Fellow Members ,
I am writing to you to update you on the Memorandum of Understanding of April 2, 2020 regarding the wage and retro pay deferral affecting our members.
As you are aware on August 27, we participated in a teleconference with other bargaining units and senior leadership at NAV CANADA to consider further financial relief for the company in the form of wage deferral or reductions.
Following this meeting, your group executive and PIPSC worked hard on several scenarios whereby job security (guaranteed no lay off clause) could be obtained in exchange for the deferral or forgoing of retro pay and economic increases due. Multiple areas were explored including job sharing, reduced work hours, leaves of absences without pay, to name just a few. The dominant response was that “layoffs are imminent”. As talks progressed it became clear to us that there was nothing we could do to prevent layoffs.
Finally, on September 22, 2020 forty eight of our members were given notice of their surplus status. Disappointingly, but a true indication on how the pandemic is impacting the company, NAV CANADA continued the quest for a wage deferral from our group. Unfortunately, with nothing to offer in exchange for this massive ask, your executive was left with no alternative but to indicate to the company that they should proceed to apply the increase of 3% that was due on May 1, 2020 to our salaries and pay all outstanding retro pay due to us.
Therefore, preparations are underway with the company to apply the economic increase of 3% on the last pay in October. All other remaining overtime adjustments and retro pay will be paid on December 9, 2020. These adjustments are also applicable to members who have been declared surplus and members who accepted the ERI.
As NCBAA Chair, I am coordinating regular meetings with the eight unions at NAV CANADA, all of which have been impacted by the layoffs, to monitor the situation closely. We fully expect to hold further meetings with NAV CANADA to be informed and consult on the status of the financial situation as it progresses
If you have any questions or would like to talk, we are here for you. Feel free to contact one of our group executives at the following link https://pipsc.ca/groups/nav/executive .
Sincerely,
Michael Simard
PIPSC NAV CANADA Group President
819-209-4152