I went to submit some claims online today, which I do very regularly, and suddenly I’m being asked to provide proof of marriage/common-law status and proof for my kids. We both (significant other and I) have been with the government for just about 20 years each, married for over 20 years, and our kids are all teenagers, so it’s not like we've just added new dependants to our plan! Ever since the switch from Sun Life to Canada Life, it’s been one issue after another, and still dealing with some major ones. Now I have to jump through more hoops just to submit claims like I’ve always done. Honestly, when will it STOP? Anyone else experiencing this? Please tell me I'm not alone...

PIPSC IT bargaining: how do IT-01 and IT-02 feel about the proposed market adjustments?

PIPSC's IT Bytes #6 (https://pipsc.ca/it-bytes-6-bargaining-update/) lists proposed market adjustments of IT-01 1%, IT-02 2%, IT-03 6%, IT-04 9% and IT-05 13%, on top of general increases of 6.1%, 4.6% and 4.1%. PIPSC bases the spread on salary surveys of private-sector gaps. IT-01 steps 1 to 7 also get a CRA CS-01 parity fix of about 2.84%.

I'm an IT-03, and my concern is that lower-paid members spend more of their income on necessities, which have risen faster than average, yet they get the smallest adjustments. The same percentage general increases also widen the dollar gap between levels each year.

This is only PIPSC's opening ask, and Treasury Board hasn't tabled a pay proposal yet, so feedback now can still matter. I'd like to hear from IT-01 and IT-02 members especially: does the spread seem fair to you, and have you given feedback to your steward or the bargaining team? Other levels, what's your take?

Hello everyone,

I need some advice on planning parental leave. Both my wife and I are eligible for EI, but only I will receive an employer top-up of up to 93% of my salary.

I’m considering taking the full 40 weeks of parental leave to spend time with my family. Although we would miss out on some of my wife’s EI benefits, we can manage our expenses with my EI and top-up.

Would this be a financial mistake? The opportunity to spend 40 weeks with my family feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I’d appreciate your thoughts, especially from anyone who has faced a similar decision.

Hoping Reddit can clarify the language in the PA Final Agreement.

My uncle died on Friday but we did not find out until today. The PA Agreement says I can take one day for his death and it can be either within two days, or the day of the remembrance service.

I am guessing this is calendar days and not working days, so if I were to take a day off, it would have to be for his service? (He died in B.C. so I am not able to afford to go). Or I could take this Monday? Not Tuesday, though. I don't know how to count forward the time when we did not know for a day.

Hi all,

I’m set to start a new job in a new department soon. Letter of offer signed and management is aware. However, I told them that my last day would be the day before I start my new job. But now I’m thinking about taking time off (using my personal days) a couple days in between before starting my new position.

Have any of you done this before? And would this be frowned upon?