May 2007

We have had a very busy time since my last message. Much has been accomplished. Most members have received their pay equity payments. We certainly appreciate all the hard work by Pay and Benefits at NRC in getting these payments out. There are a few former members, however, who have been denied payment and we are examining ways in which to resolve these.

Bargaining for the AS, AD and CS groups has now been completed, following the Arbitration Board hearings for each of these groups. All that remains is to receive the Board award. Each hearing went very well and I am optimistic about the outcome. I would like to thank Bob Luce who took the lead role in the preparation of the briefs, Bob McIntosh who was our nominee on the Boards and Joan Van Den Bergh for all her hard work on these files. An Arbitral Award will be issued for each group. These awards are final and binding on the parties. Once the awards are handed down, NRC has 90 days to implement the terms of the award and the new agreement. The collective agreements will be printed and will include any changes agreed to by the parties and any decisions made by the Arbitration Board. The briefs presented by the RCEA are now available on our website.

We have served notice to bargain for the Technical Category (TO) and Purchasing and Supply (PG) Group. Notice to Bargain will shortly be served for the Operational Category (OP). We have held meetings with those members from each of these groups that had expressed a willingness to serve on the various bargaining committees. From these meetings, a group chairperson will be elected or acclaimed by the participating members. Once the group chairperson is identified, a notice will be posted on our website. All group or category members are welcome to forward comments and/or suggestions regarding changes to the collective agreements to the RCEA office or the group chairperson. These comments and suggestions will form part of the demand setting process.

The pension litigation court case is also ongoing, with the presentation of final arguments being the next step. The court schedule is as follows: April 30 to May 4, May 7 to May 11, and May 14 to May 18.

I have started my annual visits to the regional institutes. I have visited the Industrial Materials Institute (IMI) and the Biotechnology Research Institute (BRI). I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members who attended the meetings at BRI and IMI for their ongoing participation in the RCEA and for their comments and suggestions. The next visits are scheduled from May 7 to May 11 when I will be visiting the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) in Edmonton, followed by the Plant Biotechnology Institute (PBI) in Saskatoon and ending with the Institute for Biodiagnostics (IBD) in Winnipeg. Meetings will also be held during May and June in British Columbia, the Maritimes and Newfoundland. I encourage members that are in close vicinity of the various institutes to attend when possible. A list of institute visits can be found on our website. Please contact the Institute representative(s) for the time and location of the meetings near you.

I am becoming more concerned by our somewhat troubled relationship with NRC. It has not been an easy time and we are increasingly finding ourselves in conflict with the Council. I hope to meet with President Coulombe soon and will certainly take that opportunity to raise some of these issues.

As always, I appreciate hearing from any member at any time and I encourage everyone to visit our website on a regular basis. We certainly make every effort to post new information as soon as it becomes available.

I hope that everyone has a great spring and wonderful summer.

Sincerely

Serge Croteau
President