A second Public Interest Commission (PIC) session for the CS Group was tentatively set for July 16, 2020, but then put off until July 31, 2020. It was expected that, after the employer concluded its negotiations with PSAC, it would be in a position to truly negotiate with the CS Group.
As always the CS bargaining team went to the PIC with a willingness to negotiate and to strive to reach a tentative agreement. The team was steadfast in defending members' priorities:
- a fair wage increase
- parity with other IT professionals in the federal government
- recognition of the important work CS members have been doing during the pandemic
The meeting was extremely disappointing. The employer’s pay offer remains 5.6% over 3 years – far less than the 8% over 4 years that other PIPSC groups received.
COVID Alert, the COVID-19 exposure notification app, is available for Canadians. CS members in a number of departments helped develop this app and will be maintaining it. The bargaining team is frustrated by the lack of recognition of the professional work of CS members.
The employer was also unwilling to discuss any other issues such as telework, members’ rights in performance reviews, or increased leave for family-related matters.
The PIC will now work on producing a report by early September. This report will be used in future bargaining sessions to help us reach a tentative agreement.
The bargaining team remains hopeful that we can reach a fair deal as other groups have done.