Local leaders in Newfoundland & Labrador meet

Collective bargaining, LMDA reviewed

The current round of bargaining and the expected agreement on the devolution of labour market activities were the focus of recent meetings in Newfoundland & Labrador.

An agreement is expected soon between the governments of Canada and Newfoundland & Labrador to devolve labour market activities to the province. If achieved, the agreement would require the negotiation of an Employee Transfer Agreement (ETA) that would set out the terms under which staff would move to the provincial civil service.

Joining the local leaders to discuss the ETA was Alan Lennon, Senior Union Representative from the CEIU office in Toronto. Lennon played a leading role in the negotiation of the Ontario ETA that covered the 450 CEIU members who moved to the Ontario government on January 1, 2007. “Reaching a good ETA requires careful preparation” according to Lennon, “because there are a number of pitfalls to be avoided.” He provided the local leaders with an overview of the ETA process followed in Ontario and the main features of the agreement that was negotiated.

The group also reviewed the status of collective bargaining as well as the new legislation that is governing negotiations for the first time. For the union, the legislation presents new challenges in areas such as picketing. Lennon provided a summary of the new legislation which led to discussions on how best to respond to the new legal requirements.

“We were fortunate to have Alan with us this weekend” said NVP Denise Best, “his knowledge of both ETA’s and collective bargaining helped bring out new ways to deal with these important issues.” Best also went on to thank the participants, saying “People here can be quite creative when faced with problems, and this group showed it. And we have always been solid in strike situations, so whatever legislation we’re under, we’ll deliver like we always have.”