Sisters, Brothers and Friends,
I would like to provide you with an update on the preparation work underway for the next round of bargaining between the PSAC-UTE bargaining team and that of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
We recently issued a bulletin to our locals regarding the formal process for collecting bargaining demands. This bulletin was the official notice to Locals for the submission of bargaining demands. Locals have until May 16 to submit the ten (10) bargaining demands (in order of priority) that their members felt were most important to them. All demands received at the National Office will be compiled and ready to be sent to our newly formed National Bargaining Committee.
Indeed, the UTE Executive Committee met on April 22 and 23 to complete the final step in establishing the National Bargaining Committee by appointing the final five (5) members to join the committee, namely the following Sisters and Brothers:
- Kimberley Koch, Regional Vice-President, Pacific Region
- Kevin Welgush, Regional Vice-President, Rocky Mountains Region
- Cosimo Crupi, Regional Vice-President, Northern and Eastern Ontario Region
- Jamie vanSydenborgh, Regional Vice-President, Southwestern Ontario Region
- Eddy Aristil, Regional Vice-President, Montreal Region
In addition to the members listed above, the National Bargaining Committee is composed of the members of the Standing Bargaining Committee, namely:
- Adam Jackson, 2nd National Vice President and Chair of the Committee
- Jérôme Martel, Regional Vice President, Quebec Region, and Co-Chair of the Committee
- Tracy Marcotte, President of the Ottawa East Local, Presidents' Representative for Tax Services Offices
- Vannessa Erickson, Vice-President of the Winnipeg Taxation Centre Local, Presidents' Representative for Tax Centres
Also, I am pleased to inform you that I have appointed Manon Desormeaux, Senior Labour Relations Officer at the National Office, as Technical Advisor to the National Bargaining Committee.
In terms of next steps, the National Bargaining Committee will be meeting soon to discuss and select and prioritize the demands received from our members. In addition, the committee will provide Locals who have submitted bargaining demands with a brief explanation for each of their demands that will not be included in the final bargaining demand package. The draft package of demands will then be sent to the PSAC Collective Bargaining Department. After that, the bargaining team will be formed and will meet for the first time to review and finalize the package and to establish our final priorities.
Once the CRA and PSAC-UTE negotiators are ready to move forward, the two parties will agree on dates for the first bargaining meeting to exchange the documents containing the bargaining demands and to provide explanations for them. At that time, we will post all demands from both parties on the UTE website.
Finally, I am pleased to confirm that the PSAC negotiator for the next round of negotiations will once again be Brother Morgan Gay. Morgan is a seasoned and experienced negotiator who has an excellent understanding of the work our members do every day. We are very pleased to be able to count on his excellent services once again and look forward to working with him again.
In solidarity,
Marc Brière
National President
Union of Taxation Employees