We met the CRA in mediation on Wednesday and Thursday. We came ready to negotiate. Unfortunately the Agency came to mediation with no movement. In fact, the Agency has not negotiated with us over the issue of compensation in the almost 2 years since they first made their wage proposal, despite our efforts to get them to bargain. The Agency made an offer to us. A copy of the Agency’s offer can be found here.
While there are improvements in their offer, in negotiations we told the Agency that we are not prepared to agree to their offer. Tens of thousands of other federal employees have received additional compensation as part of their settlement with the government. This includes our former co-workers at CBSA. In some cases there have been wage adjustments, in others annual allowances.
Yet the government and the Agency have refused to do the same for us.
Our bargaining team and the national leadership of UTE are unanimous: UTE members are not second-class public service employees. Severance has been part of our collective agreement for decades. We are now paying more out of pocket for our pension. The government has cut retiree health benefits. They want our severance, and the government has made it clear that it wants our sick leave next.
We want to negotiate. We want to reach an agreement with the Agency. But we deserve an agreement that meets the standards of what other federal public servants have negotiated since 2011, and we call on the Agency to finally bargain compensation with us.
Telephone town halls and meetings will be scheduled in June. Follow up with your UTE representative for more information.