First meeting positive, but challenges lie ahead
After delays caused by COVID-19, your negotiating committee exchanged proposals with the employer on Feb. 16, 2021, in advance of our first meeting on Feb. 25, so we would be prepared to focus on reviewing each proposal, provide rationale and engage in constructive conversation.
The changes we have proposed were gathered though interaction with members, consultation with our Membership Services Officer (MSO), and through a survey of the full membership to provide direction for this round of bargaining.
Our initial proposal excluded all monetary items, including wage adjustments. The employer provided a full proposal including what we considered monetary items, with the exclusion of wage adjustments.
Your negotiating team has since provided the employer with our full package excluding wage adjustments.
Our first meeting was mostly positive, understanding that this is going to be a difficult round of bargaining given the current austerity from the Government of Alberta.
We know we are in for challenges as we move forward through this process and, with your help, we will continue to fight for a fair collective agreement.
It was encouraging that the employer was open to discussing issues, and concerns, and we were able to sign-off on several articles including:
- Article 2 – terms of employment;
- Article 4 – management recognition;
- Article 5 – union recognition;
- Article 6 – legislation and the collective agreement;
- Article 20 – inclusive workplace;
- Article 24 – grievance procedure;
- Article 28B – Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP);
- Article 32 – maternity and parental leave;
- Article 33 – Court leave;
- Article 34 – Employment Insurance Premium reduction;
- Renewal of Letter of Agreement #2 – unsuccessful posting applicants; and
- Renew of Letter of Agreement #1 – student employment.
There are several articles outstanding that we believe we are close to reaching an agreement on with the employer and many that we are far apart, specifically where the employer has proposed roll backs.
The membership will have receive a full summary of each proposal via email. If you did not receive this, ensure your contact information is up-to-date by filling out the Member Information Update Form to receive future updates.
We have been able to secure additional bargaining dates and our next meeting with the employer is scheduled for March 22-23, 2021.
We will also be holding a virtual update meeting for members following our March bargaining session and encourage you all to participate. Details will be circulated later.
If you have any questions, please contact one of the members of the negotiating team and we will be happy to respond.
Your Negotiating Committee
Jenn Carkner – jenn.carkner@gmail.com
Kym Brown – kymbrown8.kb@gmail.com
Peter Steward – psteward85@outlook.com
Christian Tetreault, AUPE staff negotiator – c.tetreault@aupe.org