RCMP civilian members in the Computer Personnel (CP) classifications are rightly concerned about planned delays to receive retro pay. The RCMP is insisting it will take up to 180 days to issue retro pay because that is the timeframe for core public administration members in the CS Group. This position is unjustifiable, as PIPSC never agreed to an extended timeframe for RCMP members.
President Debi Daviau wrote to RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, urging her to intervene so retroactive payments can be processed as soon as possible, no later than 90 days from the date the collective agreement was signed. Unfortunately the RCMP Commissioner's response falls short on all accounts.
READ COMMISSIONER LUCKI’S REPLY
While RCMP civilian members are not subject to the terms and conditions of the CS collective agreement, the Commissioner is relying on a CS agreement to double the implementation period for retro pay increases, up to 180 days. While we feel this is unreasonable, especially considering that CS public service professionals were paid an additional $500 for this extended implementation period, we have confirmed that we have no legal recourse under the RCMP Act to submit this issue to an independent adjudicator.
While our members will have to wait to receive their well-deserved retro payments, rest assured that once civilian members have been deemed into the public service, they will have the full protection of collective agreements and modern labour laws. We look forward to having access to independent grievance resolution processes to challenge these kinds of abuses and protect the rights of our civilian members.