Union News December 2018
We hear this question quite a bit lately and, frankly, it’s a fair question. There is a very good answer or, rather, answers for this.
Let’s talk about procedure first. After the expiry of our last contract we were coming into our convention, at which the national officers including the 2nd VP in charge of bargaining would be elected. This happened in July of 2017. Shortly after, in September of 2017 the presidents’ representatives from the Tax Services Offices and the Tax Centres were elected. That, with the selection of the bargaining co-chair and 5 RVPs created the bargaining committee. This bargaining committee was tasked with going through all the demands submitted by locals, labour relations officers and the staffing committee. This took two sessions in early 2018. Once that was complete, we reached out to the employer to set up dates for bargaining meetings. The earliest the employer was able to meet with us was June of 2018 which is when we exchanged the demands and began the process.
Now, let’s talk about the involvement of Treasury Board. You will recall that prior to our last contract the UTE and the CRA were able to negotiate a contract either before or on the date of expiry. This was because the employer was able to do so without having to seek Treasury Board approval on contractual items. Those days are gone. Under Prime Minister Harper, a bill went through the House that basically ordered all negotiations, regardless of Agency or Department, to be mandated and approved through Treasury Board. So, yet another step was added to the process and as we know adding steps slows things down.
Where are we now? We have had four bargaining meetings with the employer and we are scheduled to meet December 3-6, probably as you are reading this. We have also agreed to January dates as well. We have insisted that we are not interested in concessions and will do everything we can with your help to improve this contract for all. Your team has been clear from the beginning in our dedication to building a solid work/life balance contract and we will be exchanging economic proposals to match. We thank you for showing the employer your support of the bargaining team on November 27th and we will continue to push for resolution. The stronger we are together, the better contract we will get. You will make the difference.
Adam Jackson
2nd National Vice-President