In our last bulletin we let you know that CRPEG has filed for bargaining and that our next communication we would give a summary of the results of the bargaining survey.
First of all, a thank you to all of the members who completed the survey. We had a really good turn out. The survey analysis has been studied and the results incorporated into our strategy and associated proposals. The key concerns as expressed by the members were:
Job Security
Flexible Work-time
Pensions
Scale, and Merit
The survey results as a whole form the core of the negotiating teams’ priorities. More information about the results can not be released for fear that it could jeopardize the overall negotiating strategy. We realise that this may be frustrating, given that we all look to facts and numbers in our daily lives but hope you can understand that it’s to protect the integrity of the process.
In addition we have been reviewing all of the written comments that were submitted with the survey. We appreciate the effort made to submit them, and will use them to help guide our strategy and decisions as we enter the negotiation process.
Bargaining
To recap, PIPSC on behalf of CRPEG filed notice that we wished to enter into Bargaining. The next step was for the company to formally respond and that has happened. The negotiating team is now in discussions with CNL to come up with meeting dates.
Before the negotiations begin, CRPEG and the company have agreed to attend a work shop on Interest-Based Bargaining offered by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (MCS), a department in the Government of Canada. The MCS offers workshops to employers and employees in the federal jurisdiction on negotiations. This workshop is scheduled for May 18th-20th.
How is Interest-Based Bargaining different than what we have done in the past? The traditional method of negotiating at CNL is referred to as Position-Based Bargaining. In this method, employer and employee each develop a set of proposals that represent a new collective agreement (a position). Then the two go back and forth revising the positions until they reach some middle point. It is, by its nature confrontational. This alternative method of bargaining, Interest-Based Bargaining focuses on an issue or group of issues put forward, and the employee and employer groups work together to try to develop a solution to the issue that meets the needs of both parties. It is more cooperative in nature, and can generate more creative solutions for complex issues. Neither is right or wrong, they both have appropriate uses. It is our hope that participating in this may lead to a different path to the table and might promote a better outcome for everyone.