PEA On Strike

PEA strike pay is a salary and benefits reimbursement of up to $150 per day when the PEA goes on strike and members join the job action.

Picket pay is a salary and benefits reimbursement of up to $150 per day when members lose earnings as a result of honouring another union’s picket line (i.e. picket pay).

In both cases, the PEA will ensure members’ health and welfare benefits continue. The cost of this will be deducted from the total strike or picket pay.

Members cannot make more money from strike or picket pay than they would otherwise make at work.

To receive picket pay, members must complete Form A.

Form A | Application for Picket Line/Strike Pay

Please see the details below regarding strike pay eligibility.

FORM B: Picket Captain Report

For picket captains reporting completion of picket line duty

Form B | Picket Captain Report

Find out how job action works in the PEA. Our Job Action Manual includes information on lockouts, strikes, picket lines, picket pay and more. Member login is required. 

Job Action Manual

Learn how to serve in the crucial role of Picket Captain. The Picket Captain training slide deck contains information on the responsibilities, expectations, supports, and resources for members serving in this role. Member login is required. 

Picket Captain Training Slide Deck

Strike Pay

PEA Strike Pay

PEA strike pay is a salary and benefits reimbursement of up to $150 per day when the PEA goes on strike and members join the job action.

Picket pay is a salary and benefits reimbursement of up to $150 per day when members lose earnings as a result of honouring another union’s picket line (i.e. picket pay).

In both cases, the PEA will ensure members’ health and welfare benefits continue. The cost of this will be deducted from the total strike or picket pay.

Members cannot make more money from strike or picket pay than they would otherwise make at work.

All members, regardless of whether they are full-time regular, part-time regular or auxiliary/term employees, are eligible for strike pay or picket pay.

It is important to note that strike or picket pay will not exceed the amount of pay a member would otherwise have earned. In other words, if the strike or picket pay amount approved by the PEA Executive is greater than the amount of their normal take-home pay, then the member’s strike or picket pay would be adjusted to be no more than their typical take-home pay.

Strike and picket pay is tax-free.

The PEA will endeavour to process strike pay within two weeks of receiving the strike pay forms and pay strike pay on a bi-weekly basis. PEA is currently working with Payworks to setup strike/picket pay payments. Payworks is a secure third-party Canadian payroll system. The method will allow members to enter their own banking information to assist in secure and efficient direct deposits into members’ bank accounts.

Form A | Application for Picket Line/Strike Pay

If the PEA is on strike, then PEA Picket Captains will also submit members’ hours completed on the picket line on the Form B Claim for -Strike Pay Picket Captain Report.

The PEA will process pay forms in the order they are received. The PEA will make every effort so that members will receive payment within three weeks.

To qualify for strike and picket pay, a member must be in good standing. This means that the member has signed a PEA membership application form and is paying union dues to the PEA.

If members are not sure that they have signed a membership application form, they should contact the PEA office. New employees who have not completed a membership application should contact the PEA office immediately.

Members have the right to appeal to the PEA Executive regarding their strike and picket pay eligibility. Members should submit any appeals to mjoly@pea.org. If there are still questions unanswered about eligibility, look at the PEA website, look at the PEA Job Action Manual or contact the PEA Office.

You will receive strike or picket pay for each day you lose wages as the result of a strike. In the case of a PEA strike members would be expected to participate in the strike i.e., picketing for four hours per day. In the event that you are unable to picket due to illness and are not receiving STIIP from the employer please email mjoly@pea.org and attach your completed Form A: Application for Picket/Strike Pay.

The PEA uses Payworks, a third-party Canadian payroll system that allows members to input their banking information in a secure environment and ensure that any necessary strike pay amounts can be efficiently deposited into member bank accounts. 

Please do not send in your banking information to the PEA via email but instead use the process below to sign up for Payworks.

We will endeavour to process strike pay within two weeks of receiving the strike pay forms from the picket captains and pay strike pay on a bi-weekly basis. PEA members on strike need to complete the FORM A – Application for Picket Line/Strike Pay for all hours spent on the picket line. This will be cross referenced with what the picket captain submits.  

Although we only have three picket lines up in Prince George, Surrey and Victoria, we need to be ready for future worksites to be added and be able to pay all members if necessary. Starting this process now gives members time to complete the sign-up process and allows time to support anyone who runs into technical difficulties. 

It is important that you sign up for Payworks as soon as possible to ensure you are paid for any strike duties you are instructed to complete.  

How to Sign Up for Payworks
You will receive an email from Payworks (no-reply@payworks.ca) to sign up to your personal email (or preferred email if you haven’t entered a personal email into the PEA member portal). To be clear, just because you receive an invitation to register for strike pay with Payworks, does not mean that your worksite will be going on strike.   

Once you have received the email, follow the instructions below. It will only take a few minutes, and you will need your banking information on hand. 

  1. Check your inbox for an email from no-reply@payworks.ca  
  2. Click “Access Account” in the email to start the registration process.  
  3. Verify your identity. You’ll be asked to confirm your postal code as specified in your PEA member file.  Before requesting assistance, please check your preferred address in the PEA member portal and use that postal code. Alternatively, if home postal code doesn’t work, please try work postal code (or vice-versa). If you still cannot sign in, please send an email to Marc Joly mjoly@pea.org with the subject line “Postal Code Not Working” and please provide all postal codes that you tried.

Please note that this is normally your home postal code but might be your work postal code if you have specified work as your preferred address, or it could be an older postal code if you have not updated your home address in the PEA member portal.  

If a postal code was not provided, Payworks will ask you to confirm your name. The system is case-sensitive and needs to agree with what is on file in the PEA member portal.  

  1. Create your Payworks login: Enter your email address (the same email that the Payworks message was sent to). 
  2. Check your inbox for a 6-digit verification code from no-reply@payworks.ca 
  3. Enter the code to confirm your email. 
  4. Create a password. If you already have a Payworks login from another employer, you can use your existing email address and password.   
  5. The system will request your banking information to be entered. Please follow the instructions and, as necessary, a sample cheque is available directly on the Payworks page for review.  You will see this once you are logged in.  

Please check your banking number entry carefully, as errors will cause delays in receiving payment. 

Press “submit” when you are finished. 

  1. If you are using a work email for logging in, you should specify a personal email to receive payment notification. Navigate to “My Information” and select “Profile”. Scroll down to “Personal Email” and update as necessary. Enter “Save” at the top right hand side of the screen. 
  2. If you wish to change the email address used to log in, please let us know and we will provide instructions. 

If everything works as expected, you should now be registered and ready to receive your strike pay via direct deposit from Payworks.  

The URL for future log in is https://login.payworks.ca/login.  

Help with Payworks
We have tried to make the process as easy as possible, but there are multiple steps and things can go wrong. We are here to help. In the event you have any difficulties in the process, please send an email with the subject line “Cannot Register in Payworks” to Marc Joly – Finance Officer mjoly@pea.org with a brief description of what the problem is you are encountering. Please include a telephone number you can be reached in case we need to call to assist. 

What if I didn’t get an email from Payworks?
If you did not receive an email from Payworks, please follow these steps:  

  1. Search your email for a message from no-reply@payworks.ca. Check your Spam/Junk folders as well.  
  2. Confirm that your personal email address is up to date in the PEA member portal. If it is not there or needs to be updated, please ensure you enter an accurate and current personal email and then email mjoly@pea.org to let him know. The two systems are not linked and we will have to manually update your Payworks account to allow you to register. 

What if I’ve only provided a work email?
Please note that if we only have a work email address for you, you may lose access to important email updates because during the strike we will only email your home email address. You will still be able to sign up for Payworks using the email you have provided if you still have access, but please be sure to set a personal email in the system. Instructions are in #7 above. 

If you no longer have access to your work email, please email mjoly@pea.org and we will assist. 

Please note that we are dealing with a high volume of inquiries and we will respond as quickly as we can.

In solidarity,  

Marc Joly
Finance Officer  

The PEA will process strike pay when it receives the “Picket Captain’s Report” and the “Application for Picket Line/Strike pay”. The PEA office will endeavour to send payment to members within two weeks of receiving these forms. It is critical for members to ensure the PEA has updated membership contact information and necessary banking information for payment by direct deposit through Payworks.

PEA members on strike should ensure they complete the FORM A – Application for Picket Line/Strike Pay for all hours spent on the picket line.

The PEA will endeavour to process strike pay within two weeks of receiving the strike pay forms and pay strike pay on a bi-weekly basis. PEA is currently working with Payworks to setup strike/picket pay payments. Payworks is a secure third-party Canadian payroll system. The method will allow members to enter their own banking information to assist in secure and efficient direct deposits into members’ bank accounts. More information into accessing the system will be provided as soon as possible.

To pay strike pay, the union requires a recent paystub in order verify the amount that will be paid. You may access the time/pay system ONLY for this purpose as required.

If you are unable to access the system, you can provide pay verification by submitting redacted banking statements showing the 2 most recent payroll deposits. Please note that the union may request a paystub for verification at a later date.

Form A | Application for Picket Line/Strike Pay

Facing a Picket Line

A picket line is a form of job action. It is a boundary established by workers on strike, especially at the entrance to the place of work, which others are asked not to cross.

A union must give 72-hour strike notice to establish a picket line.

The PEA strongly encourages members to respect and not to cross other unions’ picket lines. Crossing a picket lines impacts the potential effectiveness of job action for a union (i.e. could extend the job action) and can lead to long term relationship issues in the workplace between members of the same and other unions. All PEA members are strongly encouraged to join all PEA job action and picket lines at their workplace.

Members who work from home when there are picket lines at their physical office location are crossing a picket line. The PEA strongly encourages members not to work from home if they are facing PEA or another union’s picket lines at their physical office location. Working from home undermines a picket line in the same way that physically crossing it does. It minimizes a union’s essential tool of withholding labour and impacts the effectiveness of the striking union. It could lead to a more prolonged strike by reducing the pressure on the employer.

The default is that the Employer will not pay members when there is picket line at their physical office location. A member who chooses to work from home would have to contact the Employer and inform them that they had crossed the picket line and worked from home in order to be paid.

You will be contacted by a PEA strike committee member in advance of the strike and given instructions on where and when you should report for picket line duty. You must complete picket line or other strike support duties to receive strike pay.

Members who work remotely will be required to carry out picket line duty at the assigned physical location to receive strike pay.

Allow any member of the public to enter the building. There may be leaflets that you can provide to the public for their information.

Do not engage the media. Refer them to the PEA Communications Officer or a designated media spokesperson.

Do not engage the member of the public. Call the Picket Captain for assistance.

No. Members in excluded positions should refrain from joining in PEA job action. They have a duty to the employer based on their excluded status for the duration of the temporary assignment.

Essential Services

The BC Labour Relations Code requires employers and unions to maintain certain essential services to the public when job action is undertaken in a labour dispute. Section 72(2) of the Labour Relations Code defines essential services as “facilities, productions and services” that are “necessary or essential to prevent immediate and serious danger to the health, safety or welfare of the residents of British Columbia.”

Essential services serve two goals: (1) avoiding immediate and serious danger to the health, safety or welfare of British Columbia; and (2) protecting the meaningful nature of collective bargaining and strike action.

Your employer will pay you if you have been deemed an essential service, and you work during the strike.

Those individuals designated an essential service will be issued a picket pass. This allows you to pass the picket line and prevents any confusion with members on the picket line.

Other

Under the Labour Relations Code, employers must continue to provide benefits as long as the union will pay employee premiums. If benefits are continued, the PEA deducts the costs from strike pay.

Pension contributions do not continue during job action.

Members who are not able to picket because of medical concerns are asked to contact their local Strike Committee or the PEA office, as there may be other duties that can be performed.

If you are on probation during a strike, it may be extended for the length of the strike.

If you were approved and scheduled to be on vacation before the strike, you can take your vacation and will receive vacation pay.

If you were approved to be on paid leave before the strike began you can take your leave as planned.

Scenario 1: If you are on Mat/Parental leave and a labour dispute (strike) occurs, an EI claimant must declare that there is a labour dispute. The claim is sent to EI officers who will make a determination whether the claimant is eligible. EI benefits may be on hold for a while. If the claimant is not participating in the strike and the claim started before the strike then benefits will continue. If the claimant is participating in the strike, then the EI officers will determine if the claimant is still meeting the main requirements of EI, which is to take care of the child. If they determine the requirements are being met, then the EI benefits will continue and strike pay will not affect the EI benefits. 

Scenario 2: If the Union is on strike when the claimant applies for benefits, a determination will be made as to whether the leave was prearranged by letting the employer know weeks or months in advance of the start of the leave.  

Regarding SUB benefits supplied by the employer, the PEA will confirm before the strike starts whether this benefit is available; however, it is likely it will be suspended during the strike. You will still have your medical dental benefits continue during any strike action.  

As far as strike pay and EI benefits: Given the possibility of being cut off EI benefits, the PEA does not require a member to participate in the strike. However, to be eligible for strike pay members must participate in the strike by performing picket line or other duties (if there are reasons why you can’t picket duty, there may be other things you can do). It is likely that the PEA would top up your EI to the amount of strike pay per week if you participated in the strike. Since EI does not consider strike pay as income it appears that EI benefits would not be affected by a strike.  

According to our strike pay policy, members receive strike pay for days they would have otherwise worked (i.e., a member who works only Monday and Wednesday would receive strike pay for those days, provided they perform picket duties). For members who usually only work a portion of a day strike pay will be prorated. 

You will be assigned other duties (supporting the picket line, phoning members, being a contact person for the PEA and other members, etc.).

We acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples and the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations on whose traditional territory we work.
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