Bargaining Update - National Bargaining Committee, Negotiator and Notice to Bargain

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).

On August 5, we issued a bulletin to our members regarding the formal process for collecting bargaining demands. This bulletin was the official notice to Locals for the submission of bargaining demands. Locals had until October 1 to submit the ten (10) bargaining demands (in order of priority) that their members felt were most important to them. I can confirm that all demands received at the National Office have been compiled and are now ready to be sent to our newly formed National Bargaining Committee.

The UTE Executive Committee met on Monday, October 18th to take the final step in the creation of 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
  • Andria Cullen, Regional Vice-President, Greater Toronto Region.
  • David Lanthier, Regional Vice-President, National Capital Region
  • Eddy Aristil, Regional Vice-President, Montreal Region
  • Brian Oldford, Regional Vice-President, Atlantic Region

In addition to the members listed above, the National Bargaining Committee is comprised of the following Standing Bargaining Committee members:

  • Adam Jackson, 2nd National Vice-President
  • Jamie vanSydenborgh, Regional Vice-President, Southwestern Ontario Region
  • Dan Aiken, Charlottetown Local President, Presidents' Representative for the Tax Services Offices
  • Ashley Green, President of St. John's Taxation Centre Local, Presidents' Representative for Tax Centres

Furthermore, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) sent to the Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on October 15th, as required by law, the notice to bargain for the next round of negotiations to renew our members' contracts which will expire on October 31, 2021.

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. The draft package of demands will then be sent to the PSAC Collective Bargaining Department. The bargaining team will then be formed and will meet for the first time to review and finalize the package and to establish our final priorities. Prior to sharing the final package containing our bargaining demands with all Locals, 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.

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. We anticipate that the first meeting between the parties will be held in early 2022.

Finally, I am pleased to announce that the PSAC and UTE have agreed on who will be responsible for negotiating our next collective agreement. Brother Morgan Gay will once again be our negotiator. He is an experienced negotiator and 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's signature

Marc Brière
National President
Union of Taxation Employees