Article content continued

The deal with technical services staff, which include a number of inspection and enforcement officers, also includes allowances of up to $3,000 a year for some job classifications. Those include fishery officers, enforcement and wildlife officers, technical inspectors at Measurements Canada and labour affairs officers. There are also increases of up to 4 per cent for marine, rail and air technical inspectors and those in shore-based positions at the Canadian Coast Guard.

There will be a signing bonus of $650 for those in the technical services classification who didn’t receive a group specific salary adjustment, according to PSAC.

The tentative agreements include the creation of a committee to look at childcare needs. Family leave has been improved, including better provisions for extended family, PSAC said. There are also provisions more respectful and inclusive of indigenous culture.

The deal also includes the same workforce adjustment provisions that were reached in the earlier agreement. Those include changes that will reduce involuntary layoffs by allowing employees to volunteer to leave the public service, an increase of up to 15 months for laid off employees to find a position elsewhere in the public service and the right to union representation during the adjustment process, PSAC said.

The tentative agreement avoids changes to sick leave. The government wants to replace the existing sick leave with a short term disability plan. PSAC has steadfastly refused to make concessions on sick leave. However, they have negotiated a memorandum of agreement to establish a task force to develop a new “wellness” plan.

aseymour@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/andrew_seymour