ETA Talks Underway between the Employer and BC

Negotiation of an Employee Transfer Agreement (ETA) for Programs staff is underway between the two governments.

CEIU has met with Service Canada representatives on February 26 to form the Workforce Adjustment Committee. The union will use this forum, or indeed any other necessary pathway, to put the member’s issues forward and protect their interests as the transfer process unfolds.

Sister Pat Wakefield, CEIU NVP for BC/YT region and Sister Dianne Mitchell from the CEIU Regional Devolution Committee attended this meeting along with Sister Julie Paul, a staff resource person from the CEIU Regional Union Office. Well prior to this point, CEIU has been reviewing information on past ETA’s and working with resources within CEIU and PSAC to research technical issues.

Bearing in mind this is a negotiation between the two governments, it is important to keep CEIU in dialogue with the employer so we can have as much influence as possible on the final ETA. As with any negotiation, there will be times when there will be a blackout around news on the particulars.

It is anticipated that some of the key issues will be around job security, benefit entitlements, classification & wages, and pensions. These were among the topics discussed within the WFA Committee and further detailed discussions are scheduled in the coming weeks.

Aside from the ETA negotiations, there are related issues the union wants the employer to deal with now. To that end, there was frank discussion at this meeting around deployments in and out of Programs. CEIU continues to press for transparency in those processes. The employer has often expressed a commitment to the transfer of sufficient staff to the province to ensure the viability of program delivery. The union’s position is that the employer must maximize the options for programs staff. The employer has begun the process at the Director level of identifying positions and which individuals will potentially be in the transfer group.

The employer has committed to a joint communications strategy once the ETA is finalized to ensure that affected members can get the details they need to make informed decisions on, for example, pension options. Information on the Ontario ETA may offer some insights now but keep in mind that each region is different. You can find that resource material on the CEIU National Website.

In the meantime, CEIU will try to answer your questions to the best extent possible. You can forward your questions to the CEIU members of the WFA Committee via the Regional Union Office at:

TEL: 604-436-3120 or 1-800-663-3151
FAX: 604-436-3108
EMAIL: paulj@ceiu-seic.ca