connect with general practitioners and mental health therapists from your phone, tablet or computer. General practitioner visits are fully covered and available to you on an unlimited basis. Counselling is private pay. You can submit receipts to your benefits plan for reimbursement, if applicable.

For more information, download our CUPE 104 Member Guide.

Don’t miss out – create your Maple account today.

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE Local 104 Executive

2024-02-23

As a member of CUPE 104, effective March 1, 2024, you will have access to Maple – a virtual care benefit to support your health and wellbeing.

The platform will allow you and your family members to:

• Connect with general practitioners and mental health therapists 24/7/365
• Communicate via text messaging, audio, or video chat
• Receive medical advice, prescriptions, and more
• Manage and store your medical records
• Delve into proactive mental health resources

Learn more in these videos about primary care visits and counselling sessions on Maple (counselling is private pay, you can submit receipts to your benefits plan for reimbursement, if applicable).

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE Local 104 Executive

2024-02-21

This is an update to our previous communication about the Invasive Medical Questionnaire and Medical Examination that was being sent out by the employer to our members as part of their new “health program.”

For the past several months, we have been fighting hard against this unnecessary and gross invasion of our privacy. This invasive procedure is irrelevant to our roles, a blatant violation of our privacy, and it represents an unprecedented level of scrutiny, unmatched anywhere else in Canada for similar jobs.

We have been heavily engaged with both Legal and Health and Safety experts from CUPE National. Recently, our legal team sent the employer a cease-and-desist letter demanding that their health program, involving the invasive medical questionnaire and medical examination, be shut down.

Unfortunately, without any meaningful consultation with us, the RCMP’s Acting Chief Human Resource Office has responded indicating that they are moving ahead with their health program, including the invasive medical questionnaire and medical examination. Currently, the employer’s new invasive health program is directed at Public Service Employees. However, they have stated that their intention is to eventually subject all CUPE 104 members to this testing (TO/TCOs and IM/IMAs). We have already filed a policy grievance with Treasury Board and we are working on additional legal recourse.

The only medical testing requirements for our jobs have always been hearing and psychological testing. We maintain that this is still the case and there is no reason to change these requirements. Additional medical testing is not necessary for our roles and is, quite frankly, none of the employer’s business. Your personal health information should remain protected and confidential between you and your health care practitioners.

The employer should be focused on recruitment, retention, mental health, and morale. Instead, they are trying to divide us, invade our privacy, cause additional and unnecessary stress, and disregard our rights to private personal medical information.

We urge you to respectfully share your opinions with your managers. They need to be informed of the effects on you so that they can share it up the chain with their senior managers. Even in the face of this blatant disregard for our rights and privacy, it is important that we all maintain a safe and respectful working environment for ourselves and each other.

If you are contacted to participate in this unnecessary and invasive program, and you do not wish to participate, we recommend that you respond with your questions and concerns, seeking more information and an explanation. You should do this in writing, including your supervisor, and respectfully outline your concerns with the program. If you are then informed that you must participate, immediately contact your local Steward or Regional Chairperson for assistance with filing a grievance.

Make no mistake, this is a blatant attack on your privacy, rights, dignity, and well-being. We stand united in our resolve to oppose this unjust decision and will keep you informed of any developments and the actions we are taking.

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE Local 104 Executive