Report Back – Bargaining with the Employer, May 8

On May 8th, the CUPE 3903 Bargaining Team (BT) met with mediator Chris Albertyn. Discussions focused on employment equity proposals (Articles 5.03 and 12.04). Members can see the proposals exchanged in the latest proposal package

Employment Equity

The Employer submitted counters to our proposals on 5.03 and 12.04 the evening before the meeting. The Employer’s latest pass was framed as a “comprehensive package of proposals” where accepting one proposal would mean accepting them all.  The Employer made a similar “comprehensive” pass on April 19, which the BT rejected by stating that we could entertain individual proposals as counters, but we will not engage with ultimatums, particularly not when they attempt to introduce concessions. 

Counsel for the Employer and the Union, as well as the CUPE 3903 Equity Officer, then worked with the mediator from the two employment equity proposals with a view to arrive at potential final versions that represent the interests of both parties, to be presented to the BT and membership for discussion. The BT is reviewing the mediator’s draft proposals, and is looking to schedule an additional mediated bargaining session before our May 29 weekend session with Albertyn. We are looking to sign off on these proposals in the near future, and then turn our attention to the Continuing Appointments Program (CAP) and post-retirement benefits on May 29 and 30. We will subsequently return to discussing the Transitional Continuing Appointments (TCA), LSTAs, conversions, and other possible job security programs. More details on CAP will be provided to members at our upcoming May 19 SGMM.

Next Steps

Members are encouraged to join us for bargaining meetings as observers. Exact times of all meetings can be found on our calendar. Please register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to join the meeting. 

Members can also get in touch with the Bargaining Team for questions and comments.