Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Last week, AMAPCEO hosted the leadership and senior staff of the unions comprising the Professional Unions’ Network of Canada (PUNC) for the organization’s bi-annual meeting.
Founded in 2018, the Professional Unions Network of Canada (PUNC) is an organization of unions and associations representing professionals and knowledge workers, predominantly in the public sector.
PUNC includes representatives from:
- ACFO-ACAF — The Union for Financial Professionals
- AMAPCEO — Ontario’s Professional Employees
- PEA — BC’s Union for Professionals
- PIPSC — Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
- SPGQ — Syndicat de professionnelles et professionnels du gouvernement du Québec
The aim of PUNC is to foster collaboration and solidarity among public sector unions. Through PUNC, union leadership shares information and resources, develops common approaches and best practices, supports coordinated action, and influences government policy.
At this most recent meeting, the group discussed return to office protocols, flexible work, government relations, and areas of collaboration, such as education.
PUNC has partnered to build a platform that provides members of all the participating unions access to career path evaluation, tailored learning plans, and access to an extensive online library of courses. The unions hope to have something to share with their members by the end of 2024.
An upcoming issue for discussion is the expansion of PUNC’s collaboration with Toronto Metropolitan University on a Labour Relations Certificate program for its senior activists.