Newfoundland & Labrador sign LMDA deal

Union turns attention to development of Employee Transfer Agreement

The governments of Canada and Newfoundland & Labrador signed a Labour Market Development agreement on September 5 that will see an undetermined number of CEIU members move to the provincial public service. National Vice-President Denise Richey said the agreement was not unexpected, “But many members are anxious to see the terms under which they will make the move to the province.” Those terms will be set out in an Employee Transfer Agreement (ETA) that will be developed over the coming months.

Comments made to a reporter at VOCM radio by Shawn Skinner, Provincial Minister of Human Resources, did not get the agreement off to a good start. The Minister stated “the province has its ear to the ground on local labour market trends more so than the federal government”. NVP Richey took this to be saying that her members had not been doing their job, a point with which she took strong issue in an email to the Minister. “While they have been governed by bureaucrats in Ottawa as such, they have also been able to have input into the labour needs of the province and have been every bit as watchful over the changes” said Ritchey. “They have been dealing with clients and employers in this region for many years” she continued, “and have an in-depth knowledge of the fluctuations in the labour market. To that end I take exception to your comments.” (In a response to Richey, Skinner claimed his comments had been taken out of context by the reporter at VOCM.)

Turning to the development of an ETA, Richey said her region has already taken initial steps. “In May, we had Alan Lennon, Senior Union Representative from Toronto, brief us on the Ontario ETA process and key parts of the final agreement. It got us off to a good start.” Richey promised an ETA process that involves all of her affected members, saying “we want as much active input as we can get.”

National President Jeannette Meunier-McKay said the region could count on the support of the national office as they made their way through the ETA process. She continued by saying “The region knew this deal was coming and they prepared themselves well for the work ahead. Denise and her team will provide the leadership the members need to get a solid ETA.”