CS Bytes #7

CS Bargaining Update

February 28, 2019

To all proud CS Group Members,

Your Bargaining Team met with the employer for the first session of bargaining from February 26 to 28. Our CS Group President, Stan Buday, gave the opening remarks taking a strong stance that this round was aimed at getting recognition for CS members. “CS Members must be given the same respect as others who do their work whether they be in the federal public service, private sector, or contractors.”

Unlike previous rounds of negotiations, the Group’s pay proposal was presented on the first day of bargaining. This approach was motivated by your strong message to quickly address the issue of a fair wage increase.

The monetary proposal consists of three different elements:

• The General Economic Increase, which is being negotiated at the Central Table for all PIPSC Groups;
• A 1.5% salary increase to regain parity with other IT workers in the public service; and
• A 6% Market Adjustment to address recruitment and retention (R&R) and other issues.

We are all aware of the difficulty the Departments have in hiring CS workers and their bent toward spending more on contracting out. A document describing our pay proposal is being developed and will be released to you shortly.

The list of issues discussed in this first session includes: Hours of Work, Information, Stewards, Strikes, CSSDA, Overtime, Call Back, Leave on Termination, and Reclassification and Statement of Duties. Both sides agreed on a number of simple administrative changes.