Bargaining Update

May 30, 2019

To all proud CS Members,

Your bargaining Team met with the Employer during the last week of May 2019. A number of days of negotiations were scheduled, yet talks were very limited and ended on Tuesday night, May 28. The Team was hopeful that the employer would return with a reasonable counter offer.

Negotiations this round have been divided up between a Central Table that dealt with a General Economic Increase to base pay for all Groups under the Treasury Board and individual Group Bargaining Teams that negotiated specific Group concerns. The Central Table reached an agreement that was announced on May 28, 2019. Gains achieved at the Central table provide a good foundation and your Team is confident that they will eventually be incorporated into the final CS tentative agreement. The CS Group congratulates those Groups that have reached tentative agreements.

The Employer has refused to acknowledge a recruitment and retention issue impacting IT professionals within the federal government despite insurmountable evidence to the contrary. The employer also refuses to address our issues of pay parity and a fair market adjustment. These unique and pressing concerns form the basis of our monetary proposal. The failure of the Employer to move on our demands resulted in no agreement being reached this week.

The Employer has not agreed to any of our other demands and consequently no articles have been signed off in this round of negotiations other than some administrative changes.

Your Bargaining Team will be requesting the help of a mediator and looking for extra days of bargaining in July.

Thank you to all those who showed their solidarity and their colours on the CS Day of Action and for your continued support.

In solidarity

Your Bargaining Team