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.

6 September 2011:

AD, AS, OP and PG Groups

It is time to start our bargaining preparations.  Volunteers are still needed for the AD, OP and PG bargaining committees.  If you are interested in participating in the upcoming round of negotiations, please contact the RCEA at joan@rcea.ca.

All bargaining preparation meetings take place during the lunch hour, while actual bargaining sessions take place during normal working hours.  It is not necessary that leave be taken for those days.

Without enough volunteers it will be impossible to commence bargaining with NRC.

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 July 30, 2011.

7 April 2010:

The Governor–in–Council has approved the tentative agreement; the effective date of signing is April 7, 2010, NRC will have 90 calendar days to implement the terms of the new agreement, including retroactive pay.

22 December 2009:

OP Group Ratifies Collective Agreement: On December 21, 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.

18 November 2009:

A tentative agreement has been reached between the RCEA and NRC.  NRC has withdrawn its application for the establishment of an Arbitration Board and they have agreed with our proposal on the implementation date of the new vacation leave provisions.  The tentative agreement provides for the following wage increases:

July 31, 2007 – 2.3%
July 31, 2008 – 1.5%
July 31, 2009 – 1.5%
July 31, 2010 – 1.5%

There are a number of other changes to the agreement including an extra 5 days of annual leave after two years of service and the removal of the 5 and 10 day (certified and uncertified) sick leave requirements.  Details of all the changes will be provided in the ratification package, which will be sent out shortly.

5 November 2009:

We are headed to Arbitration. In October, NRC applied to the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB) for the establishment of an Arbitration Board.  They did this despite the fact that there was only one outstanding issue.  The issue in dispute is the implementation date of the vacation leave draw down. They proposed March 31, 2010 while we proposed March 31, 2011, a delay which will give members time to take the required leave.

We are presently dealing with administrative issues with the PSLRB. Shortly they will establish an Arbitration Board. We will then put forward the name of our nominee on the Board. A Chairperson will be selected and hearing dates will be established. We are in the process of preparing the written brief that we will be presenting at this hearing.  We will update the site once the hearing dates have been established.

8 June 2009:

The RCEA made a settlement proposal to NRC for the OP Group on June 2, 2009.  A meeting will be held very shortly to discuss these proposals.

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:

Nothing to report at this time.

March 2008:

Bargaining demands have been submitted. We once again must now wait until NRC receives a mandate from Treasury Board to commence bargaining. While Treasury Board has commenced bargaining with its own bargaining units, 27 of 28 agreements are up for negotiation, they have yet to determine or release any pay mandates.

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.

November 2007:

Several meetings of the Bargaining Committee have been held and the final set of demands is very close to being finalized and submitted.

July 2007:

Notice to Bargain was served on July 5, 2007. 

May 2007:

We will be serving notice to bargain for the Operational Category (OP). We have held two meetings with those members of the groups that had expressed a willingness to serve on the bargaining committee. From these meetings, a group chairperson was acclaimed by the participating members.  The group chairperson is Peter Sullivan (pete.sullivan@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca).  All group members are welcome to forward comments and/or suggestions regarding changes to the collective agreements to the RCEA office (office@rcea.ca) or the group chairperson. These comments and suggestions will form part of the demand setting process.

March 2007:

No news at this time.

January 2007:

It is time to start our preparations for the next round of bargaining. If members are interested in participating on the various Bargaining Committees, please send your name, email address and telephone number (by email) to joan@rcea.ca. Once the Committees are established, we will begin the process of preparing demands.

December 2006:

No news at this time.

November 2006:

No news to report at this time.

October 2006:

No news to report at this time.

September 2006:

No news to report at this time.

June 2006:

No news to report at this time.

March 2006:

No news to report at this time.

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:

Back pay should have been received by now. We understand that the new collective agreements have been printed. It is NRC’s responsibility to provide each member with a copy of the new agreement. If you have not yet received the new copy, you should contact your HRG. Do not contact the RCEA office about this as we have not yet received any copies.

June 2005:

The new collective agreement was signed on May 25. NRC has 90 days in which to implement the terms of this agreement. On another front, we are working with a classification consultant in reviewing both Controller and PLA jobs with a view to having more appropriate comparisons for the next round of bargaining.

26 May 2005:

The OP contract was signed on May 25, 2005. NRC has 90 days to implement the terms of the new agreement, including retroactive pay.

May 2005:

The Minister of Industry has signed off on the collective agreement. It is now scheduled to go before and be signed by the Governor-In-Council on May 10. If it is signed by the GIC on that date, we will try and arrange a signing date for the week of May 16. Once it is signed by the RCEA and NRC, the employer has 90 days to implement the terms of the new agreement, including retroactive pay.

14 March 2005:

Members of the Operational Category have ratified the tentative collective agreement. NRC has been notified. They will now begin their approval process. We do not know how long this will take, as the approval of the Governor-in-Council is required. Once this is approved, the agreement will be signed and NRC will have 90 days in which to implement the agreement.

March 2005:

A tentative collective agreement was reached on February 8, 2005. The ratification process is underway and the ballots will be counted on March 14. If the agreement is ratified, NRC will then proceed with its own approval process, through Treasury Board and the Governor-in-Council. Once this is completed, a new agreement will be signed. NRC will have 90 days from that signing date to implement the terms of the agreement.

February 11, 2005:

For complete details of the agreement: OP Ratification

February 2005:

TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED

Following several days of negotiations, a tentative collective agreement has been reached on behalf of the Operational Category.

Economic Increases

July 31, 2003 - 2.5%
July 31, 2004 – 2.25%
July 31, 2005 – 2.4%
July 31, 2006 – 2.5%

This results in a compounded increase of 10% over four years.

In our bargaining with NRC, they were able to offer additional increases based on a comparison of RCEA pay rates to the public service pay rates. These pay rates were reduced to an hourly rate for comparison purposes (taking into account the fact that NRC works a 37.5 hour work week, while the Public Service works a 40 hour work week). The hourly rates of our subgroups were then compared to the equivalent group and level in the Public Service. In those cases where our hourly rates were behind the Public Service, a wage adjustment of up to 9.6% in the case of Schedules 1,2, 4 and 5 were made. In those cases where the NRC rate was above the PS rate by more than 9.6%, no additional adjustment was made. The breakdown of these adjustments will be detailed in the ratification package which will be sent out shortly.

For Schedule 3 employees, adjustments of between 9.7% and 18% were made. This was based on the 19.4% adjustment made to Public Service HP rates, adjusted to reflect the fact that NRC rates were already ahead of Public Service rates.

NRC’s mandate was to, at the end of contract, match Public Service and NRC hourly rates on a dollar for dollar basis, bearing in mind that there are difference in the hours of work.

There will also be a classification change for some members of the Mechanical Subgroup. Two new subgroups will be established, Plumber/Steamfitter and Heating, Ventilation, Airconditioning and Ventilation. Conversion to these subgroups will be based on Group Classification Descriptions. Employees will be converted to the new subgroups and will then receive both economic and additional adjustments.

Other Changes

Day = 7.5 or 8 hours as the case may be.

Compensatory Leave Carry-over, year to year – 5 days.

Cap on Comp Leave during year – increased from 3 to 7 days at any one time.

Introduction of Variable Hours of Work (Compressed Work Week) for all members except HP.

Rewriting of Hours of Work Article.

Increase in Overtime meal rates.

Meal rates now payable on days of rest.

All the details will be sent out in a ratification package.

OP Bargaining Team Members

John Black
Andre Cousineau
Don Gulliver
Ed Renaud
Jeff Fraser (RCEA Vice-President)
Joan Van Den Bergh ( Negotiator)

January 2005:

Bargaining is scheduled for February 7 and 8.

December 2004:

Bargaining is scheduled for January 11 and 12.

September 2004:

WE anticipated that bargaining would resume in September, however the uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Public Service has delayed matters. The conciliation board report for PSAC Table 2 was released on September 10, 2004. It failed to address most of the important outstanding issues and certainly did not provide a foundation for further bargaining. Table 2 members are now on strike. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE RCEA??? Table 2 members will be striking primarily over pay and the wage gap identified in the Table 2 Joint Pay Study. These issues also directly affect the OP Group. While we could likely go back to the bargaining table with NRC, it is unlikely that they will be able to deal with these wage gap issues. It is recommended, therefore, that we wait until at least October to resume bargaining. We should have a better idea by then of how some of these issues are being resolved.

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:

Bargaining took place on July 20 and 21. Progress was made on non-pay issues. Bargaining should resume in September.

June 2004:

Bargaining is scheduled for July 6, 7 and 8.

March 2004:

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

NRC is still waiting to receive its mandate. No dates have yet been scheduled.

December 2003:

The bargaining committee met to review demands. Another meeting will be held in the new year and the demands will be finalized.

November 2003:

The Bargaining Committee is scheduled to meet on November 20 to begin preparations for the upcoming round of bargaining.

October 2003:

A meeting of the bargaining committee will be scheduled shortly.

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.

September 2003:

No news to report at this time.

August 2003:

No news to report at this time.

July 2003:

Notice to bargain has been served. Demands still need to be prepared and submitted.

March 2003:

No news to report at this time.

January 2003:

No news to report at this time.