PSAC has reached a tentative agreement that provides a fair wage increase, no concessions, and improved working conditions for the nearly 10,000 members in the TC group.

In addition to these successful talks, TC 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.

TC group settlement

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

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

• EG parity with CFIA: Although we were not able to achieve parity, we have secured a commitment that we can file for arbitration on this issue outside of regular bargaining.  We can do so as early as June 2021.  We feel that we have very strong arguments to make the case to achieve parity for EG members.
• Occupational allowances for the following groups shall increase to $3,534:
  • Fishery Officers (Appendix Z)
  • Environment and Wildlife Enforcement Officers (AA)
  • Labour Affairs Officers (DD)
  • Measurement Canada Inspectors (EE)
• Increase to allowance for Search and Rescue coordinators in a Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (CC) to $5,354; expansion of allowance to supervisors, and to qualified EG and GT hovercraft crew members
• Expansion of allowance for Enforcement and Wildlife Officers at Environment Canada to cover GT-06 and GT-07 levels (AA)
• Expansion of the $2,500 allowance to cover all EG and TIs working in fleet maintenance facilities (BB) including those at 202 Workshop Depot
• Expansion of the allowance for Labour Affairs Officers to cover TI-06 levels (DD)
• Expansion of the allowance to TI employees at the Canadian Grain Commission (EE)
• Improvement in allowance for certain shore-based positions at the Canadian Coast Guard (W): increase of ~$2,100 to the amounts payable to the GT-06 and GT-07 level and expansion in scope.
• Improvement to Transportation of Dangerous Goods allowance, now payable as a monthly allowance of $75 rather than a daily allowance of $3.50

Other improvements to the TC collective agreement include: ​

• Several leave improvements including for a person who stands in place of a relative for:
  • Leave without Pay for the Care of the family
  • Bereavement Leave
  • Leave with Pay for Family-Related Responsibilities
• An increase in meal allowance for overtime from $10 to $12
• Improvements to travel time to pay for up to five hours compensation for any stop-overs
• Employees in the Sea Lamprey Control Unit (Appendix I): Improvement in overtime compensation – 1.75X rate will be paid during field season
• Increases to funding for the Joint Learning Program, including a pilot study on health and safety training
• Memorandum of Understanding for a Joint Study on employee support mechanisms for employees who in the course of their duties are exposed to explicit and disturbing material, and/or potentially threatening situations
• Memorandum of Understanding for Joint Review of hours of work and applicability of travel status for Fishery Officers working offshore surveillance at DFO (Appendix C) to make proposals and inform next round of bargaining.
• Deletion of language in Appendix K which places limits on when EGs can request vacation
• Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Occupational Group Structure (OGS) review

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 TC group tentative agreement, and common issues agreement, as soon as it becomes available. Shortly thereafter, TC 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.