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.  With respect to the AD, AS and PG Groups, we are examining the possibility of conducting bargaining for all three groups at the same bargaining table.  This would speed up the process but still leave us with three distinct collective agreements.

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 April 30, 2011.  Notice to Bargain to be served in January, 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:

PG 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:

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:

Demands still remain to be formulated.

July 2007:

No news to report at this time.

12 June 2007:

The current collective agreement for the PG group has expired. The RCEA has already given NRC our Notice of Intent to Bargain. Our Bargaining Team has been assembled. The team consists of the following members: Joan Van Den Bergh (RCEA Negotiator), Rob Lauzon (RCEA 2nd Vice President), Diane Gaudette, Laura Franchi, and Gerry Kennedy (PG representatives).

At this time, we are looking for your ideas, suggestions, and/or comments regarding additions and/or changes to the collective agreement and about the state of the PG community at NRC, and what you think we should attempt to strive for in our new collective agreement. All submissions received by the team will be considered and confidential.Your input would be much appreciated to properly reflect our PG membership’s needs.

Note: If you have not reviewed the arbitration settlements for the AD, AS, and CS categories, they can be viewed at http://rcea.ca/public/index_e.html. I would recommend that you do so, to see what other categories at NRC have been awarded. Any help you can provide to us for use on your behalf would be much welcomed.

May 2007 :

We have served notice to bargain for the Purchasing and Supply (PG) Group. We have held one meeting with those members of the groups that had expressed a willingness to serve on the bargaining committee. Since only two members came forward, they will serve as joint chairpersons.  The joint chairpersons are Gerry Kennedy (gerry.kennedy@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca) and Diane Gaudette (diane.gaudette@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 chairpersons. These comments and suggestions will form part of the demand setting process.

March 2007:

No news at this time.

January 2007:

NRC has told us that the agreement should be printed and distributed next week.

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:

We are still waiting for the collective agreement to be printed. We are told it should go to the printer this week. NRC has explained that the delay is due to the fact that PIPSC raised a number of concerns with respect to the French translation of the grievance process language. Presumably, NRC delayed the printing of our agreement because they wanted to have the same French translation in all agreements.

November 2006:

No news to report at this time.

October 2006:

No news to report at this time.

September 2006:

The printing of the new agreement has been delayed due to the ongoing negotiation of some common items, such as maternity provisions and the grievance procedure. There is now agreement on these issues and the agreement should be printed soon.

June 2006:

The new collective agreement was signed on May 23, 2006. NRC has 90 days in which to implement the terms of the new agreement, including all retroactive pay adjustments.

25 May 2006:

The PG contract was signed on May 23rd. NRC has 90 days to implement the terms of the new agreement, including retroactive pay.

8 May 2006:

The Governor in Council has approved the PG Collective Agreement. Due to
upcoming travel dates, it will be signed on May 23, 2006. NRC has 90 days
from that date to implement the changes in the agreement.

March 2006:

The collective agreement has been ratified. We are still waiting to sign the new agreement. In early March we were told that the approval documents had been sent to the Minister of Industry. Once approved they would then be sent to the Governor-in-Council for final approval. NRC has not replied to requests for further information on the approval process.

16 February 2006:

The collective agreement was ratified. NRC has been notified and will sign the new agreement once the required approvals, from Treasury Board and the Governor-in-Council, have been received.

25 January 2006:

A tentative agreement was reached for the PG group. It provides for the following pay increases:

Details of the other proposed changes to the agreement will be explained in the ratification package which will be sent out shortly.

November 2005:

We are still waiting for NRC to get its mandate and schedule bargaining dates.

October 2005:

Bargaining was scheduled for the week of October 24. It has been postponed for several weeks, until such time as NRC has a formal mandate to discuss all demands.

September 2005:

We are still waiting for NRC to respond to our requests to establish bargaining dates. We do not understand the delays.

June 2005:

Bargaining demands have been finalized and submitted to NRC. We have notified NRC that we wish to begin bargaining as soon as possible.

May 2005:

An arbitral award has been issued for the PIPS group. We will be studying this award. The bargaining team will meet shortly to finalize our demands.

March 2005:

The Bargaining Committee is meeting on March 16, 2005 to review and finalize demands.

January 2005:

In response to our request for input, a small number of members sent in their concerns. These will be used in the formulation of demands. The public service PG Group is scheduled to go to arbitration at the end of March. We will be waiting to see the results of the arbitration process.

December 2004:

No news to report at this time.

September 2004:

A request for input for PG group members was sent out via email on August 17. To date, we have received responses from only 3 members of the group. If group members have any concerns or if there are any items in the collective agreement that have posed problems or that they would like to see changed, please send your comments to joan@rcea.ca.

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:

Email request for input went out to all members. To date, only 2 members have provided input. In order to formulate demands, more responses are required. Email your views to joan@rcea.ca.

June 2004:

No news to report at this time.

25 March 2004:

The PG contract was signed on March 24, 2004. NRC has 90 days to implement the terms of the new agreement, including retroactive pay. The SIGMA codes to accommodate the new Volunteer and Personal Leaves should be updated shortly. The improvements to annual leave are retroactively effective to August 1, 2003, so make sure that your leave account is properly credited.

March 2004:

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

The Minister of Industry has signed off on the tentative agreement. It still requires the approval of the Governor-In-Council. The RCEA has made repeated calls to NRC about the length of time that this is taking. We will have an expired agreement at almost the same time that we sign a new one. That is unacceptable. This tentative agreement was reached on November 28, 2003. It is now March 2004 and we do not have a signed agreement. NRC needs to speed this process up.

10 December 2003:

The ratification package has been sent out. Once all the ballots are received, even if it is prior to the January cut-off dates, the votes will be counted.

8 December 2003:

For complete details of the agreement: PG ratification.

1 December 2003:

Tentative Agreement Reached for PG Group

On November 28, 2003, after two days of mediation, a tentative agreement was reached for the PG Group. The highlights of the agreement include the following:

Pay

1. Effective May 1, 2002 – increase all rates of pay by 1.6%.
2. Effective May 1, 2002 – increase all rates of pay by 2.5%.
3. Effective May 1, 2003 – increase all rates of pay by 2.5%.

This means that on May 1, 2002, members will receive a 4.1% increase, followed by a 2.5% increase on May 1, 2003. These increases will create parity between NRC and the Public Service PG rates.

Vacation

The improvements to vacation leave will be retroactive to January 1, 2003.

In addition to the existing provisions, the following changes will be made:

1. 4 weeks and 2 days of leave after 16 years of service.
2. 5 weeks and 2 days of leave after 27 years of service.
3. 6 weeks of leave after 28 years of service.

Meal Rates

Increase value to $10.50.

NEW

One new day of Volunteer Leave;
One new day of Personal Leave.

Transportation of Dangerous Goods Allowance - $75.00/month.

In addition to the above, and as a signing incentive, members of the group will each receive two (2) additional days of leave with pay. This leave must be used by December 31, 2004. It cannot be carried over and it cannot be cashed out. It is a one time only addition of leave.

The collective agreement will expire on April 30, 2004.

Full details of the tentative agreement will included in the ratification package which will be sent out shortly.

November 2003:

Conciliation is scheduled for November 19, 2003.

October 22, 2003:

Bargaining broke off on September 22. The RCEA applied to the PSSRB for the appointment of a conciliator. One has now been appointed. We anticipate that conciliation will take place in November.

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 22, 2003:

Bargaining for a new PG collective agreement has broken off. Your bargaining team was not satisfied with the last pay offer put forward by NRC. This offer included the following provisions:

1. May 1, 2002 - Increase all rates of pay by 1.6%.
2. May 1, 2002 – Increase all rates of pay by 2.5%.
3. May 1, 2003 – Increase all rates of pay by 2.5%.
4. May 1, 2004 – Increase all rates of pay by 2.5%.

NRC has made this offer to “achieve parity with the Public Service PG Group”. They contend that this is what your bargaining team asked for during bargaining. It is not. While we have raised the issue of parity with the Public Service, we have also raised the issue of CCRA PG rates, of compression with the AD Group and of the need to provide an increment, at the very least, to the top of all PG levels. We have also made it clear that the PG–1 level also deserved particular consideration given that a so-called promotion from the AD-3 level to the PG-1 level is, in fact, no promotion at all. This is just not a good enough offer.

In the interests of reaching an agreement, your bargaining team reduced its demands and proposed the following:

1. May 1, 2002 - Increase all rates of pay by 2.6%.
2. May 1, 2002 – Increase all rates of pay by 2.5%.
3. May 1, 2003 – Increase all rates of pay by 2.5%.
4. May 1, 2004 – Increase all rates of pay by 2.5%.

This means that we were asking for 1% more than NRC put on the table. This amounts to $13,677 more than NRC was prepared to pay. AND THEY SAID NO. They also accused the RCEA of treating bargaining for pay as though it were a “moving target”. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Your bargaining team has been very consistent in what kind of deal they were attempting to achieve for the group. Our move away from an increment at the top of each range and special treatment at the PG-1 level is a considerable jump. We were prepared to make a deal. APPARENTLY THEY ARE NOT!!!

Your bargaining team believes that now is the time to send the message that the PG Group will not settle for just anything, that the Group has issues to address and will fight to address them.

The next step is for the RCEA to ask the Public Service Staff Relations Board to appoint a conciliator to help the parties reach an agreement. This request will be made today. This will mean more delays in getting a settlement, but your team feels that the delay is worth it. If we cannot reach a deal, we would then ask for the establishment of an Arbitration Board. We hope that this step will not be necessary and that NRC will decide that it wants to send a positive message to the PG Group. But if we have to go to arbitration, we will. We are satisfied that we can make the case before an Arbitration Board that the Group deserves more than NRC is offering.

It is time for the PG Group to stand up and be counted. Your support is needed at this time. Your comments, as always, are welcome. It is now more important than ever that we speak with one voice.

Members of the PG Bargaining Committee:

Marc Bédard
John Lockwood
Gerry Kennedy
Joan Van Den Bergh - RCEA Negotiator

September 2003:

Bargaining will resume on September 22, 2003.

August 2003:

Bargaining will resume on September 22, 2003.

July 2003:

Bargaining took place on June 9 and July 8. Progress was made on non-monetary items. Another bargaining date has been scheduled for July 24.

June 2003:

Bargaining has been scheduled for June 9, 2003. While NRC does not yet have a mandate to bargain pay, we are hopeful that they will be in a position to deal with other bargaining issues.

March 2003:

NRC has completed its analysis of our demands and is in the process of securing a bargaining mandate.

January 2003:

Bargaining demands have been submitted to NRC. They are in the process of preparing their mandate request to Treasury Board. Once they have received a mandate, bargaining sessions will be scheduled.