Your RE bargaining team met with the employer on May 15-17, concurrently with central table negotiations. Our work was hampered by uncertainty about ongoing central table negotiations, and we continued to discuss mostly non-monetary issues. We are closer to reaching agreement on the issues of publications, resisting the changes to hours of work for the Historical Research group and resolving the pay disparity for the SE-REM group from the previous round of bargaining. We were able to narrow down the list of outstanding issues which we will be working hard to resolve in a bargaining push with the employer starting on June 10. Fair pay increases as well as improved language around RE members’ participation in the scientific community remain outstanding.
We continued to press the Employer on the DS-specific issues of the pay grid and mobility conditions at DRDC CORA. We ask that you support your bargaining team in demanding that the DS pay grid be simplified now - to include removal of the barrier system and slower increment rates. Phoenix has proven incapable of dealing with the current overly complex and unfair system without significant manual intervention, and we do not believe it makes sense to add additional custom requirements to any new pay system - noting DS are the only public servants in the core public administration who have slowed increment rates built into their pay grid. We support a simpler incumbent-based framework, such as those used by the bulk of the rest of the Group (most SE-RES and HR members). Your local stewards and Sub Group Presidents can provide you with a poster to show your support for the bargaining team.
The coming weeks are critical to getting members a timely and fair deal! Members can help by proudly displaying PIPSC and RE colours (including wearing blue on Fridays), and taking part in PIPSC events in your area — talk with your local PIPSC activists and see what events are planned on the Do Better site.