Treasury Board seeks contract concessions as bargaining continues

Negotiations for the PA group continue in the first week of October, and your bargaining team is looking for your support. The employer is seeking roll-backs in the contract and needs to hear our response: forget concessions!

Bargaining with the Treasury Board is always a challenge, but in this round they want to weaken our contract in critical areas. Here are just a few concessions the employer is after:

• the elimination of the right to have a complete and current job description;
• the elimination of vacation advance payments;
• a reduction in the amount of vacation leave members can carry over;
• a reduction in the number of situations where double time for overtime work would apply;
• a reduction in the amount of overtime part time workers can claim.

The employer also wants to increase and/or adjust core working hours for some groups and specifically identifies hours of work at Service Canada as a topic for discussion at the bargaining table. The Treasury Board has also indicated they intend to table demands on severance pay and Work Force Adjustment (job security).

On Thursday October 4, you can show support for your bargaining team by dressing down, wearing a black armband or rallying your members at noon hour. The choice is yours, but be sure to send a message to Treasury Board that contract concessions must come off the bargaining agenda.