(Montreal) The union representing 4,100 workers at Canada’s Food Safety Agency has declared its negotiations at an impasse and is asking for arbitration.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents them, as well as the agency, confirmed the information on Monday.
These 4,100 employees are responsible for inspecting meat, poultry and fresh produce and ensuring compliance with programs and regulations provided by federal law. They also take care of the maintenance of facilities and buildings and do administrative work.
The finding of an impasse and the union’s request for arbitration come after negotiation meetings since the summer of 2022 and a new meeting from February 28 to March 2.
During this last session, the PSAC reached an impasse. She also claims that the agency demands concessions from employees.
“After months of ignoring key workforce demands – remote working, dressing and washing time, job security and fairness – the employer’s inadequate offer was the straw that broke the camel’s back. . As if that wasn’t enough, the employer tried to wring important concessions from them by proposing to slash their profits, be it in terms of hours worked or on-call pay, availability and return to work,” the PSAC criticized in a statement to its members.
“The union team has made it clear to him that they will not accept any concessions,” the alliance warned.
Salary increases and teleworking are also controversial. Telecommuting is also at the heart of PSAC’s requests to the Treasury and other federal agencies or organizations.
Canada’s Food Safety Authority confirms that it “will now use the arbitration procedure under the Federal Public Sector Labor Relations Act” as requested by the union.
However, she “believes that the parties have not yet sufficiently negotiated and made all reasonable efforts to conclude a renewed collective agreement and that it is premature to declare an impasse”.
The agency says it is “ready to get back to the table as soon as possible” with the Public Service Alliance of Canada with a view to finalizing a contract that is “fair and reasonable for workers, employers and Canadians and Canadians.” .
“The agency understands the importance of completing these agreements carefully and urgently for a variety of reasons, chief among which is our responsibility to our employees who take pride in belonging to an organization like ours and the reassurance of the want to go further.” she concluded.
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