TC Bargaining
October 25, 2011
TC Bargaining Communique: another frustrating session with Treasury Board
Your TC Bargaining Team endured another frustrating session of negotiations with Treasury Board on October 18th, 19th and 20th, 2011.
We did have one small victory. We signed off on the first tentatively agreed language of this round of bargaining. Unfortunately, it was only housekeeping: updating Article 7 – National Joint Council Agreements.
Your team worked hard to put together a comprehensive response to the Employer's proposal for a new article on Compensatory Leave. This included moving language from six other articles: Overtime, Call-Back Pay, Standby, Reporting Pay, Travelling Time; Designated Paid Holidays; and focusing on Union demands to improve these articles.
We said NO to the Employer's demands for many concessions in these articles:
- A cap on mileage currently paid when an employee is required to report to work on a day of rest (Article 28.05 (c) i) and ii); and Article 31.02 (a) and (b)
- No overtime pay until after an employee has worked 15 minutes (Article 28.12)
- More restrictive language on Standby (Articles 30.01 and 30.02)
- Introduction of a cap on Reporting Pay (Article 31)
- Introduction of a cap on overtime compensation when an employee is required to report to work under Article 32.06 (Designated Paid Holidays)
Your Bargaining Team also said NO to the Employer's concession on Severance Pay. The Treasury Board team was unable to estimate the cost-savings that might be realized by their proposal, and says it has no estimate of how much the proposal would cost if all TC members cashed out their severance. In a time of fiscal uncertainty, and when the Employer is demanding monetary concessions from the Union, it is shocking to hear that Treasury Board has no idea what its proposals might cost.
The bargaining teams also discussed Article 25 – Hours of Work. We told the Employer that we aren't interested in reducing notice for Change of Schedules to 48 hours from the existing 7 days (Article 25.09). In fact, our proposal is to improve notice to 15 days so that shift workers would face fewer disruptions in their schedules.
Three other issues were discussed at the table:
- Membership Fees: the Employer has given notice that they will be discontinuing a policy of reimbursing employees for certifications and membership fees that are required as a condition of employment. So far we have been unable to reach agreement on language to replace that policy.
- Vacations: The Employer has introduced language that would allow it to schedule an employee's vacation, including all banked hours. They also want to reduce the carryover provision from 262.5 hours to 225 hours, and require employees to use vacation in the year it is earned. Your team has not responded to this demand yet.
- Volunteer, Personal and Family-Related Responsibility Leave: the Treasury Board team has floated the idea of repackaging this leave so employees would have less leave but possibly more flexibility in accessing it. Your team has not had an opportunity to respond to this proposal yet.
Your Bargaining Team is frustrated at the slow pace of negotiations but we are committed to protecting the existing provisions of the Collective Agreement and to achieving improvements.
Future negotiations
Return to the bargaining table on November 15-17, 2011.
Information
Please stay tuned for further developments. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
For ongoing updates, visit: www.psac-afpc.com/tcgroup
Questions?
tc-bargaining-negociations@psac-afpc.com
Date Modified : 2011/10/25
