During the latest bargaining talks, the Liberal government proposed a 2-year wage freeze for the 90,000 PSAC members whose departments fall under Treasury Board negotiations. Following the talks, we declared bargaining impasse and filed for a Public Interest Commission. Watch the following video to understand how we got here. Continue reading
PSAC is taking action in response to Treasury Board/Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) failure to meet the implementation deadline for the latest FB collective agreement. This will affect over 8,300 PSAC members working at CBSA locations across the country.
PSAC today filed a complaint on behalf of CBSA workers under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (FPSLRA). Members should have seen the implementation of their newest contract by November 30, but CBSA workers are still waiting despite having signed the agreement in July.
PSAC is disappointed over the government’s inability to meet reasonable implementation deadlines for its workers at the CBSA, especially considering the union generously doubled the timeframe, from 75 days to 150 days. This has been a reoccurring problem, as the government has struggled to meet its implementation deadlines for several other collective agreements such as CFIA, Parks Canada and the PA, SV, TC and EB groups, due to Phoenix issues.
PSAC will ask the Board to order the employer to pay damages to CBSA workers, and to take all necessary steps to immediately comply with the FPSLRA and implement the terms of the collective agreement.
Once the employer has responded to the complaint a hearing date will be set. PSAC will continue to keep its members informed about any further developments.
A version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.
In the continued wake of the Phoenix pay system disaster, bargaining teams representing nearly 90,000 federal public service workers are back at the bargaining table with Treasury Board this week and next.
PSAC’s bargaining teams have been repeatedly disappointed by the continued lack of response and meaningful engagement by Treasury Board. In July, PSAC came to the table with clear proposals and a strong mandate to move forward. Unfortunately, the Government has yet to engage substantially with PSAC’s various proposals, and have not offered counter proposals.
“It’s outrageous that our members have been waiting three years to get paid correctly under Phoenix—they shouldn’t have to also wait to get the fair working conditions they deserve,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC National President. “They’re very frustrated at the lack of movement in almost six months since we first sat down to bargain with the Liberal government.”
From November 27 to 29 the negotiations will cover table-specific proposals for the four bargaining groups: Program & Administrative Services (PA), Technical Services (TC), Operations Services (SV), and Education & Library Science (EB); and issues common to all teams will be covered December 4 to 6.
“For these upcoming meetings, we’re demanding the government come to the table ready to make significant progress,” concluded Aylward.
A version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.
PSAC and the Employer returned to extended negotiations from November 1 to November 9, after the Liberal government promised to bring a new mandate to the table. At the end of that bargaining session, PSAC requested mediation. On November 29, PSAC received confirmation that the government had agreed to this mediation.
Dec. 5 update: The Common Issues committee and PA bargaining team will resume negotiations with Treasury Board, with the assistance of a mediator, the week of December 12.
More information will be provided once it becomes available.
A version of this article was originally published on the PSAC website.
Contract negotiations have been ongoing for 10 days. While some progress has been achieved, there are still important issues of fairness and improving public services for Canadians that are yet to be resolved. PSAC has requested that a mediator be appointed and that talks resume within two weeks.
PSAC and the Employer returned to extended negotiations from November 1-9, after the Liberal government promised to bring a new mandate to the table. “We’ve gone as far as we can. This government promised to respect public service workers and restore the integrity of the public services Canadians rely on. They have not yet delivered on that promise,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President.
A version of this article was originally published on the PSAC website.
