As you may know, the CS Group has not yet reached a tentative agreement for our new contract.
Since bargaining began, we have gone to the table in good faith demanding the employer:
- ensure pay parity with other federal IT workers such as the CS's at the CRA
- recognize recruitment and retention issues
- ensure fair pay to reduce outsourcing
- invest in training and career development
- allow union representation at performance reviews
The employer has refused to recognize these issues or put a fair offer on the table.
We then began a mediation process in which the employer again refused to recognize our demands.
Next steps:
We will ask the Public Interest Commission for a recommendation concerning our dispute with the employer. The commission will provide advice on how to continue negotiations and reach an agreement that satisfies both sides.
If the Public Interest Commission report doesn’t recommend a fair deal or if the employer refuses to accept this report, we will be in a position to take job actions up to and including a strike. You will be given the opportunity to vote to go on strike and we must have a clear mandate to do so.
This process will take us into early 2020. We will keep you updated as much as possible.
What this means:
You have seen the gains that the PIPSC Central Bargaining Team has won for many PIPSC members. As we move forward to get the best possible deal for the CS Group, your tentative agreement may or may not contain all of those gains.
We will put the government on notice — if they try to offer less than what has already been agreed at the central table, it will only increase our determination.
With a federal election just months away, we will not be getting a deal with the current government. The employer did not come to the table with an offer that would meet CS needs.
We’ve been clear and we’re not backing down.
If you have any questions about this process, please email questions_cs@pipsc.ca.