April 18 , 2017

To all SH Group members,

Some of you have asked why it can take weeks or sometimes months between the time a collective agreement is ratified by members and the day it is signed and implemented.

The reasons for this are, unfortunately, outside the Institute‘s control. Once a tentative agreement is ratified by our members, the next step requires the government to review and translate the related salary scales and other provisions. This takes more time than we would like and, despite the pressure we put on the Employer to expedite things, the Treasury Board does not always secure its required approvals or deliver documents in a reasonable timeframe. It should be noted that Treasury Board negotiators don’t bargain exclusively with PIPSC. At any given time, they may also be conducting negotiations with other bargaining agents, which further slows an already slow process.

While these factors may explain the delays we are experiencing, they do not excuse the Treasury Board for its poor performance in this regard.

For the SH Group, we have unfortunately not yet received the final texts in both languages from the Treasury Board. We will inform you as soon as we know when the date of signing is confirmed.

I’d like to thank all of you for your support and patience.

Please note that the actual signature date does not impact the effective dates of your salary increases or retroactive pay, which are laid out in the agreements themselves.

Better Together!

Debi Daviau,
President