Dear colleagues,
Our scheduled bargaining session with the employer, originally planned for June 10 through 12, encountered complications once again. Despite efforts to secure three full days for negotiations, we were only able to meet on June 11 and 12 due to issues on the employer's side.
In our previous communication, we expressed optimism about addressing significant pay-related matters during this session. We submitted our pay proposal in February, but we have yet to receive a response from the employer. Unfortunately, during this session, the employer's focus remained on non-monetary issues. Moreover, we wish to inform you that your bargaining team was disappointed that the employer only presented an initial pay proposal, promising further details later.
The employer acknowledges the significance of the CFIA-VM group within the Agency. However, the initial pay package they offered did not include increases to align with the pay pattern established for all other groups in the federal public service.
The bargaining team is disappointed with the employer, and you should be too.
Why are we disappointed? The employer is not yet prepared to offer us fair compensation, and we are still waiting.
We know that pay is the most important issue for our members. This has been brought to the attention of upper management since at least 2022, and we reiterated the importance of pay at our very first bargaining session with the employer in November 2023.
Despite this, the employer still seems unprepared to present real solutions on pay to address our group’s recruitment and retention problems.
Your bargaining team remains engaged and committed to reaching a fair deal. However, we would like to remind our members that your CFIA-VM Group is on the strike/conciliation route and that if an agreement is not reached at the bargaining table, the next steps will be evaluated. We cannot wait indefinitely on the employer.
We are meeting the employer again in August, and we remain hopeful that the employer will be prepared to negotiate a fair deal with the CFIA/VM Group.
If you have any questions, please email us at cfia_vm_barg@pipsc.ca.
In solidarity,
Your CFIA-VM Bargaining Team, PIPSC