Tag Archives: TC

TB Bargaining: Proceeding to Public Interest Commission

PSAC’s fight for a fair deal is progressing as a federal labour board last week moved to establish a Public Interest Commission (PIC) to help advance negotiations for 120,000 PSAC members.

The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Board called for the establishment of a PIC for the EB, PA, SV, and TC bargaining tables last week to help PSAC and Treasury Board reach an agreement.

This follows on the heels of PSAC declaring impasse in May after months of Treasury Board stalling in negotiations, culminating in Treasury Board’s insulting wage offer that’s completely out of touch with soaring rates of inflation. This in addition to proposals for further concessions left PSAC no choice but to declare impasse.

During the PIC process, PSAC will continue to fight for a strong agreement that includes fair wages, better work-life balance, job security and inclusive workplaces. The cost of living continues to soar, so PSAC is working hard to get a fair deal quickly.

To that effect, PSAC will be lobbying members of Parliament throughout the summer months to keep the pressure on, while also holding regional events for members to get engaged at this vital time.

How does a PIC work?

Under the law that governs contract negotiations in the federal public service, a PIC is established to help the parties reach an agreement once impasse is declared at the bargaining table.

The PIC is a panel of three people — a chairperson appointed by the Labour Board and nominees appointed by the union and the employer. Each side presents briefs to explain their positions on the outstanding issues at a hearing and the PIC issues a report with non-binding recommendations for reaching a settlement.

Once the PIC releases its report, the union will meet to discuss the recommendations at which point the parties typically return to the table to resume negotiations with the employer. While the timeline is largely dependent on availability of the three parties, we expect to receive the report at some point in the fall.

Stay informed, engaged

Your involvement as a member becomes increasingly important as negotiations advance. Here are some tools and resources to help you stay informed and engaged:

And please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive all the latest bargaining updates.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

TC bargaining: Frustration mounts with Treasury Board

Treasury Board yet again failed to respond to PSAC’s proposals during the latest round of negotiations with the Technical Services bargaining team March 22-24.

Treasury Board’s stalling tactics are disrespectful, with representatives coming to the table empty-handed for months while also failing to respond to PSAC’s clear demands. This is unacceptable and an insult to TC members who continue to be on the frontlines of the pandemic serving Canadians.

If this were not enough, the few crumbs that Treasury Board has proposed amount to concessions under the guise of “flexible work arrangements.” Their proposals would allow managers to change people’s schedules on short notice or change day-workers into shift workers with little notice. The proposal would provide managers with more scheduling flexibility at your expense.

PSAC expects Treasury Board to put forward their wage proposal at the Common Issues table during negotiations March 29-31.

We put forward our wage offer of 4.5 per cent per year for all Treasury Board members at the Common Issues table last November.

See PSAC’s final wage proposal

The TC bargaining team is also proposing several other important gains for members, including protections for hours of work, improvements to overtime, and fixing the long-broken classification system through the Occupational Group Structure review.

The TC bargaining team will continue to push for fair wages, a better classification system, and reasonable working conditions for all TC members.

Take action and show your support

Your support is critical to our success at the table. As negotiations reach a pivotal moment, it is more important than ever to get involved and put pressure on the government to come to the table ready to negotiate fair wages and working conditions.

Join our April 12 national panel on fair wages with a strong lineup of speakers.

And register now for our April 14 day of action where PSAC members from across the country will be coming together to take action and flood the lines of MPs and cabinet ministers to urging them to come to the table ready to bargain.

Support your bargaining team with our digital backgrounds and talk to your coworkers about bargaining with the tools in our bargaining toolkit:

Please be sure to keep your contact information up to date to receive all the latest updates about bargaining.

This article was first posted on the PSAC website.

National Bargaining Conference – PA, SV, TC and EB bargaining units

CIU flag with the word bargaining

The National Bargaining Conference for the PA, SV, TC and EB bargaining units will take place from April 26 to 30, 2021. The event will be virtual.

The above-noted collective agreements will expire between June and August 2021 and the PSAC anticipates serving notice to bargain in the spring and early summer of 2021. The PSAC Centre has informed CIU that it is entitled to six (6) delegates to the national conference from amongst the different Occupational Groups represented by CIU. Delegate entitlement is broken down as follows:

  • CIU is entitled to three (3) delegates for the Program Administration (PA) Bargaining Unit which includes: AS, CM, CR, DA, IS, OE, PM, ST, and WP Occupational Groups;
  • CIU is also entitled to one (1) delegate (from the membership at large) from each of the following Bargaining Units: SV (incl. FR, GL, GS, HP, HS, LI, PR(S), SC), TC (incl. DD, EG, GT, PI, PY, TI) and EB (incl. ED, EU, LS)

Branches are asked to submit, via their Branch President, the names of candidates they wish to be considered for these conference delegate spots. The candidates must be members of the bargaining unit, must hold a Union Office (including shop steward), and will otherwise be committed and engaged in the Union. Branch Presidents are asked to send candidate names and their full contact information to joey.dunphy@ciu-sdi.ca no later than Friday, February 19, 2021.

Source: National Office Memorandum NO-12-2020 from Joey Dunphy, 3rd CIU National Vice-President, and VP Responsible for Collective Bargaining.

PA, EB, SV, & TC groups bargaining survey: You can shape the future of work in the public service

PSAC banner illustrating a conversation

The pandemic has radically changed the way many PSAC members work. We have experienced the challenges of working remotely from home; the impact of technological changes;  the effect of an uncertain economy on job security; and the major inequalities that remain for women, racialized workers, and many other marginalized groups. These are some of the key issues that can be addressed in the next round of bargaining that begins this summer.

This next round of talks will be all about the future of work in the federal public service and you can help decide what your union bargaining team brings to the table.

Take 15 minutes to fill out our survey to make sure we address your workplace concerns at the table. Your input is essential. We need to hear directly from you about what has changed over the last year. And we need to know more about you so that we can make the case for a contract that equitably addresses our members’ diverse needs.

Your participation in this survey and the broader bargaining process is key to our success in the next round of talks.

The survey is for members in the Program and Administrative Services (PA), Technical Services (TC), Operational Services (SV) and Education and Library Science (EB) groups. It will be open until February 25, 2021.

We are also still accepting your specific proposals for improving your next contract until January 31. Your component union and PSAC will review your proposals and they, along with the survey’s results, will be discussed at a bargaining conference of member delegates from across the country who will decide the bargaining priorities.

The current collective agreements expire on the following dates:

PA: June 20, 2021
TC: June 21, 2021
SV: August 4, 2021
EB: June 30, 2021

Please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive more updates as we prepare to negotiate your next contract.

The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.