Tag Archives: négos

The FB bargaining team needs your support!

The FB bargaining team is back at the bargaining table this week!

As a show of support for our team, we are asking all our members to proudly wear or display their union swag (epaulets, laces, wristband, mug, etc.) and to keep them displayed until the union reaches a tentative agreement.

We also invite our members to send photos of them wearing or displaying their union swag at comms@ciu-sdi.ca.

Note: By sending in their photos, members agree that CIU may publish these photos online, including its website and social media pages. Those who wear a name tag should remove or hide it before taking a picture.

FB Bargaining: PSAC-CIU protects bargaining unit work

Buckling under legal pressure from PSAC-CIU, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has stopped contracting out the work of trained border services officers to students at ports of entry in Toronto.

In July, CBSA management in Toronto implemented new shifts staffed exclusively by students after PSAC-CIU members refused to enter into talks on a temporary variable shift schedule arrangement (VSSA) due to concerns that management would abuse the agreement.

As a result, PSAC took legal action and filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board against the CBSA and Treasury Board.

Staffing our ports of entry with trained CBSA border services officers is the only way to ensure the safety of Canadians and our borders.

In light of the legal action taken by PSAC-CIU, CBSA in Toronto has reversed the changes made in July. PSAC will therefore be withdrawing its complaint.

Our bargaining team has made proposals in national negotiations concerning protections against unilateral changes to scheduling and to protect our bargaining unit work. To be clear, PSAC-CIU is not opposed to students receiving training and work experience opportunities. But our proposals would protect against students being used as cheap labour by CBSA. Students should never replace trained officers at CBSA ports of entry.

The legislation states that all matters subject to negotiation are frozen until such time as the parties reach a new agreement. This means that our current terms and conditions are frozen, unless the union consents to changes CBSA wants to make. We were not consulted on the changes made. We are opposed to BSOs being replaced by students. We do not agree with CBSA’s scheduling changes.

Other legal challenges against CBSA

Our legal challenges over CBSA’s contracting out the work of Border Services Officers to Commissionaires at Pearson International Airport and changes made to shifts at Postal Operations in Vancouver are ongoing. We are also in mediation on complaints related to leave with income averaging and compressed schedules. Our dispute concerning CBSA’s name tag policy is still ongoing.

We will continue to pursue legal action against CBSA until such time as the employer complies with its legal and contractual obligations.

To review the package of bargaining proposals that we tabled as well as those of the employer, visit the PSAC page for the FB page group. We’ll announce new bargaining dates when they’re available and continue to provide updates throughout the bargaining process.

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

EB group reaches tentative agreement

PSAC has reached a tentative agreement that provides increases to wages, no concessions, and improved working conditions for nearly 1,000 members of the Education and Library Science (EB) group under Treasury Board.

In addition to these successful talks, EB members will also be awarded a Phoenix damages settlement to compensate members for the pain and suffering caused by the broken pay system. Please read the update which provides greater detail on the general Phoenix compensation portion of the settlement, as well as the expansion of the claims process for out-of-pocket expenses and for those who suffered major losses because of Phoenix.

EB Group settlement

The PSAC bargaining team successfully secured fair wage increases averaging at 2.11% per year. EB group members would receive the following wage increases:

2018	2019	2020
2.8%	2.2%	1.35%

In addition to these wage increases, the following group-specific wage adjustments and allowances were also secured: 

Implementation of a new, national pay grid for 12-month teachers and instructors.

Other improvements to the EB collective agreement include: 

Increase in maternity related reassignment or leave qualification from 52 to 78 weeks following the birth of a child
A new leave provision for members elected to union leadership
An increase in meal allowance for overtime from $9 to $12
Set timelines for receiving a response to vacation leave requests
Improvements to travel time to pay for up to five hours of compensation for any stop-overs
Language that emphasizes the importance of professional development activities, such as conferences and workshops, for LS members
Commitment from the Employer to consult with the Union in the next review of Treasury Board’s policy on indemnification
Commitment from the Employer to prepare informational material on employees’ injury on duty rights and benefits.
Ability for ED-EST ten-month teachers to use their personal leave in 7.5 or 3.75 segments (Article 60)
An MOU for a Joint Committee to address the issues related to teaching time and preparation time for Language Teachers (ED-LAT)
An MOU for a Joint Committee to address the teaching of indigenous languages for 10-month teachers at INAC
Increases to funding for the Joint Learning Program, including a pilot study on health and safety training

Common issues settlement

Two weeks ago, when we obtained a settlement for the PA group, PSAC also reached a settlement for Treasury Board issues common to all groups. Some of the key improvements include:

A one-time payment of $500 in recognition of the extended collective agreement implementation deadline and an additional $50 for every subsequent 90-day delay
Ten days of paid Domestic Violence Leave
Better language on return to work following a Maternity or Parental Leave, giving more flexibility to parents who wish to change positions within the federal public service.
Improvements to Parental Leave pay
Updated language to match the new legislation including a new extended leave option and the sharing of Parental Leave
Expanded supplementary allowance for every week an employee is on extended or shared Parental Leave
Additional weeks for parents covered under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, when both parents work in the public service.
New Memorandum of Understanding to explore the issues related to childcare in the public service
Updated and improved language to match the new legislation on Compassionate Care and Caregiving Leave
Better language to allow the use of employer facilities for union activities
New Memorandum of Understanding to protect certain working conditions of civilian members of the RCMP
New Memorandum of Understanding on mental health in the workplace to support the work of the Centre for Expertise on Mental Health
In the event of workforce adjustment, the education allowance has increased to $17,000.
Deletion of Memorandum of Understanding on Supporting Employee Wellness. As a result, Sick Leave will remain untouched.

Full text and next steps

We will share the final text and full details of the EB group tentative agreement, and common issues agreement, as soon as it becomes available. Shortly thereafter, EB members will be invited to participate in online ratification votes. Details about the votes will be shared as soon as possible.

The PSAC bargaining team unanimously recommends the ratification of the tentative agreement.

To ensure that you receive all updates and can participate in the ratification process, please ensure that you have either updated your contact information on PSAC’s member portal, or that you create an account if you have not done so already.

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

FB team begins talks on economic proposals with Treasury Board/CBSA

Our PSAC/CIU FB bargaining team addressed a number of economic proposals with the employer during bargaining the week of September 21. In addition to reiterating our position concerning the need for pension reform, we raised the following:

A paid meal period;
A much-needed increase in shift and weekend premiums;
A fitness allowance;
Two shifts of paid firearm practice time per year;
A plain clothes allowance for EIOD staff and Hearings Officers.

We also discussed our proposals to ensure better access to leave with income averaging as well as telework.

On the issue of telework, during the pandemic, we once again asked the employer if T2200 tax forms – which certify that an employee is required to work from home and lets them claim certain expenses on their tax return – would be provided to staff working at remote locations. The employer indicated that this had to be done in consultation with Canada Revenue Agency, and Treasury Board made a commitment to provide the forms before the end of the tax year.

Lastly, the parties spent time discussing our proposals regarding the grievance procedure. The current grievance process is dysfunctional and takes far too long. In this round of negotiations, we are pushing to streamline the grievance process with CBSA, and have made it clear that it is a priority for our team.

Calgary Airport Border Officers wearing orange epaulets in solidarity

Solidarity with our Sisters and Brothers at Calgary Air (and across the country) wearing their union epaulets in support of a fair contract! We will keep up the fight for the agreement that we deserve.

To review the package of proposals that we tabled as well as those of the employer, visit the FB group page. We’ll announce new bargaining dates when they’re available and continue to provide updates throughout the bargaining process.

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

FB bargaining update

Yesterday afternoon, PSAC contacted Treasury Board to demand an update with respect to the assigning of a new employer negotiator for the FB group.

Our bargaining team is looking to confirm dates with the employer so that we might get back to the bargaining table and get our issues addressed by CBSA and the Treasury Board.

We will be sure to update as things progress.