1. Input is sought from membership via survey and feedback directed to Governing Council Representatives.
2. Notice to bargain is issued within a prescribed deadline normally prior to the expiry of the Collective Agreement. The AJC has opted and continues to either exercise its statutory right to binding interest arbitration, or where no such right exists, seek the consent of the Employer to agree to binding interest arbitration where the parties reach an impasse. Should the AJC wish to proceed with strike action in the event of an impasse, this change in approach must be approved by a majority of the membership prior to engaging in the collective bargaining process with the Employer.
3. Negotiation Team, which is mandated by the Governing Council, reviews input and develops a negotiation strategy.
4. Negotiation Team prepares collective bargaining proposals.
5. Negotiation Team and Treasury Board meet and negotiate the changes to the Collective Agreement.
6. Once both sides reach a tentative agreement, the parties seek ratification from their respective decision makers. In the AJC’s case, the AJC conducts a ratification vote for registered membership approval.
7. Currently, if an impasse is reached, either party may request that the FPSLREB establish an arbitration board to rule and issue a binding arbitral award. 

Putting the Employer on Notice​

Collective bargaining is initiated by a notice to bargain from the union.  This notice advises Treasury Board that the union wants to bargain changes to the current collective agreement. While every collective agreement has an expiry date, the terms and conditions of an expired collective agreement continue to be in force until they are replaced by a new agreement or a strike takes place (in the case of bargaining agents who choose the conciliation-strike option as the dispute resolution mechanism).

When we give notice to bargain, the union also chooses a bargaining path which is essentially a decision on the dispute mechanism.  Historically, the AJC has opted for the automatic right to interest arbitration to settle disputes, rather than the conciliation-strike option.

Meeting to Bargain​

The next step is to set up meeting dates with the Employer (Treasury Board). Once dates have been agreed to, the AJC and Treasury Board each bring their teams to the meetings. The union isn’t the only side that may propose changes to the collective agreement; the Employer can too. Union demands focus on improving wages and working conditions. Employer demands reflect the Employer’s priorities and may, though not always, take on the form of a requested union concessions.

During the meetings, each side has an opportunity to present their proposals and discuss them when the other side doesn’t agree. Depending on how responsive – or not – each side is to the other’s demands, these meetings can go on for many, many months.

While bargaining with the Employer continues, the AJC Negotiations Committee also meets separately to discuss the Employer’s reaction to the union’s demands and how to respond to the Employer’s demands. Bargaining is a process of give and take, and as talks with the Employer continue, either party may decide to withdraw some demands in favour of others. At the end of the day, an agreement requires both the union and the Employer to buy in.

Reaching a Tentative Agreement

The best outcome is when the union and the Employer tentatively agree on the changes that will be made to the agreement.  The agreement is tentative until members have had an opportunity to accept or reject it in a ratification vote.  TB also has its own internal ratification process.

When Bargaining Breaks Down

At some point, if the union and the employer can’t reach a tentative agreement, they can declare an impasse. In other words, they have gone as far as they can with no resolution in sight.

The AJC has always opted to exercise its statutory right to binding interest arbitration as its dispute resolution mechanism. Should the parties reach an impasse, either the AJC or the Employer may request binding interest arbitration. 

Binding Interest Arbitration

Interest arbitration is a mechanism used to resolve disputes in the collective bargaining process. In binding interest arbitration, disputing parties agree in advance to accept the terms of a deal as decided by a neutral third party.

The procedures and process of interest arbitration are governed by the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act and Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) Regulations. To trigger the start of the arbitration proceeding, a Request for Arbitration would be filed with the FPSLREB Chairperson.

The AJC and the Employer would typically request a three-member arbitration board that will decide on any outstanding matters at the bargaining table. The members of the arbitration board will be nominated through a selection process by the Employer and the AJC. If the parties cannot agree on arbitration board members, the FPSRLEB would appoint an arbitrator.

The arbitration board will hold a hearing where both parties will present their positions and evidence. The arbitration board will be required to consider a number of factors, including conditions of employment in similar occupations outside the Public Service, the need to maintain appropriate relationships between classification levels within the Public Service, the state of the Canadian economy, and the Government’s fiscal circumstances.

Finalizing a new agreement

When the AJC and the employer agree on a tentative agreement, the members have the final say. Information is shared and information sessions held to explain the changes in the tentative agreement and a ratification vote will be held. If a majority of members vote in favour, a new collective agreement will be signed.

If members reject the tentative agreement, this would trigger either more bargaining and in the absence of a further revised tentative agreement, binding interest arbitration. 

An arbitral award is binding on the employer, the bargaining agent, and the employees in the bargaining unit and forms a supplement to the collective agreement.

The status quo. The terms and conditions of employment applicable to the employees in the bargaining unit continue to be in force. This "statutory freeze" on the terms and conditions of employment remains in force until a new collective agreement is reached, or an arbitral award is rendered. Note that this freeze is not absolute, but instead refers to "business as usual" and changes cannot be made that would not be within the reasonable expectations of the parties.

The AJC can negotiate increases to the rates of pay, as well as improvements to other working conditions, such as leaves of absence, flexible working arrangements, to name a couple.

Under the FPSLRA, some terms and conditions of employment are not currently negotiable. A collective agreement may not, directly or indirectly, alter or eliminate any existing term or condition of employment or establish any new term or condition of employment if:

(a) doing so would require the enactment or amendment of any legislation by Parliament, except for the purpose of appropriating money required for the implementation of the term or condition; or

(b) the term or condition is one that has been or may be established under the Public Service Employment Act, the Public Service Superannuation Act, or the Government Employees Compensation Act.

This means that, for example, a collective agreement may not cover pension issues, benefits payable on injury or death, the assignment of duties, and the classification of positions.

If the AJC and the Employer are unable to reach an agreement, the AJC will avail itself of the dispute resolution processes under the FPSLRA. For more information on the FPSLRB´s dispute resolution mechanisms, please click here.