CFIA has rebuffed PSAC's invitation to return to the bargaining table in September, saying it is “now in the process of analyzing the PIC recommendations” and will let the union know when it has finally has a handle on what the report says.
The Public Interest Commission released its report on July 25, 2013, after a long delay during which the impartial chair attempted without success to restore a consensus on the three-person panel.
The PSAC bargaining team met by conference call to review the recommendations the following day, and immediately sent CFIA's negotiator a note advising that it is prepared to return to the bargaining table using the PIC report as a roadmap to a settlement. The union also proposed a selection of bargaining dates in September.
“Even if CFIA still needs time to analyze the report, it's bizarre that they cannot plan a return to the bargaining table several weeks in advance,” said Chris Aylward, National Executive Vice-President of PSAC.
In a postscript to the report, Arbitrator Lorne Slotnick wrote that he and the two sidespersons, one representing the union and the other representing CFIA, had reached a consensus on the recommendations last March. The PIC itself was convened in February.
The union sidesperson then asked for time to consider whether he would make additional recommendations. Ultimately he decided against doing so in order to order to preserve the consensus.
But the CFIA sidesperson then reneged on three important recommendations to which he had previously agreed:
- that the work week for GL/GS employees be reduced to 37.5 hours from 40;
- that overtime should be accumulated over the course of the week and employees paid for each total period of 15 minutes of overtime worked; and
- that wash-up time for meat inspectors should be increased with more flexibility in accessing that wash-up time.
According to the legislation that provides for a Public Interest Commission, if there is no consensus, the recommendations of the majority, or failing that, of the impartial chairperson, are the report of the PIC.
Your bargaining team will continue to press CFIA to return to the table within a reasonable period of time and work toward a negotiated settlement based on the official recommendations of the PIC.
