Tag Archives: bargaining

FB Bargaining Update: Wages and Hours of Work Dominate Discussions

Our FB Bargaining Team spent this past week in negotiations with Treasury Board/CBSA.

Wages: In bargaining we re-iterated our position with respect to compensation. CBSA is a law enforcement agency and employees should be compensated accordingly.

Astonishingly, the government asked about whether there are recruitment and retention problems at CBSA. With CBSA at the table on management’s side, we pointed out that recruitment and retention problems are such that CBSA has created YouTube recruitment videos and are asking officers to handout recruitment pamphlets to the public at POE’s and visit colleges to promote CBSA.

We made it clear that CBSA should be advocating for appropriate wages and working conditions for its staff, and that we have no interest in a settlement that doesn’t address the lack of parity between CBSA workers and those at other federal law enforcement agencies. We expect a response when we meet next.

Hours of Work – Shift Work and Compressed Work Weeks: This past week, we discussed our proposals to enhance rights and protections for shift workers, including the elimination of potential ‘6 and 2’ schedules being implemented by management. We are also raised our demand for fairer rules with respect to employees having the opportunity to relocate to different ports. With respect to day workers, we again reiterated our proposals to introduce protections against management unilaterally revoking compressed work weeks.

Sick Leave: Our position on the employer’s Short Term Disability Plan remains unchanged but we continue to seek either a renewal or improvements to the current sick leave regime.

We indicated to management that we are ready to meet again and are expecting answers from them on key issues that we’ve raised in this round of bargaining, including our proposals on telework and enhancement of protections for front-line officers in the context of firearm recertification and control defence tactics training.

For more information concerning FB negotiations and our next scheduled bargaining dates, be sure visit the FB Group bargaining section on the PSAC website.

Download the PDF version of this update (bilingual document).

PA Bargaining: “Optimism Quickly Fades”

Following the announcement that the Liberal government is repealing sections of the anti-union Bill C-4, enacted by the Harper Conservatives, our PA Bargaining Team returned to the negotiation table, hopeful that the Treasury Board had a new mandate to engage in serious collective bargaining. Any optimism we had was dashed almost immediately by the employer’s opening statement that they were willing to make some minor movements only on the condition that the union remove a significant number of our demands from the table.

Child care: Our bargaining team invited Morna Ballantyne, PSAC’s Special Projects Officer responsible for the union’s childcare campaign, to outline the need for affordable childcare. Her presentation was informative and persuasive. We are looking to develop a joint national committee with the employer to assess child care needs of federal public sector workers and make recommendations on how to best meet those needs.

Wages and other demands: We presented our complete economic package, as well as language on whistleblowing, rest breaks during overtime, and language on acting pay, workplace violence and electronic surveillance. We also reviewed all of our outstanding issues with the employer.

We signed off on minor changes to the Personal Leave and Volunteer Leave articles, allowing employees to take the leave in half days.

We’ll be back at the bargaining table in September. If you see your Member of Parliament in the summer, please tell him or her to keep their hands off our sick leave. And if that MP is a Liberal, please remind him or her that the Liberals were elected on a promise of showing respect to the public service. It’s time to change their bargaining mandate from the one they inherited from Stephen Harper.

Sick Leave: Our position on the employer’s short-term disability plan remains unchanged, but we continue to seek either a renewal or improvements to the current sick leave regime.

In a meeting this week, the Coordinated Issues Committee, which includes representatives from all five PSAC bargaining teams for the core public administration, said that any short-term disability plan must reside in the collective agreement.

Stay informed and get involved: Our bargaining team will keep you informed throughout this process. In the coming weeks, we will advise you of the next round of bargaining dates. Watch this page for updates and be sure to talk to your colleagues about the importance of supporting our union throughout this process.

Get involved and spread the word, so we can keep the pressure on the employer and fight back against concessions. See the PSAC website for information regarding bargaining proposals.

FB Team Spends 7 Days in Contract Talks

Starting Friday June 17, our FB Bargaining Team spent 7 days in negotiations with our employer. Here’s a summary of issues that were discussed during that period:

Pension Commitment: At the outset the Treasury Board indicated its position that collective bargaining is not an appropriate venue for pension reform discussions and that the concerns raised by PSAC and CIU with respect to an early retirement plan should happen elsewhere. Our Team made our union’s position clear – we seek a written commitment from both Treasury Board and the CBSA supporting the introduction of a retirement plan that is consistent with what is in place at other law enforcement agencies.

Wages: We proposed a market adjustment to take effect the first day of our contract that would peg the FB wage scale to that of an RCMP Constable 1st Class. We have also tabled a paid meal period, consistent with standards common in the broader law enforcement community.

Hours of Work – Shift Work and Compressed Work Weeks: This past week, we made proposals to enhance rights and protections for shift workers, including the elimination of potential ‘6 and 2’ schedules being implemented by management. We are also seeking fairer rules with respect to employees having the opportunity to relocate to different ports. With respect to day workers, we have proposed protections against management unilaterally revoking compressed work weeks.

Increased Protections: We tabled proposals to enhance protections in our collective agreement for front-line officers in the context of firearm recertification and control defence tactics training. We also re-iterated the importance of new protections against CBSA management in the context of discipline.

Workforce Adjustment: We discussed the questions raised by the employer on our proposed changes to the Workforce Adjustment Appendix and continue to strive to make improvements. We reiterated our position against the contracting out of work. Many unions have identified this issue as a major concern in this round of bargaining.

Sick Leave: Our position on the employer’s Short Term Disability Plan remains unchanged but we continue to seek either a renewal or improvements to the current sick leave regime.

We indicated to management that we are expecting answers from them on key issues that we’ve raised in this round of bargaining. For more information concerning FB negotiations and our next scheduled bargaining dates, be sure visit the FB Group bargaining section on the PSAC website.

Download the PDF version of this update (bilingual document).

Push continues for ’25 and Out’ Retirement Plan: Campaign for pension reform underway on several fronts

Last month, the Public Service Pension Advisory Committee (PSPAC) met to discuss retirement-related issues in the public service. The PSPAC is the body that provides input concerning the managing of public service pension funds. It includes several unions and Treasury Board representatives.

In the meeting the PSAC successfully pushed to have early retirement reform for Border Services employees and Department of Defence Firefighters (also PSAC members) prioritized to be addressed by the committee. Dates for follow-up meetings have not yet been set.

In a recent meeting with Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, CIU National President Jean-Pierre Fortin raised the need for there to be pension reform for CIU-PSAC members working at CBSA. The same message was communicated in a recent meeting with newly-named CBSA President Linda Lizotte-MacPherson.

PSAC National President Robyn Benson and Jean-Pierre Fortin also spoke recently with Treasury Board President Scott Brison to impress upon the government the importance of this issue to our union and membership.

At the bargaining table, our FB Bargaining Team continues to push for a commitment from CBSA and Treasury Board in support of an early retirement regime for CBSA employees. In light of the work that we do, and the employer’s legal duty to accommodate, we believe that such a retirement arrangement is not only in the interest of employees of the FB group, but also the Agency.

We call on CBSA and the Treasury Board to support the amending of our pension plan so that we might have access to the same retirement benefit as other federal workers who are required to maintain similar physical standards. It’s in the best interests of everyone involved – union members, the government and CBSA.

We’ll be sure to provide update as things progress. For more information, contact your Branch President or go to ciu-sdi.ca or psacunion.ca/employer/fb-group.

Download the PDF version of this update (bilingual document).

National Board of Directors Meeting: CIU Highlights the Importance of “25 & Out”

During last week’s National Board of Directors meeting in Ottawa, CIU reiterated its commitment to push for a ’25 & Out’ agreement at the bargaining table. The union also elaborated on its plans to implement the resolution that was carried at the 2015 PSAC National Triennial Convention wherein members who are required to carry a firearm will be provided with independent legal counsel 24/7 in the event that they are involved with discharging their firearm. Members can expect to receive information related to this CIU/PSAC initiative in June 2016.

CIU is also planning to add new features to its national website, including information on Variable Shift Schedule Arrangements in order to facilitate the implementation of such arrangements for the different branches.