As you are likely aware, a new collective agreement was negotiated with the Canada Revenue Agency. The new agreement was signed on November 13, 2020, and covers the period from November 1, 2016, to October 31, 2021, inclusively.
The new collective agreement is now available electronically on the UTE’s website. It is also available through the employer at InfoZone and Canada.ca.
While no amendments were made to clause 10.02 of the collective agreement, the parties did agree, however, to establish a committee to consider alternatives to the printing of approximately 30,000 copies of the collective agreement within the parameters of sustainable development objectives.
Clause 10.02 reads as follows:
- “The Employer agrees to supply each employee with a copy of this Agreement and will endeavour to do so within one (1) month after receipt from the printer.”
In light of this commitment, the parties have agreed to recommend the use of the electronic version of the new collective agreement.
Notwithstanding this commitment, some members may wish to receive a printed version of the collective agreement. Clause 10.02 above allows for these members to receive a printed copy, at their discretion.
For those members, a printed version is available through a pre-order request via the employer’s Forms and Publications Order Service site where they can select the RC4208 (collective agreement) which will be available in English or French format, depending on the member’s preference. Upon submitting a pre-order request, individuals will receive a message indicating that the requested product will be shipped at a later date. Please note that printing will be based on the number of requests, and agreements are expected to be available for home delivery early in 2021.
Members will be able to place an order for a printed copy through the employer’s site during a pre-set ordering window from December 16, 2020 to January 22, 2021. After that date, members who have not placed their order will be deemed to have chosen to use the electronic version of the collective agreement.
For UTE local representatives and Regional Vice-Presidents, we have advised the employer that they will require printed copies in order to fulfill their roles in meetings with managers, meetings with members during the grievance process and other such activities.
We strongly encourage all of our members to familiarize themselves with their collective agreement, including but not limited to the recent changes negotiated during the last round of bargaining to understand their rights and the employer’s obligations concerning their terms and conditions of employment.
In closing, we also encourage members to raise any issues or questions they may have with one of their local UTE representatives.