New Round of Collective Bargaining Begins

The four-year term of our current Collective Agreement came to an end in May and we will be entering a new round of collective bargaining later this year. However, that does not mean we are without a collective agreement.  The current collective agreement continues in force until it is replaced by a new one.  A new Collective Agreement will be retroactive to the date that our current one expired.
 

Please keep in mind that there is another process under way that falls outside of the typical collective bargaining cycle. As you will recall, when our last collective agreement was settled, the AJC and Treasury Board agreed to jointly carry out two pay studies, an internal relativity study and an external pay comparability study.  The AJC is first federal union to undertake such studies with the Employer.

 

We’ve been working diligently on addressing a number of issues and are currently waiting for an independent expert’s decision on a methodological issue for the internal relativity study.  Once we have that decision, we will be able to move forward with both studies and hopefully get them completed in the coming months. 

 

Should the results of the studies be favourable to the AJC, as we expect them to be, we will attempt to negotiate a suitable market adjustment increase in LP pay.  If those negotiations do not result in an agreement, the issue of a market adjustment in LP pay will be referred to binding arbitration for determination. Any market adjustment increases in LP pay will be retroactive to May 2018.

 

The current situation is somewhat unusual, given that we have two processes under way at the same time.

 

In our view, the pay studies process ultimately offers the greatest potential rewards and can likely be completed the quickest. While we complete the pay studies process, we are also moving forward with the process of negotiating a new collective agreement for our members. In order to do that, it is essential that we survey the membership. Your input is foundation of the process.  We are currently putting the final touches on the 2022 Input Survey of the membership and thought it would also be a good time to refresh our website on the collective bargaining process and perhaps answer some of the questions you may have about how we get to a new Collective Agreement. Please take a few moments at your leisure to visit the AJC website’s Collective Bargaining section.

 

We have already received some informal input from members on collective bargaining priorities, and we thank them for this valuable information.  We are also very mindful of the concerns that have been expressed about inflation and the impact it is having on our members.  Please be assured that your concerns about inflation and input on bargaining priorities will be top of mind for the Negotiations Committee in determining the AJC’s bargaining strategy.

 

Throughout the often-lengthy negotiations, regular updates will be posted on the AJC website’s Collective Bargaining section and also sent out to members who’ve chosen to receive AJC updates in their e-mail. We look forward to hearing from you on what our bargaining priorities should be, and remember, you can also forward any feedback, ideas or suggestions relating to bargaining to the AJC at admin@ajc-ajj.ca or to your Governing Council representative.