TC Bargaining
May 14, 2012
TC Bargaining Team Applies for a PIC
With negotiations for a new Collective Agreement at a standstill, PSAC has taken the next step in the bargaining process and has applied to the Public Service Labour Relations Board for the appointment of a Public Interest Commission (PIC).
Applying for a PIC is similar to requesting the appointment of a conciliator under the previous legislation, but with an important change.
The PIC is charged with taking the "public interest" into account – and this includes considering the state of the economy, and the government's fiscal realities.
The PIC has 30 days to report to the parties, while the previous legislation provided for 14 days. The recommendations are not binding.
PSAC has requested a three-person Public Interest Commission, which means that both the Union and Treasury Board will choose their own sidespersons, and the parties will mutually agree upon a chairperson. Discussions with respect to these appointments are underway, and dates for the hearing will subsequently be established.
The PSAC's application for the PIC contains all of the TC team's outstanding issues. You will notice there is no proposal under Article 64 - Severance, since the team's position is to keep the status quo, as was the direction to the team from the input prioritized at the TC National Bargaining Conference held in Ottawa in January, 2011. Although the federal budget, tabled at the end of March, highlighted the fact that the federal government is pursuing an end to severance accumulation for voluntary departures – resignations and retirements – the government's Budget Implementation Bill tabled on April 26, 2012, does not seek to legislate an end to severance, and therefore, the issue is still at the bargaining table.
In the federal budget, the government also said that beginning April 1, 2012, employees who transfer into the core public administration from the Canadian Forces would have their years of service in the military counted for the purpose of vacation entitlement. This subject also does not appear in the Budget Implementation Bill, and your Union is seeking clarification from Treasury Board, as this is an unresolved item at the TC bargaining table.
Please continue to check this website for further developments.
Date Modified : 2012/05/14
