The Research Council Employees’ Association (RCEA) is strongly committed to protecting the privacy of individuals and to safeguarding their personal information.
As an organization which does not participate in commercial activity, RCEA is not covered by the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). However, in developing this privacy statement, RCEA has been guided by the fair information principles on which that legislation is based.
Personal Information
Personal information, as defined in PIPEDA, means information about an identifiable individual, but it does not include the name, title, business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.
Collection, Use and Disclosure
RCEA is committed to providing labour relations services and related information to its members and prospective members. These services may include:
- negotiating and administering collective agreements;
- investigating and resolving labour relations issues or problems and grievances arising from collective agreements;
- determining appropriate wage levels and benefits owed to members;
- collecting and managing dues;
- maintaining a complete record of membership in the union;
- communicating with members and prospective members in order to provide information about benefits, up-coming events, programs, services and other opportunities; and
- assisting prospective members with organizing.
In order to provide these services, RCEA may collect, use and disclose personal information when applicable. Only information that is required for the provision of services or the fulfillment of RCEA’s mandate will be collected. Any personal information collected will only be used or disclosed for the purposes for which it is collected.
RCEA may from time to time share personal information with third party service providers with whom we work, including lawyers and other professionals and affiliates.
These parties are not allowed to use personally identifiable information except for the purpose of providing these services and are required to have procedures in place that meet the standards of RCEA’s privacy statement.
In certain circumstances, for example to comply with a warrant, subpoena, order of a court, or rules of a court relating to the production of records, RCEA may be under a legal obligation to disclose personal information without the individual’s knowledge or consent.
Under no circumstances does RCEA sell, lease, trade or donate personal information.
Consent
To the extent that RCEA acts as the bargaining agent for its members in their employment relations with employers, it has the authority to collect, use and disclose personal information that relates to collective bargaining or collective agreement administration, including the investigation and resolution of labour relations issues.
Should RCEA require the collection, use or disclosure of personal information for other purposes not reasonably related to the provision of services set out above, it will request the consent of the individual.
Accuracy
RCEA is committed to taking reasonable steps to ensure that personal information collected is accurate, up-to-date and complete, as needed for the purpose for which it is to be used. Individuals are encouraged to update their personal information so that it is complete and accurate.
Safeguarding
RCEA undertakes to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and safeguards to protect personal information from loss, theft, and unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. Access to personal information is limited to those employees and/or elected officials who require access to the information in the performance of their job function.
RCEA retains personal information only for as long as is required to fulfill the purposes stated within this document, and to meet all requirements by law.
Website Privacy
RCEA also respects the privacy of its Internet users.
RCEA does not collect information that personally identifies Internet users except when individuals provide such information on a voluntary basis (i.e. registration for electronic mailings). In such cases, any information provided will not be used for any purposes other than those identified on the web page, nor will it be provided to any other organization.
RCEA reserves the right to perform statistical analyses of Internet user behaviour and characteristics, in order to measure interest in and use of the various sections of its site.
Internet users should be aware that certain non-personal information and data may be automatically collected by RCEA through the operation of “cookies,” small text files that identify an individual computer’s browser entering a website. Data from cookies allows a site to track usage behaviour that will allow for content improvements. Users may set their browser to notify them when they receive cookies, and may choose to disable or delete cookies if they wish.
Privacy Officer
If individuals have any questions or concerns related to RCEA’s privacy statement, they make contact the Privacy Officer in writing using the following address:
RCEA Privacy Officer
Research Council Employees’ Association
5300 Canotek Road, Suite 100
Ottawa, ON K1J 1A4