Nothing Without Us Presentation to the National Joint Council 2019 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Nothing Without Us

Presentation to the National Joint Council 2019

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Purpose Three objectives for today:

• 1. Provide an overview of the Accessible Canada Act
• 2. Highlight activities flowing from Nothing Without Us: An

Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada

• 3. What we can do now

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Who does what?

• The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion,

supported by Employment and Social Development Canada, is responsible for the Accessible Canada Act

• Deputy Heads of Government of Canada departments and agencies are

responsible for meeting the requirements of the Accessible Canada Act

• The President of the Treasury Board, given the board’s responsibilities for

people management and general administrative policy, is responsible for enabling departments and agencies to lead by example in accessibility

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Why does accessibility matter?

• Accessibility is about creating communities, workplaces and services that enable everyone to

participate fully without barriers.

• One in five Canadians or 6.2 million people reported living with a disability in 2017
• This figure is set to rise to one in four over the next two decades, fueled by aging
• Labour force outcomes for these individuals are significantly worse than for the general

population

• In the federal public service, despite employment equity legislation and policies:
• Departures of persons with disabilities outpace recruitment
• Significantly higher reported rates of workplace stress, harassment and discrimination compared to

colleagues without disabilities

• Lower rates of promotions and career development opportunities

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Legislative Overview

The Accessible Canada Act, proclaimed in July 2019, provides the Government of Canada authority to adopt new accessibility standards and regulations aimed at creating a barrier-free Canada for persons with disabilities The Act establishes new machinery… The Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization The Accessibility Commissioner The Chief Accessibility Officer The legislation applies to all sectors in the federal jurisdiction…

• Telecommunications
• Banking
• Transportation
• Federal organizations

And specific duties are assigned to all entities within these sectors

• Develop and publish annual accessibility plans
• in consultation with persons with disabilities
• Establish a feedback process
• Publish progress reports

The first accessibility plans are expected to be required in 2021-22 (conditional on regulations being passed)

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The Accessible Canada Act - Regulations

As the Act is framework legislation, regulations will be developed to set out requirements.

Regulations will mean:

• Organizations are required to improve

accessibility;

• The Accessibility Commissioner and
• ther regulators have rules to enforce;
• Individuals can bring forward an

accessibility complaint where a person is adversely impacted or harmed. Regulations in three stages:

• 1. Technical regulations on reporting

requirements* (accessibility plans, feedback process, progress reports) and Administrative Monetary Penalties;

• 2. Initial regulations in priority areas (prior to the

Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization);

• 3. On-going regulations (based on standards

recommended by the Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization).

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Office of Public Service Accessibility The Government committed in June 2018 to develop a Strategy for the federal public service to meet or exceed new accessibility

• bligations.

Treasury Board Secretariat The Office of Public Service Accessibility (Established August 2018) Develop and Implement a Public Service Accessibility Strategy and Implementation Plan Provide expert advice, leadership and coordination support to federal departments and agencies as they prepare to implement the Act Launch and manage the Centralized Enabling Workplace Fund

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Nothing Without Us: An Accessibility Strategy for the Federal Public Service

Released in May 2019, the Strategy’s vision is to be the most accessible and inclusive public service in the world. Actions in the Strategy focus on five key areas of work… Improving recruitment, retention and promotion of persons with disabilities Enhancing the accessibility of the built environment Making information and communications technology usable by all Equipping public servants to design and deliver accessible programs and services for Canadians Building an accessibility confident public service

• Implementation of these actions is divided into work that all departments and agencies should undertake to

ensure readiness for the Act and work that lead departments will do on behalf of the entire public service – enterprise actions

• Development of the Strategy applied the “nothing without us” principle and involved persons with disabilities

and other stakeholders

• Work with the Persons with Disabilities Champions and Chairs Committee of the federal public

service

• Extensive consultations on iterations of the Strategy
• Face-to-face regional town halls and sessions with the heads and members of functional

communities ( i.e., communications, human resources, managers) and bargaining agents

• Engagement also included experts from other governments and outside of government – within

Canada and internationally

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Key Activities

• Accessibility Hub
• An online resource providing guidance, tools, tips and best practices for departments and agencies
• Centralized Enabling Workplace Fund
• $10 million over five years investing in practices and innovations to remove workplace barriers
• Work underway on several projects:
• Government of Canada Workplace Accessibility Passport
• centralized library of adaptive technology
• baseline study of employees and managers on work place accommodation
• Strategy Implementation
• Ongoing collaboration with stakeholders
• Plus work on measurement and reporting tools
• Development of an international network of countries interested in advancing accessibility in their public service
• Support the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer and the Public Service Commission in moving

forward with commitment to hire 5,000 employees with disabilities between 2020 and 2025.

• Outreach and engagement with employees with disabilities, functional communities, bargaining agents,

departmental leadership and outside stakeholders

W hy a GC W orkplace Accessibility Passport?

According to 2017 and 2018 Public Service Employee Surveys, public servants with disabilities face obstacles in

• btaining what they need to perform at their best in the

workplace:

► Uncertainty regarding payment for adaptive equipment ► Ownership of the equipment - does it follow the

employee or stay with the department/agency?

► Perceptions of harassment or discrimination when

having to jump through hoops to justify the purchase of adaptive equipment or access to support measures

► The need to re-negotiate any supports when changing

managers, positions or organizations

Guiding Principles

I nclusion

Workplace policies, rules, practices, and operations should contribute to creating a workplace that is free of barriers and values differences.

Respect

Employees are treated with dignity and respect. Decisions related to adaptive devices and support measures should aim to build on employee strengths and abilities, eliminate systemic barriers, and mitigate any functional limitations with respect to the work to be performed.

Early action

Every employee is entitled to request and receive support from their manager and

• rganization at the earliest opportunity.

Privacy and confidentiality

Employees have a right to privacy. The employer has a responsibility to only request information about how the employee interacts with the work environment.

Good communication

Good communication between the employee and their manager helps avoid misunderstandings that can have an impact on the employee’s performance and the work environment. Other stakeholders may need to be called upon to provide expertise, support, or to address barriers encountered by employees or managers. All parties commit to communicate effectively and regularly and respect the employees’ right to privacy and confidentiality.

W hat is the GC W orkplace Accessibility Passport?

A tool for public service employees to:

► Support conversations between the employee and their manager about

• ptimal workplace conditions and any necessary adjustments, including

adaptive equipment or measures

► Record conversations and measures agreed ► Docum ent consultations or assessments ► Passport Objectives: ► Rem ove barriers in the procurement of any adaptive tools resulting in

fewer delays

► Avoid having to renegotiate tools or support measures when changing

departments, joining a new team or getting a new manager

► Equip managers with information on how to address potential workplace

barriers and create the optimal conditions for everyone to succeed

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Inclusion is everyone’s responsibility

Imagine a workplace where every employee has everything they need to achieve their fullest potential In which they feel included, empowered and valued Governments, legislation, policies, and standards can set the right conditions, but ultimately, it’s about small and large improvements each

• f us can make

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What we can do - What Does Success Look Like? Labour relations professionals:

• 1. Focus on what will help the employee succeed in their job not just
• n minimum legal obligations
• 2. Advise and support managers to create inclusive work

environments and practices

• 3. Clearly signal your openness to intervene early in the

accommodation process to minimize risk of unsatisfactory employee performance

• 4. When performance is deemed unsatisfactory, look for creative

solutions to eliminate or minimize barriers faced by the employee

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What we can do - What Does Success Look Like?(con’d) Union representatives:

• 1. Learn how to contribute to the employee's success
• 2. Advise employees with disabilities on their rights and

responsibilities

• 3. Participate in awareness-raising efforts on the benefits of

accessibility and inclusion

• 4. Support employees who may be reluctant to identify workplace

accommodation needs

• 5. When performance is deemed unsatisfactory, look for creative

creative solutions to eliminate or reduce the obstacles faced by the employee.

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You can be an ally

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Think about the person first, not the disability

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Listen

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Be respectful

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Ask questions

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Take it home

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Teach others

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Read up

Remember: Disability is the one minority group in the world in which anyone can join at any time.

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Questions

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