Date: September 1, 2023
Greetings Sisters, Brothers, and Colleagues,
After our positive strike vote, the West Park Crossing Bargaining Committee notified the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety that an impasse has been reached in collective bargaining and requested mandatory conciliation assistance.
The Ministry assigned Kevin Eckert, a senior labour relations officer, to assist in conciliation. The parties met virtually on August 29th and 30th. There are three issues in dispute – long term disability
benefit premium payment, reorganization of work and “line picking”, and the wage schedule, including the introduction of a wage grid and the term of the agreement.
Resolves to the first two issues were reached in principle, but the parties are still apart on the length of the agreement and the wage schedule. The gap between the Union and Employer proposals was highlighted in a membership meeting on Thursday August 31st where the membership provided their views to the bargaining committee.
Subsequently, the Union provided advice to the conciliator and the Employer that, in the Union’s opinion, the parties could not reach agreement and were at an impasse. The Employer expressed a desire to hold another conciliation meeting to see if there was a way to resolve our impasse in an amicable fashion. We are waiting for the conciliator to respond to see if such a meeting can be held in a timely manner.
Please stay tuned for updates as more information becomes available.
On behalf of the Committee, if you have questions about bargaining and/or your collective agreement contact the Member Resource Centre (MRC) by phone at 1-888-999-7348 ext 2298, by email at [email protected], or by using the contact form on this website.
Your participation in your Union makes us all strong!
In Solidarity,
The SEIU-West West Park Crossing Bargaining Committee
Selene Desjardins (Unit Chair) • Rubilyn Mercene • Staff: Lynette Pinfold (Union Representative) •Katelyn Thibeault (Union Representative) • Larry Buchinski (Southern Negotiations Officer) •Bob Laurie (Director, Contract Bargaining & Enforcement)