This was the Applied Science and Patent Examination Group March bargaining meeting with the Employer. The Bargaining Team was ready to make progress on our key demands but it takes two to tango. We may have hoped for a “March Break”, but as there was no candy for Halloween and no gifts for Christmas, you can imagine the end results. With St. Patrick’s Day at the corner of our bargaining meeting, it became clear we would not see a leprechaun or pot of gold either.
The Employer came to this meeting with the argument that there are no recruitment and retention issues to back up our pay demand and that the SP Group appears healthy. They had additional questions and comments; we had further discussions, among other things on the definition of family and, thus, are maintaining the channels open to make progress on what we proposed.
If you want to look again at our pay proposal, follow this link: https://www.pipsc.ca/groups/sp/sp-bargaining-update-8-sp-group-pay-proposal.
Ryan Campbell, PIPSC Economist, joined us to listen to the employer’s initial views on retro pay calculation. This conversation will carry on at the PIPSC Central Table.
In the hope of making a deal by the end of June, we have recently confirmed dates for meeting in April, May and June.
Next bargaining dates: April 10-11.
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Better together!
Bryan Van Wilgenburg, Judith Leblanc and your SP Group Bargaining Team
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