About CAPE

Who Are We?

With more than 25,000 members, the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) is dedicated to advocating on behalf of federal employees in the Economics and Social Science Services (EC) and Translation (TR) bargaining units, as well as employees of the Library of Parliament (LoP), the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (OPBO) and civilian members of the RCMP (ESS and TRL).

CAPE is the third-largest federal public service union in Canada, making it a powerful voice for employee rights.

We engage in collective bargaining and advocacy on behalf of our members and represent them when they have workplace issues or concerns. We help our members navigate the complex legal and policy frameworks that govern the federal workplace and promote learning and training opportunities.

The supreme governing body of CAPE is the membership, which exercises it’s authority through the Annual General Meeting. Between meetings, the work of the National Office and Locals is overseen by the CAPE National Executive Committee, which is made up of elected representatives from each bargaining unit as well as the President, plus a variety of sub-committees that members at large may have the opportunity to join.

Our Mandate

CAPE exists to represent and advocate for all of our members — at bargaining tables, on labour relations, employment, workplace-related matters or other relevant issues. We do this to support, protect and advance our members’ interests and rights, working in ways that are accountable, complete, confidential, effective, fair, proactive and reactive. 

Our association conducts itself with professionalism and operates with integrity to meet and exceed members’ expectations. We measure our success in terms of member satisfaction, engagement, participation and support.

We’re here for you, our members.  Whether that means taking action to help you resolve a workplace issue or providing resources to empower you to advocate for yourself, we are dedicated to making sure your needs as an employee are met — with services provided by a team of professional labour relations experts, advocates and negotiators.

Core competencies

The work we do and the services we offer at CAPE:

  • Collective bargaining 

CAPE is the bargaining agent for employees in the Economics and Social Science Services (EC) and Translation (TR) groups, as well as employees of the Library of Parliament (LoP) and the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (OPBO) and some civilian members of the RCMP. We negotiate fair and timely federal public service collective agreements for our members, preparing well in advance of each agreement’s renewal. 

At CAPE, we work to secure the best possible collective agreements for you, our members. Our goal is to support, protect and advance your rights and interests — effectively, accountably and for the benefit of all those we represent. 

A member-driven process – every bargaining team is made up of expert CAPE staff and member volunteers to ensure your needs are front-and-centre in each negotiation. We survey members to confirm priorities for each agreement, and bring those to the attention of the employers we deal with. As part of our commitment to accountability, we keep our members engaged and informed every step of the way.
 

  • Support and representation 

At CAPE, we’re here to protect your employee rights and provide expert guidance and professional representation when you need it. We ensure you have the resources to understand your rights, pursue redress, and resolve workplace challenges and conflicts. 

For immediate assistance contact us today.

Your advocate in the workplace – When you have a workplace concern or an issue with your employer, you can turn to your local CAPE steward or one of our dedicated labour relations officers. Our local stewards can help you better understand your rights in the workplace. And if you need more support and representation, our team of in-house labour relations experts can step in. We handle hundreds of case files every year related to leave, performance evaluation, workplace accommodation and more. 

Stewards and labour relations officers can provide you with timely, confidential advice and support you in initiating an informal conflict resolution process as a first step. If escalation is necessary, we can provide assessments and wording for grievances and human rights complaints, help with filing grievances and complaints, and offer professional representation for you throughout the redress process. 

Encountering issues in the workplace. At some point during your career, your rights, safety and well-being in the workplace could be challenged. If you think you have experienced a violation of your collective agreement, of workplace policies or of federal or provincial laws, it is your right to seek redress. 

Our labour relations officers can advise you on how to best manage your work-related issues or represent you to seek redress, building on more than two decades of experience supporting federal public service employees. You can also turn to your local steward if you need general information. 

Some of the most common issues we have dealt with in the past were related to:

  • Classification
  • Harassment and discrimination 
  • Leave 
  • Mental and physical health 
  • Pay (Phoenix) 
  • Performance evaluation 
  • Promotion
  • Workload management

Informal conflict resolution – One of the ways to manage workplace conflicts is through informal conflict resolution. This approach is often recommended as a first step in solving conflicts and is generally implemented through guided conversations or mediation.  We recognize the value of this approach as part of the grievance process in our collective agreements. Find out more.

Filing a grievance – A grievance can be filed individually or collectively, as a group grievance or a policy grievance, whenever the employer violates your rights as an employee. This process is generally triggered when you become aware or are informed that there is a violation of the terms of the collective agreement or of the law. We can help you throughout the process by advising you of your rights and assisting in an informal attempt to find a resolution, and should this fail, by drafting and representing you in the grievance process.

The grievance is filed by providing a copy of the completed and signed form to your immediate supervisor or manager. The grievance process is outlined in the collective agreement and is comprised of two or three levels within your department. The grievance is presented to management by CAPE at all levels. If the grievance is not upheld or settled, it can ⎯ if it meets the legal requirements ⎯ be sent to adjudication.  Find out more.

  • Advocacy and protection of members' rights 

We’re committed at CAPE to keeping members informed about issues related to public service collective agreements and workplace rights. We make sure you have the details and context to understand each matter and what it means for you — and serve as your advocate to bring balance to the employee-employer relationship.

The federal employment landscape is constantly changing. As new legislation, policies and procedures are developed, we participate in a variety of forums, committees and working groups to keep abreast of proposed changes and represent our members’ interests. We advocate on your behalf to protect and improve benefits and working conditions, sharing timely updates every step of the way.

We advocate on your behalf to elected officials and federal public service senior management, as well as through our participation to various committees and working groups.

  • Learning and development 

CAPE promotes learning to help you reach your professional development goals and keep up to date on labour relations, employee rights and workplace management. We also provide a range of multimedia resources to keep you updated about CAPE.

Build the skills to enhance your experience in the workplace!

In partnership with the Joint Learning Program, we promote training workshops to help you make improvements to your workplace. Gain a deeper understanding of employment equity, how to create a harassment-free workplace, your collective agreement and more.

We also offer union steward training twice a year for anyone who wants to play a greater role in the association by becoming a steward or learn more about labour relations practices and policies.

 

What CAPE Doesn’t Do

Your union does not:

  • Take actions that are to your detriment
  • Make decisions without a democratic vote of members
  • Protect low-performing employees from reasonable remediation efforts
  • Harm the employer

For More about CAPE