From November 29 – December 1, we resumed negotiations with the employer for the renewal
of our collective agreement. To make room to focus on the key priorities of our AFS members,
we resolved over twenty editorial changes on the morning of our first day.
With that out of the way, we discussed member and steward issues. The move to virtual
reporting without electronic communications has hampered our members’ ability to access key
information and support from the union.
Over the last 20 years, your union has agreed to numerous demands from the employer to
recognize the increasingly electronic nature of doing business at the Agency. We have agreed
to these changes to recognize how work is now done.
Your employer insists on blocking your ability to receive even routine information from your
union in the workplace by electronic means, in spite of efforts of your union over many years of
collective bargaining, including this most recent meeting.
We were able to reach agreement on several items to move our bargaining forward. We
appreciate the employer’s efforts in reaching these agreements.
We need the employer to come to the table with a mandate and commitment to work through
our key issues when we return to negotiations on January 17 to 19.
Your ongoing support is essential to our negotiating a fair collective agreement for all AFS
members.
Please provide your non-work email to PIPSC to ensure that you receive regular updates on our
bargaining. You can update your information at https://pipsc.ca/member-tools/change-of-
address.
If you have any questions, please contact a local steward or a member of your AFS Bargaining
Team.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our AFS members a healthy and happy
holiday season!
In solidarity,
Doug Mason
AFS President, PIPSC
AFS Bargaining Team:
Doug Mason, Chair
Chris Roach, Vice-Chair
Allaudin Alibhai
Simon Chiu
Jean Couillard
Shawn Gillis
Pam Kubicz
Mary Lycett
Dan Quinn
Al Ravjiani
Robert Trudeau
Vance Coulas, Negotiator