NFB Group Annual General Meeting 2017 - December 13, 2017

PIPSC NFB Group Annual General Meeting

December 13, 2017

Pierre Perrault Theatre, 3155 Côte-de-Liesse, with videoconferencing

Guests:

Erik Mackay, Employment Relations Officer, PIPSC
Claude Poirier, Negotiator

Attendance: 76 members

12:45 p.m. Call to Order

Introduction of the Executive and the Bargaining Committee

Approval of agenda moved by Mathieu Sheehy, seconded by André Bernatchez.

Financial Report

Darin Clausen, Treasurer, presented the financial report. The main expenses were for the President’s cell phone and the AGM. For more details, contact Darin Clausen.

Approval of the minutes of the AGM held on January 27, 2016 moved by Darin Clausen, seconded by André Bernatchez.

Presentation of the tentative agreement (see documents on PIPSC website)

Questions and clarifications during the presentation:

Will the increase be retroactive? Yes, as of the end of the current agreement.
Will there be delays due to Phoenix? Maybe. The employer has 150 days from the time the agreement is signed to implement the salary increases.
How do we know there are no errors? There is a tool on the Phoenix site to check.
Why not go for a longer-term agreement? The term of the agreement is dictated by Treasury Board. It is easier to wait for the inflation rate before setting increases, we could lose future gains that other Groups will get by negotiating more quickly.
Is “family” defined in the document? Yes. The document can be found on the PIPSC website under the NFB Sub-Group.
Are things such as the retroactive improvements to bereavement leave (except for salary increases)? No, the conditions of the agreement that expired in 2014 apply until the new agreement has been ratified.
Comment on logging vacant positions in the event of absence: Our name should automatically go into the log if we have to take an unexpected leave.
How do pay increases apply? The increases are incremental.
How long do we have to wait to get our retroactive pay? A maximum of 150 days from the date the agreement is signed.
How was the dollar amount of the bonus determined? The amount is based on what the other Groups received. There was no flexibility on salary issues. We would have preferred to replace this bonus with a catch-up increase of 1.0% in 2016 rather than 0.5%, but the employer refused it.
In terms of overtime for levels 8 to 12, how are we going to be able to get the time back? We know that this is an important issue for many members. The wording was changed to make it clear that the employer must allow employees to get the time back. A letter of agreement with the NFB was signed to establish a committee to examine the issue more closely.
Erik explained that there was a significant change of wording in the article addressing overtime and that we can now file a grievance if a manager does not allow us to take the overtime back within a reasonable period of time.
What is the ratio for compensatory time off for levels 8 to 12? 1 to 1
Have you negotiated vacation time? That is still on our list of demands, but these are long-standing demands.
It was confirmed that the sick leave plan is the same as elsewhere in the federal government.
The last question was in regard to what happens when a position is left vacant after a voluntary departure. The question was taken under advisement to be looked at later.

News from the joint classification committee: We have finished evaluating the PIPSC positions.

We have to align our results with those of other unions once their results are finalized. We hope to be able to complete it by March 31. Some positions will be changed to a higher level, others to a lower level, and some will stay at the same level. The joint committee has now taken over what used to be a secretive process.

Update on the integration grievances [sic] slated for arbitration: We have been told that a date has yet to be set for the matter. The FPSLREB delays are very long for all unions.

The AGM was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.