Collective Bargaining Update #8
The IBEW just completed another bargaining session with the Treasury Board and the news is mixed. On one hand, I can safely describe the process as actual bargaining. For the first time in years, the Treasury Board was prepared to make decisions and advance offers. But that ends the good news. The employer’s wage offer is below the pattern established for similarly qualified groups. It’s hard to know what to conclude other than the Treasury Board is not taking you or your needs very seriously.
Your negotiating team’s goal is to bring you a tentative agreement that it can honestly recommend for acceptance. Since we can’t recommend the latest offer, it is best for us to push back from the table and take a pause. We’ve proposed further dates to the employer and are waiting for them to respond.
In Solidarity,
Daniel J Boulet
Business Manager / Financial Secretary