For the first time since the FB group was created in 2007, PSAC and Treasury Board have agreed on a chair for the Public Interest Commission that will be charged with providing recommendations in our contract dispute with Treasury Board and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
By law, once impasse is reached, a Public Interest Commission (PIC) is established to help the parties reach an agreement. The Commission is a panel of three – a chairperson agreed upon by both parties or, if no agreement is reached, appointed by the Labour Board, as well as nominees appointed by the union and management. The union and the employer submit briefs and explain their positions on the outstanding issues at a hearing with the Commission. The Commission then makes a report with recommendations to reach a settlement. Unlike arbitration, the Commission’s recommendations are not binding.
Impasse reached in December
Talks broke off in December when our team declared impasse over Treasury Board/CBSA’s refusal to address the key issues we’ve raised in negotiations. For more information on the matters in dispute, visit the FB page.
Now that the chair has been named and the panel established, we are in the process of setting dates to conduct a hearing with the PIC. We’ll continue to provide updates throughout the PIC process.
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The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.