The bargaining team for our members employed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency met management negotiators the third week of June in Ottawa. It was the last session before the teams paused talks for the summer break.
Slow progress continued to be made at the table. Both sides signed-off on such issues as definition of the family, no discrimination provisions and leave for bereavement and family-related responsibilities.
However, major stumbling blocks remain. The CFIA has tabled a number of demands that would undermine current protections in the collective agreement covering hours of work, scheduling and overtime.
The employer is masking these rollbacks under its plans for so-called ‘Agency Transformation’. Our bargaining team sees them for what they are: plain old concessionary demands. And we are standing firm in protecting the existing rights of our CFIA members.
Dates are already being set for a resumption of negotiations in the autumn. For more information, the bulletin issued by our bargaining team can be viewed HERE.