Your bargaining team has been meeting to prepare our demands and we’re ready to begin talks with the employer.
We have also agreed to participate for the first-time in a CFIA–PIPSC Central Negotiations Table. We are staying informed about other public service unions’ ongoing negotiations and agreements, and assessing what information will be applicable to our bargaining efforts.
The CFIA Central Table will be composed of 2 members from each of the 3 CFIA groups’ bargaining units: Scientific and Analytical (S&A), Veterinary Medicine (VM) and Informatics (IN).
The scope of issues for consideration by the Central Table are meant to be common and present improvements for all 3 collective agreements – issues that would benefit from a strategically unified approach for advancement by all 3 groups.
Once the Central Table team is formed, we will meet to confirm our proposals, with a possible meeting in August to exchange those central issues with the employer.
The S&A bargaining team hopes to meet with the employer in August 2023, to exchange our demands and start face–to–face bargaining.
The CFIA Central Table and our S&A bargaining team processes will probably run in unison from late summer to early fall 2023. However, at this point we are still waiting to confirm negotiation dates with the employer. Once we have dates and have started discussions with the employer, we should be in a better position to report any additional progress to you.