October 15, 2007

December Treasury Board Negotiation Dates Postponed

Postponement of our December Treasury Board bargaining sessions has become necessary, due to delays with the Essential Service Agreements (ESAs) and the compensation studies.

Essential Service Agreements

To date, many Departments have not met their legal obligations to provide the most basic information in regards to essential services agreements. This has resulted in PSAC filing complaints with the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB), in order to force Departments to provide the necessary information to conclude the ESAs. While we are pushing the PSLRB to act on our complaints, we are also continuing to seek the information from the Departments.

Previously known as designations, these agreements identify essential tasks that must continue in the event of a strike between the parties. The completion of ESAs is an integral part of the negotiations process; this employer inaction is therefore causing delays in bargaining.

Compensation Studies

At the request of PSAC and Treasury Board, the PSLRB is conducting two compensation studies; one examining Treasury Board employees performing enforcement work, and another for members of the Technical Services (TC) bargaining unit. These compensation studies were expected to be completed by December 2007. Unfortunately, due to a number of circumstances, both compensation studies will be delayed into the new year. Your bargaining teams need to have access to the studies’ outcomes in order to proceed at the bargaining table. The results of the studies are critical to the negotiation of economic increases.

We expect most, if not all tables to complete work on demands that can be negotiated without the completion of the pay studies during the October/November bargaining sessions. Given this, we have postponed the December 2007 negotiations sessions. During December, negotiating team members will be engaged in mobilization activities in the field. We encourage members to participate in these activities, and remain involved in the negotiation of their next collective agreement.