Please note, where there is nothing to report, no update will be provided.

12 December 2011:

Notice to Bargain has been served for all RCEA bargaining units. We are in the process of finalizing demands.

As always, comments and suggestions from members are always welcome.

9 December 2010:

We are heading into what promises to be another difficult round of bargaining.  Many of you are undoubtedly familiar with what has been transpiring in the public service, with the PSAC recently ratifying a controversial collective agreement.  In that agreement, the PSAC agreed to substantial changes in severance pay in exchange for a small increase in pay.  This was agreed to after the Treasury Board approached the PSAC and invited them to participate in exploratory talks.

Despite statements from the President of the Treasury Board, not all unions have been invited to participate in these “exploratory” talks.  To date, the NRC has not approached the RCEA.  And we are happy about this.  We are not interested in proceeding in the manner that TB and the PSAC did.  All our collective agreements will expire over the next twelve months.  There are many areas that require improvement in those agreements and we are looking forward to a proper and productive round of bargaining. But this does not mean that we are prepared to make the same kind of concessions that the PSAC did.  We believe that severance pay is an important benefit that should remain intact. 

Collective agreement expires December 21, 2011.

1 October 2009:

The AD, AS, CS and PG Collective Agreements have now been signed, with an effective date of October 1, 2009.

27 July 2009:

CS Group Ratifies Collective Agreement: On July 27, ballots were counted. The tentative agreement has been ratified and NRC has been advised. The NRC now has to get the approval of the Governor–in–Council. We do not know how long this will take and we have no control over the timing. Once the GIC has approved the tentative agreement, it will be signed by the RCEA and the NRC. From that date of signing, NRC will have 90 calendar days to implement the terms of the new agreement, including retroactive pay.

8 June 2009:

Tentative Agreements Reached for AD, AS, CS and PG Groups

On June 3, tentative agreements were reached for the four above mentioned groups.  Wage increases for these groups are based on the legislated increases as per the Expenditure Restraint Act.  They are as follows:

2007/2008 – 2.3%
2008/2009 – 1.5%
2009/2010 – 1.5%
2010/2011 – 1.5%

The AD an AS Groups will get the 2008-2011 increases as they have already received an increase for 2007/2008.  The CS and PG Groups will get all four increases.

There are some other proposed changes to the collective agreements. These will be explained in more detail in the ratification packages that will be sent out within several weeks.

20 April 2009:

The bargaining team met in early March. At that time, a decision was made to propose a settlement to NRC. The proposal was to renew the collective agreement as is, with the exception of rates of pay which would be increased as per the budget legislation. The proposal was submitted on March 16. We are awaiting the response of NRC.

February 2009:

On Friday, February 7, the Conservative government introduced an omnibus bill to implement the provisions of the federal budget. Bill C-10 includes two sections that directly impact NRC employees: one section that provides for legislated wage rates for federal public sector workers and another that proposes a wholesale overhaul of federal pay equity legislation.

The Expenditure Restraint Act provides for wage increases as follows:

2006-2007 fiscal year – 2.5%
2007-2008 fiscal year – 2.3%
2008-2009 fiscal year – 1.5%
2009-2010 fiscal year – 1.5%
2010-2011 fiscal year – 1.5%

The legislation also prohibits any increases to what it terms “additional remuneration” which means that there can be no positive change to any so called “monetary items”. Collective bargaining remains as do the rights to arbitration and strike. In reality, what this seems to suggest is that unions can go to the bargaining table, but they can only talk about issues and provisions that have no cost attached to them. For all intents and purposes, the government has frozen collective bargaining for the next two years.

None of the RCEA bargaining units have agreements that will be affected by the roll backs contained in the legislation. All our bargaining units will be covered by the 2.3%, 1.5%, 1.5% and 1.5% increases.

The legislation must now make its way through the Parliamentary process. We do not know how long that will take. In the meantime, we will be attempting to resume bargaining on the non-monetary issues for the TO group and to commence bargaining for our other groups.

With respect to pay equity, the proposed legislation changes the entire framework in which pay equity complaints can be made. It changes pay equity from a human rights issue to a compensation issue that must be addressed through collective bargaining. If it is not resolved during bargaining, there can be financial and other penalties. There is a complaint process, but only by individual members and without the support of the union. There are also fines of up to $50,000 if the union encourages or assists a member in making a complaint.

This pay equity proposal is unwieldy and impossible for a union the size of the RCEA. It remains to be seen whether there be will changes to the legislation and if not, how it will be implemented.

3 December 2008:

Collective Bargaining Update

Last week, on November 27, after attempting to engage in meaningful discussions with NRC on the Final Offers, the RCEA Management Committee and representatives of all Bargaining Committees, decided to decline these offers. The offers included wage increases for the CS, OP, PG and TO Groups of 2.3% in 2007-2008 and 1.5% in each of the next three years. For the AD and AS Groups, the wage increases were 1.5% per year for three years starting in 2008-2009. Also in the offers was the demand that the OP, PG and TO Groups agree to a 35 day cap on vacation leave carry-over with a 10 day per year drawdown for any member with more than 35 days in their carry over bank. For the AD and CS Groups, who already have a 35 day cap, the demand was for the 10 day per year drawdown. The AS Group already has these provisions. For all groups except the AS Group, these demands represent significant reductions in benefits.

The RCEA was prepared to accept the wage offers for all groups. We were even prepared to consider the cap on vacation carry over. All attempts to negotiate the drawdown were met with refusals from NRC, until the very last minute, when it became apparent that the Government’s Economic Statement would not include such provisions.
Representatives of the RCEA deliberated long and hard about these offers. At the end of the day, it was felt that we could not, in good conscience accept these provisions. As it turned out, on November 27, the Government did announce the imposition of the very same wage controls but without any changes to current collective agreement language, as well as the removal of the right to strike. As none of the RCEA bargaining units are on the strike route, this part of the announcement does not directly affect the RCEA. We do stand, however, with our public service union colleagues, in denouncing this proposal. The right to collective bargaining and the right to strike are fundamental elements of Canadian democracy.

The situation remains extremely fluid. It was reported today that the Finance Minister has changed his mind about removing the right to strike. While this is good news for the Canadian labour movement, we have still to determine exactly how any legislative change will affect the RCEA. We are monitoring the situation and are seeking more information about any other proposed legislative changes. In the meantime, it is our interpretation that collective bargaining can continue on non-wage issues.

We have received many emails from members, some urging us to accept whatever was offered and others urging us to stay the course. As stated earlier, the RCEA on behalf of its members was always prepared to accept the lesser wage offers. However, we were reluctant to be intimidated into accepting other concessions under pressure through last-minute offers from NRC. Based on the state of current information, it now appears that we will have these wage increases, but hopefully will be able to return to the bargaining table to address other issues of concern to the RCEA and the NRC.

We appreciate the support we have received from all members and we will continue to work for the best deals possible for all members.

June 2008

Some volunteers have come forward to serve on the bargaining committee. Meetings will be scheduled over the summer to review issues and prepare demands.

March 2008

Notice to bargain has been served. It is now time to form a Bargaining Committee. The role of the Committee is to select a Group Chairperson, formulate demands, determine bargaining strategy and select a bargaining team. The Committee meets during lunch hours and normally up to 5 meetings are required. If anyone is interested in being on the Bargaining Committee, please contact joan@rcea.ca.

Recently, Treasury Board released a document called “Policy Framework for the Management of Compensation”. In it, Treasury Board sets out specific principles and an approach to managing compensation in the public service. The document has this to say about separate employers such as NRC:

Separate agencies may exercise their own human resources authority granted by their enabling statute or by Order in Council. This authority may be unconditional or subject to conditions such as prior consultation with or approval by Treasury Board. Separate agencies are employers in their own right. Most separate agencies require the approval of the Governor in Council to enter into collective agreements with the bargaining agents representing their employees. By Cabinet directive, 1967, the Governor in Council requires separate agencies, in advance of bargaining, to obtain from the President of the Treasury Board their collective bargaining mandates, including the objectives to be pursued and the limits to be observed.

This clarifies the difficulties that both the RCEA and NRC have with respect to collective bargaining. On the one hand, Treasury Board says that separate employers are employers in their own right. In the same breath, they identify the limitations to that right. It is these limitations that impact and delay our bargaining with NRC. These limitations are beyond the control of the RCEA. We are forced to wait for Treasury Board to identify and issue bargaining mandates prior to the commencement of any real or meaningful bargaining.

January 2008:

The collective agreement was signed on January 11, 2008, after the expiry date of the agreement. Changes in the new agreement are effective this date.

November 2007:

We are still waiting to sign the collective agreements. The last communication from NRC on this stated:

“We have still not been able to get GIC approval for the AD, AS and CS CAs. Confusion seems to exist between the minister’s office and PCO as to who can support the submission for GIC approval. We’re still working diligently to try and resolve the situation ASAP and I’ll keep you informed as things progress.”

And

“We only just yesterday (Nov. 5, 2007) received confirmation from the PCO that the Minister was the only person who could recommend to the Parliamentary Committee that a collective agreement be entered into.

All the concerns regarding delays, impact of the arbitral awards and negative impact on your members and the employer/bargaining agent relationship have been made. We will be treating these files as a top priority.”

All members should note that only the items covered by the Arbitral Awards have already been implemented. Any other changes, such as a day being equal to 7.5 hours and the change in sick leave (certified and uncertified), will only take effect on the date of signing of the agreements.

Notice to Bargain will be served within several days. Although we will be serving this notice, we will not be able to commence the bargaining process until several other groups have been settled. Please note that the TA will remain in effect until a new “new” agreement is negotiated with an effective date of December 22, 2007.

July 2007:

While NRC has 90 days from May 16, 2007 to implement signing bonus and terminable allowance provisions of the Arbitral Award, the remaining changes to the collective agreement ( with the exception of pay)  will not become effective until those items are signed off.  As with prior collective agreements, these items require the approval of the Treasury Board and the Governor in Council.  We do not know when these will be signed off.  

We have confirmed with NRC that they will be implementing the wage changes within the 90 day period, even though the salary adjustments were not part of the Arbitral Award. 

29 May 2007:

Details of changes to CS collective agreement and rates of pay.

22 May 2007:

CS Group Arbitral Award Issued (full text)

The Arbitration Board, that was formed to hear the case for the CS group, has rendered its final and binding decision. The entire decision will be posted on the website. As well, we will also post a review of all changes to the collective agreement.

At the outset of the hearing, with the assistance of the Arbitration Board, we were able to reach agreement on all outstanding issues with the exception of the following. As such, below find the issues before the Arbitration Board and their decision:

1)      Four weeks annual leave after 6 years of service – the Board did not award this change.

2)      The deletion of marriage leave and the provision of five extra days of annual leave – the Board did not award this change.

3)      The continuation of the Terminable Allowance – the Board has awarded this continuation of the TA.

4)      The deletion of the bottom three steps of the CS-1 range – the Board has awarded this change.

5)      Signing Bonus – the Board has awarded a signing bonus of $700 to each employee in the bargaining unit.

Economic Increases:  (agreed to by the parties)
                        a) December 22, 2004 – increase all rates of pay by 2.25%
                        b) December 22, 2005 – increase all rates of    pay by 2.4%
                        c) December 22, 2006 – increase all rates of pay by 2.5%

The collective agreement will expire on December 21, 2007.

Further details of all changes will be posted as soon as possible. Since this is an Arbitral Award, no ratification process is required. NRC has 90 days from the date of this Award to implement the changes and the economic increases.

April 2007:

The RCEA presented its brief at the Arbitration Board hearing scheduled on April 24 and 25, 2007. The RCEA will update the website as soon as we receive a decision from the Board.
CS Brief

March 2007:

Arbitration Board hearing scheduled for April 23-26, 2007.  This is a public hearing. It will be held at 235 Queen Street, C.D. Howe Building, 7th Floor, West Tower, Room 712, 9:00 a.m. All visitors to this building must obtain a visitor’s pass from the Commissionaire’s desk at the ground floor entrance off Queen Street.

January 2007:

We have requested that the PSLRB establish an Arbitration Board. Our demands have been referred to the Board. We are waiting for the PSLRB to establish the Terms of Reference.

December 2006:

The RCEA has requested that an Arbitration Board be established.  We are waiting to hear from the PSLRB.

21 November 2006:

CS bargaining sessions took place on November 1 and 20, 2006. By the end of the second day it became apparent that a settlement was not possible. The CS Group Bargaining Team felt very strongly that, with an agreement that expired in December 2004 and with the many delays that the group has experienced, at the very least, any settlement should mirror the public service CS group. After all, our bargaining has been delayed pending settlement of that group. The main sticking points were the deletion of the current Marriage Leave provision, the addition of 5 additional days of annual leave, and the deletion of Appendix A (Terminable Allowance) and Appendix B (Hours of Work). The public service CS Group (the main point of comparison used by NRC) has the additional 5 days of annual leave as do many other groups in the public service.

Your bargaining team felt that adding 5 extra days of annual leave would clearly benefit the majority of members, while the deletion of marriage leave would only impact a very small minority. The teams felt that it was very important to keep pace with the public service. NRC, for its part, did not invoke the usual refrain that Treasury Board had not given them a mandate (permission) to provide this benefit. Rather, they claimed they were not interested in extending this benefit and also could not afford to do so. We have estimated the cost of extending this benefit to the CS group, for example, to be approximately $350,000. Surely keeping NRC employees in line with their public service counterparts is worth this amount.

The next step is to request the establishment of an Arbitration Board. Arbitration Boards are three person tribunals under the Public Service Labour Relations Act. After the submission of oral and written arguments, these Boards render final and binding decisions on outstanding items to be contained in collective agreements.

We will be seeking decisions on several outstanding items, including the terminable allowance, pay and duration.

Your bargaining team has decided that, despite the length of time since the expiry of the current agreement, they will not be hurried into a poor agreement. They feel it is more important to get the best agreement possible. We trust that all CS group members will support the RCEA in this.

Please note that the CS Terminable Allowance will remain in effect until a new agreement is signed or an Arbitral Award is issued. Please let us know if you do not receive your January 2007 allowance.

November 2006:

Bargaining took place on October 16 and was scheduled to resume on November 1, 2006. This date was postponed until November 20, 2006 due to the fact that NRC does not yet have a mandate from Treasury Board.

October 2006:

Bargaining is scheduled for October 16, 2006.

September 2006:

Bargaining is scheduled for October 16.

June 2006:

The Public Service CS Group has reached a tentative agreement. We have approached NRC to see how soon we can begin our bargaining now that PIPS has settled. They are examining the PS settlement and will get back to us shortly.

March 2006:

We are still waiting to see what happens with the PIPS CS Group. NRC is not prepared to bargain until the issues with the public service group are resolved. We appreciate the patience of all our members during this time. We know that this is taking an abnormally long time. PIPS requested the establishment of a Conciliation Board in February 2006. Once a Board is established, a hearing will be held. The Board will then issue a report and seven days after the release of the report, PIPS will be in a legal strike position.

January 2006:

No news to report at this time.

November 2005:

No news to report.

October 2005:

No news to report at this time.

September 2005:

Bargaining demands have been submitted. We are waiting for bargaining dates.

June 2005:

We are waiting to see what happens with the Canada Revenue Agency group as they are awaiting the results of their Conciliation Board hearing. They may be in a strike position shortly. The Treasury Board CS group is scheduled to go back to the table at the end of June. We are keeping a close eye on all these developments.

May 2005:

We are still waiting to see what happens with the PIPSC CS Group. They were recently successful in getting their terminable allowance restored. This will remain in effect while bargaining continues. It remains to be seen if they can maintain the allowance into their next collective agreement.

March 2005:

The Bargaining Committee met on January 28, 2005. Demands are being prepared.

January 2005:

The CS Bargaining Committee is meeting on January 28 to begin the process of formulating bargaining demands. Any members who have issues they would like to see addressed in the next round of bargaining should send an email to joan@rcea.ca. With respect to the terminable allowance, the RCEA has approached NRC about extending the allowance. We have been advised that NRC will extend the terminable allowance for six months. As everyone now knows, the public service CS Group has seen its terminable allowance terminated. PIPSC has filed a complaint with the Public Service Staff Relations Board and it will likely be heard in February or March.

December 2004:

Notice to bargain has been served. The CS Bargaining Team will be meeting on January 14 to start planning for the next round.

September 2004:

The collective agreement expires on December 21, 2004. We will shortly be serving notice to bargain and will be inviting members to send input.

Workforce Adjustment Policy: The Workforce Adjustment Policy is a joint document that deals with what happens in the event of job cuts. It covers the identification of surplus employees, the marketing of surplus employees, the rights and obligations of surplus employees and the benefits available. The last policy was negotiated almost 10 years ago. Two years ago, the RCEA and PIPS jointly prepared demands and recommendations for a review of the Policy. That review, with NRC, was completed on July 5, 2004. Significant changes have been agreed upon and the new policy will now form part of all collective agreements. The new policy should be signed and implemented shortly. If you have any questions, please call the RCEA office.

August 2004:

No news to report at this time.

June 2004:

No news to report at this time.

March 2004:

The President of the Treasury Board recently announced that the freeze on reclassifications has been lifted.

8 December 2003:

The new collective agreement was signed today. NRC then has 90 days in which to implement the terms of the new agreement.

24 November 2003:

The CS collective agreement will be signed on December 8. NRC then has 90 days in which to implement the terms of the new agreement.

November 2003:

NRC has provided us with the following chronology of events as they relate to the process of getting the new collective agreement signed:

Friday, 5 September - Reached tentative agreement.
Tuesday, 9 September - Sent request for approval to Treasury Board.
Thursday, 2 October - Received Treasury Board approval.
Wednesday, 8 October - Sent request for Minister Allan Rock's approval.
Week of 27 October - Pat Mortimer followed-up with Minister's office; they said it is coming.
Tuesday, 4 November - Received a call from Minister's office. Officer asked a few questions and said it will be sent shortly.
Wednesday, 12 November - Still not received approval.
November 13 - NRC was advised that the package had gone to the Governor in Council.
November 14 - NRC was advised that due to the upcoming government changes, the agreement would not be approved until December.

As such, it appears that we will not be able to sign the new CS collective agreement until some time in December.

22 October 2003:

The tentative agreement has been ratified and NRC has been notified. NRC is now going through their approval process. We expect that the new agreement will be signed within several weeks.

Performance Bonus: While the Performance Bonus Program was in effect, the RCEA challenged NRC’s refusal to publish the names of bonus recipients. That challenge was heard in the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division. The Court recently ruled that NRC was not within the law to refuse to provide the RCEA with the names of recipients. The RCEA will now receive that list of names from NRC. Here is the web site that cites the Performance bonus court decision: http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/fct/2003/2003fc1116.html.

2 October 2003:

The CS collective agreement has been ratified by a majority of the membership. NRC will be notified shortly. They must then go through the Governor-in-Council approval process. This should take about six weeks. Once this is completed, the new agreement will be signed. As such, we anticipate signing the agreement by mid-November. Once the agreement is signed, NRC has 90 days to implement the terms of the new agreement.

September 2003:

A tentative agreement was reached on September 4. The ratification package has been sent out; the deadline for return is October 1.

16 September 2003:

For complete details of the agreement: CS Agreement.

5 September 2003:

CS TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED September 3, 2003.

Highlights of the Agreement (details to follow on website and in ratification package).

Rates of Pay:

Effective:

1 May 2002
Increase all rates of pay by 0.4%.
22 June 2002
Increase all rates of pay by 3.6%.

22 May 2003
Drop the first four steps of the CS 1 range, add an increment to the maximum of all levels.
22 December 2003
Increase all rates of pay by 2.5%.

Vacation Leave:

4 weeks and 2 days after 16 years of service.
5 weeks and 2 days after 27 years of service.
6 weeks after 28 years of service (replaces 5 weeks and 3 days after 28 years).

The other vacation leave provisions remain unchanged.

Overtime Meal Rates: Increase to $10.50. New overtime meal allowance when working overtime on days of rest.

Volunteer Leave and Personal Leave: One day each.

Call Back Pay: If an employee is called back and can do the work from home, to be compensated in the same manner as if they returned to work – i.e. minimum of 3 hours at the applicable overtime rate.

Appendix B: Reference to CISTI deleted, only applicable to IMSB.

Terminable Allowance: Will remain in effect.

August 2003:

Bargaining will commence on August 25 and continue during the first week of September.

July 2003:

No news to report at this time.

June 2003:

We are waiting for NRC to get a mandate to bargain. No bargaining dates have been scheduled.

March 2003:

The Bargaining Team has been established and is in the process of preparing initial bargaining demands.

January 2003:

No news to report at this time. PIPS is still in bargaining for its CS Group and is running into some difficulties with Treasury Board. It is in the best interests of our group to wait and see what happens with the Public Service bargaining.