Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The collective agreement for the Technical Services Group of Treasury Board is now available on the Treasury Board Website.

The parties have completed the incorporation of negotiated language and the Arbitral Award into a draft agreement. Once the draft agreement is proof-read, the parties will finalize any necessary changes, and then sign the Agreement.

The issues, such as wages, included in the September 24th Arbitral Award are effective on the date of the Award. All other changes included in the Agreement are effective on the date of signing.

The Agreement is expected to be signed before the end of November. Once signed, the Agreement will be posted on the PSAC website.

Your bargaining team received the arbitral award for the TC group and is deeply disappointed with the results. Your Union’s sidesperson on the arbitration panel has filed a dissenting report stating our objections to the outcome.

This award, along with other outstanding language will become the new collective agreement. Despite the bargaining team’s call for increases reaching beyond the legislated wage restraint, the arbitrator limited the award to four years. The four-year deal expires on June 21, 2011.

Your bargaining team went to arbitration with the hope that we could obtain a market increase for members at the end of the restraint period. We are dismayed that the arbitrator did not hear us and ruled against us.

The union’s arbitration brief made key arguments and presented data on a number of monetary issues that clearly demonstrated compensation gaps, all of which were ignored by the Arbitrator.

The monetary increases were awarded as per the legislated wage restraint:

• 2.3% pay increase on June 21, 2007
• 1.5% pay increase on June 21, 2008
• 1.5% pay increase on June 21, 2009
• 1.5% pay increase on June 21, 2010

We appreciate and recognize the patience that the members have shown throughout this process. The agreement will soon be signed and the new terms and conditions will soon be implemented.

We tried every possible avenue to get the best deal for members and we will continue our fight to get members the remuneration and the conditions of employment they deserve.

Download the following documents (pdf)

• Arbitration award
• The PSAC summary of the decision
• The PSAC sidesperson’s dissent

Your TC team was in Ottawa the week of July 6 to present the issues of the TC members to the Arbitration Board. The Arbitration Board consisted of David Starkman, Chair; James Wolfgang, PSAC�s sides-person; Jock Climie, Treasury Board�s sides-person.

At the request of the Chair, the week started with a preliminary session of mediation prior to formal presentations. A few minor issues were addressed through this process. Consistent with the employer�s previous conduct, there was very little movement on outstanding issues. At the conclusion of mediation, the parties moved to the formal Arbitration hearing with both sides taking their respective turns to present arguments and rebuttals.

The timing of the Arbitration Board hearing was critical to the team�s ability to achieve anything beyond the Conservative Government�s draconian Expenditure Restraint Act (ERA) legislation. By law, an arbitral award must be in place for at least one year but cannot exceed two years past the date of the award. For TC members, the ERA expires June 21, 2011. Since our hearing was held in July 2009, the Board has the ability to make an award that would take effect after the expiration of the ERA legislation. This permitted the Team to argue that all of our priority issues may be considered by the Board. The Employer�s position was that the Board could not award anything because of the ERA.

Your TC Team was disappointed to see that the Employer maintained their position on claw-backs right to the end of the process, in spite of the fact that TC members are already adversely affected by the ERA. While the Employer conceded to the removal of bargaining concessions at the other tables, the Employer continued to press for further penalties to TC members.

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The end is in sight. We are proceeding to our arbitration hearing in two weeks. We will be in front of the arbitrator from July 6 to July 8.

Throughout this round of bargaining, this employer has not negotiated with us. And as a result, we have applied for arbitration. Even though the employer has ensured that we don’t get a fair arbitration hearing by hiding behind the Expenditure Restraint Act, your bargaining team has decided to proceed to a formal arbitration hearing to get a ruling on our outstanding issues.

We will seek a ruling on all of our issues, even those with an economic impact as our proposals extend beyond 2011, which is the sunset date of the Expenditure Restraint Act.

On this page, you will see a link to our arbitration brief. This document lays out all of our remaining outstanding issues and it details the rationale for each proposal. There are nine issues that we are bringing to arbitration (article reference in brackets):

1. Travel Status Leave � captive time (34.09)
2. Injury on Duty Leave (41)
3. Education Leave (54)
4. Dangerous Goods Allowance (62)
5. Hours of Work for Marine Search and Rescue Coordinators (App. D)
6. Call-back pay for Hospital Technologists in Manitoba (New Appendix)
7. Hazardous Substances Handling Allowance (New)
8. Pre-retirement Leave (New)
9. Wages (App A)

Download the arbitration brief at the national website (pdf)

PSAC participated in a historic first step toward long-awaited classification reform in the federal public service last fall. In November, PSAC and Treasury Board negotiated a collective agreement that includes a commitment by the employer to engage in a process of meaningful consultation with the union on occupational group structure, beginning with the Program and Administrative Services (PA) bargaining unit.

This group includes almost 70,000 employees responsible for program administration, information services, communications, secretarial services, office equipment, administrative services, welfare programs, clerical functions and data processing.

As we all know, this commitment to reform from the employer is years overdue. Classification standards in the federal government are over 40 years old and do not reflect the important services we deliver to Canadians on a daily basis.

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Attention to all members of the DD, EG, GT, PI, PY and TI pay groups

We have a month and a half until our arbitration hearing dates. We have three days scheduled for mediation sessions and a formal arbitration hearing. These will occur on July 6 to 8, 2009.

Since we filed for arbitration, the government has passed the regressive Expenditure Restraint Act. Having come into effect at the this stage of bargaining, the legislation constitutes demonstrable bad faith on the part of the government as it has changed the rules of negotiations mid-way through the collective bargaining process. In so doing, it has imposed restraints on the resolution of our disputes on issues relating to pay.

Even with these restraints, your bargaining team has committed to continue on the arbitration route. This way, we are able to seek a ruling from the arbitrator on our issues which are not covered by the legislation.

We will be posting our complete arbitration brief on the web site shortly before the hearing. This document will contain our written arguments on all outstanding issues to be put in front of the board.

Last month, the PSAC launched a court challenge to the Expenditure Restraint Act, which we see as an unconstitutional assault on freedom of association. The Act, by placing arbitrary limits on compensation increases, denies workers’ rights to freedom of association and to free collective bargaining. In a number of cases, the Act actually rolls back wage increases that were negotiated in good faith. Visit the national website for more details on the court challenge.

The Public Service Labour Relations Board has announced that the TC Table Arbitration will take place on July 6 to 8, 2009. The panel will be chaired by arbitrator David Starkman. The union representative will be James Wolfgang and the employer will be represented by Jock Climie.

The three days scheduled will begin with the panel attempting to mediate the items in dispute prior to the formal presentation on the remaining outstanding issues. In recent arbitrations, this process has assisted the parties to settle some issues by reducing the number of outstanding issues that the Arbitration Board has had to rule on.

Appointments to the Arbitration Board for the TC Bargaining Unit have been announced.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada has been notified that David Starkman has been appointed chairperson for the TC Arbitration Board.

Jim Wolfgang will represent the Union’s interests on the Arbitration Board. Jock Climie will represent the Employer.

No dates have been established yet for hearings. More information will be published as it becomes available.

The PSAC has completed the application for the establishment of an arbitration board on behalf of the TC bargaining unit. As the party requesting arbitration, the PSAC must specify details regarding the impasse reached. The details include listing the dates the parties met to negotiate, the list of signed articles and the list of outstanding issues.

Now that the request for arbitration is in the hands of the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB), the Board will forward it to the employer. Treasury Board had seven (7) days to respond in writing to request any other term or condition to be included in an arbitral award if it is not included in the union’s request for arbitration. This portion of the process, as well as the Union’s agreements that the employer’s issues were appropriate for Arbitration has been completed.

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Attention to all members of the DD, EG, GT, PI, PY and TI pay groups.

• Your Bargaining Team encourages PSAC members to register for the automatic email update on the PSAC National Website.
• Sign up for regional bargaining alerts here.

Your TC Bargaining Team was in Ottawa from October 7th to the 10th for a session of mediation.

Our objectives were to make improvements on our outstanding TC specific and lead table issues with the assistance of the mediator. Unfortunately this did not happen.� The Employer appears to define a successful mediation session as one where proposals are withdrawn or articles are renewed unchanged. Since these sessions were held in the middle of a Federal election, it appears that the Employer is unable to make any commitments until a new government is formed.

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Our union is ready to get back to the bargaining table to fight for a fair contract that includes wage parity and an end to contracting out.

The bargaining-session dates for each TB unit are as follows:

• FB � four days September 30 to October 3
• SV � four days September 30 to October 3
• EB � four days October 6 to 9
• PA � four days October 6 to 9
• TC � three days of mediation from October 8 to 10.

Future dates are to be determined by each team.

The bargaining team members for all units appreciate the support expressed by our members during the summer months with various information pickets and mobilizations in different regions across the country. We ask for your continued support. Visit this web site regularly for future updates on negotiations.

Last weekend the TB-BC Regional Strike Coordinating Committee met with Local/Branch Presidents from across the province to understand where we are in the negotiations process with Treasury Board. We heard from some of the Member Negotiators from BC. We held workshops to improve our mobilization skills, connect our “Think Public” campaign to collective bargaining, and strengthen our communication structure from the work site level onwards. Most importantly we generated ideas and plans for actions in the future.

Your Region is getting ready for action!

Find out more from your Local/Branch President on how you can help support your bargaining team and/or send a message to your Area Strike Coordinator to find out what is coming up in your area.

Several handouts were distributed to the participants, they are available for download here

• 10 things you need to know about a strike under the PSLRA (pdf)
  
• Collective Bargaining under the PSLRA (pdf)
• Collective Bargaining under the PSLRA (ppt)
• BC Regional Strike Structure (pdf)

What happens to our negotiations if a federal election is called?

PSAC currently has two weeks of negotiations scheduled for our PA, EB, SV and FB bargaining units; one week in September, one in October. The TC group is in the process of establishing dates for mediation this fall.

It is our intention to proceed with negotiations if an election is called. There are no legal restrictions that would prevent Treasury Board and other Agency employers from bargaining during an election period.

The union also intends to continue its negotiation of Essential Services Agreements, including hearings before the Public Service Labour Relations Board, during the election period, if one is called. There is no legal restriction that prevents the Board from continuing this work during a federal election.

Conducting a strike is prohibited when a federal election takes place. However, if an election is held this fall, this restriction will not affect our negotiations with Treasury Board, Parks Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The government we elect has a direct impact on our negotiations

PSAC members working in the federal public sector aren’t just electing a government, they’re electing their employer.

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Your union is raring to get back to bargaining with Treasury Board with negotiations set to resume in the coming weeks.

The bargaining-session dates for each TB unit are as follows:

• FB � four days September 30 to October 3
• SV � four days September 30 to October 3
• EB � four days October 6 to 9
• PA � four days October 6 to 9
• Future dates to be determined by each team
• TC � The union is still in talks with the employer to establish dates for the TC bargaining unit. The dates will be posted once they are confirmed.

After a year of frustrations at the bargaining table, your union sincerely hopes the employer is now ready to seriously negotiate fair contracts and seriously address the issues of wage parity and contracting out.

Your union is determined to fight for fair wages and for protecting quality public services. We ask for your continued support. Visit this web site regularly for future updates on negotiations.

In June we distributed a list of summer suggestions (pdf) on how you can support your bargaining team and challenged people to check off as many support actions by Labour Day. Well, Labour Day is just three weeks away so take a peek and see (pdf), you probably have done more than you think!

You can check off three of the things today by:

• signing up for the Regional TB bargaining e-info bulletin
• writing to your Member of Parliament regarding the value of public services and the public servants who provide them
• helping get the word out about bargaining and Think Public! at some upcoming summer events by leafleting and gathering public support. Please contact one of our two summer students who are looking for volunteers to help them out until August 30. Ria can be contacted in the Vancouver RO or at rknishikawara@gmail.com and Jade can be contacted at jade.kennedy101@gmail.com or the Victoria RO.

We’ll be back to the bargaining table soon. Make sure your views are heard before then!

Treasury Board has recently attempted to shift the blame onto the PSAC for canceling what were only tentative bargaining dates in June. If anyone’s responsible for bargaining not taking place in June, it’s Treasury Board.

PSAC has already been at the bargaining table for a year. What we’ve heard most from Treasury Board is NO, NO and more NO.

• NO to the elimination of regional pay zones
• NO to pay adjustments to bring our members’ salaries in line with the private and public sectors
• NO to important demands such as job security for CBSA members affected by the arming initiative.

At the same time, it has taken a year for Treasury Board to put any pressure on departments to submit their proposals for essential services. Treasury Board knows very well that Essential Services Agreements must be signed before members can take legal strike action. The longer they drag this process out, the more they think it will weaken the union’s ability to negotiate fair settlements for our members.

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Treasury Board has recently attempted to shift the blame onto the PSAC for cancelling what were only tentative bargaining dates in June. If anyone’s responsible for bargaining not taking place in June, it’s Treasury Board.

• Send an email to your MP: let them know Public Services make a difference!

PSAC has already been at the bargaining table for a year. What we’ve heard most from Treasury Board is NO, NO and more NO.

• NO to the elimination of regional pay zones
• NO to pay adjustments to bring our members’ salaries in line with the private and public sectors
• NO to important demands such as job security for CBSA members affected by the arming initiative.

At the same time, it has taken a year for Treasury Board to put any pressure on departments to submit their proposals for essential services. Treasury Board knows very well that Essential Services Agreements must be signed before members can take legal strike action. The longer they drag this process out, the more they think it will weaken the union’s ability to negotiate fair settlements for our members.

Don’t be fooled by pious words from Treasury Board about how they’re committed to the bargaining process and to a settlement.

• During the last year, Treasury Board could have treated our demands seriously at the table. All they’ve done so far is withdraw most of their demands for take-aways. It has taken us a year to get back to square one.
• Treasury Board could have put a serious wage offer on the table, dealing with all our pay problems, not just 1.5% and 1.2%.
• Treasury Board could have proposed a shorter agreement instead of trying to lock our members into a four-year agreement.

It’s time to show Treasury Board who’s really to blame for the fact that we’re fast approaching the one-year anniversary date of our members being without a new agreement.

June 19 is your opportunity to join with your co-workers to tell the employer that you deserve to be treated with respect. Stay tuned to the website for actions planned near you, or sign up for the TB regional bargaining update email list.

Our bargaining team members aren’t the only people who were angered by Treasury Board’s wage offer of 1.5% and 1.2%.

As your National President, I’m disgusted that the employer would show so little respect for the work that our members perform every day for Canadians across the country, in all walks of life.

Our members provide quality public services. All we expect is a fair increase that protects our purchasing power and provides fair compensation.

It’s not that the government couldn’t do better. The Treasury Board offer is a far cry from the settlement our Union negotiated just last fall with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Not only do our Treasury Board members have to put up with a dinosaur of a classification system that doesn’t recognize the work they do, and outdated notions like regional rates of pay, they’re now being offered increases that don’t even match the increases in the cost of living.

Your bargaining team members and your elected officers are speaking out against the government’s wage offer. But we need you to speak out too.

We’re coming up to the one-year anniversary of the expiry date of most of our agreements with Treasury Board.

One year later and we still don’t have a new collective agreement – just a miserable wage offer.

I urge all of you to participate in activities being planned for June 19. Look for information from your Local/Branch and from the PSAC regional office in your area.

We need to send a loud and strong message to this government that we expect and demand better. You’re worth it!

In solidarity, John Gordon, National President

Attention to all members of the DD, EG, GT, PI, PY and TI pay groups.

Your Bargaining Team encourages PSAC members to register for the automatic email update on the PSAC National Website and for regional bargaining updates at psacbc.com

Your TC Bargaining Team was in from May 26th to 28th, marking the one-year anniversary of our first meetings with the employer and this round of Collective “Barguing” (Bargaining/Arguing).

To date, still the employer has not agreed to a single substantive change in the collective agreement. Further, unlike the PA Table where the Employer withdrew all of their clawbacks, the clawbacks still remain at the TC Table.

We presented further arguments on:

• Article 34.09 Travelling Status Leave – the Employer said NO and that there was no flexibility to change;
• Article 43 Maternity Related Reassignment – the Employer does not see a problem at the TC Table;
• Article 54 Education Leave – the Employer does not believe that any requests have been unreasonably withheld;
• Article 65 Pay Administration (Acting Pay 65.09) – the Employer said “Employees at TC cannot substantially perform the duties in only one day”;
• New Article for No Contracting Out – the Employer said NO because they need the flexibility;
• Sessional Leave for members in the Translation Bureau – these employees were recently reclassified to the TC Table so we want to sign an MOU (Memorandum Of Understanding), as soon as possible, to ensure these members continue to receive this benefit but the Employer has refused to sign. Even though these members have previously negotiated for this benefit, the employer insists that we sacrifice something in order to get this back;
• Appendix D – MOU for Search and Rescue (SAR) Controllers – the Employer will research;
• New GT Enforcement Allowance – the Employer will research.

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