BARGAINING BULLETIN

No. 2

Compensation Employees Union #200 8120 Granville Avenue, Richmond, BC V6Y 1P3 604-278-4050 Fax: 604-278-5002

OnApril24and25,2012,yournegotiatingteammetwiththeemployertoexchangebargaining proposals.WhatfollowsistheUnionsopeningoutliningitsbargainingagenda.Moreinformationwill follow.

CEUOpeningStatement CollectiveBargaining2012
Goodmorning.Itsbeentwoyearssincewelastsatdowntothebargainingtable.Backthen,our memberstoldustheywantedawageincrease.Theyalsotoldustheywantedabiggervoicetoresolve workplaceissues.Butin2010wewerefacinganetzeromandatefromthegovernmentside. Thereisnoquestion;thistime,thingsmustbedifferent.Wemustresolvesomeseriousproblemsfacing ourmembers.Ourmemberswantafairandreasonablecollectiveagreement;includingwageincreases. Collectivebargainingisaboutfindingsolutionstorealproblemsintheworkplace.Problemsthataffect thequalityofserviceourmemberscandelivertoWCBstakeholders.And,problemsaffectinghowCEU membersfeelabouttheiremployer. Lookingbackoverthelastnumberofrounds,eachhaspresenteditsuniquechallenges.Somehavebeen amiable,somenot.Somecontractswereconcludedpeacefully.Somewerenot.Thisyear,Ipredictour greatestchallengewillbetoensureourrelationship,therelationshipthatCEUmembershavewiththe organization,isnotfurthereroded. OurCEUsurveytellsusmuchworkisneededtorestoretrustandconfidenceintheWCBsleadership.I willbeblunt.Weneedtoestablishaclimateoftrusthereatthebargainingtable.Muchofthedata regardingpotentialsavingsplans,overtime,recruitmentandworkloadlieswithintheemployershands. Wewillbeaskingyoutosharethatinformationwithusintheinterestsoffindingsolutions. Wealsoneedtomakeacommitmenttoeachotherthatwewillgivefulldisclosureofinformationlinked toourproposals.Bycommittingtotheseactions,wewillalsobecommittedtonegotiatingacollective agreementthatbothsidescanrecommendtotheirrespectiveconstituents.TheCEUwillworkhardto negotiateanagreementourmemberswillwanttosupport. Acrossthewater,Victoriahassignaledthepotentialforsomegainsunderitscollaborativegains messaging.Ourmemberstellustheywantawageincrease,buttheyarenotpreparedtoacceptawage increasebasedonanunbalancedandunfairhorseswappingexercise.Ourmemberswillnotaccept takeaways.Ourmemberswillnotacceptconcessions. Onthelabourrelationsfront,weknowthePartieshavehadsomesuccessoverthelastcoupleofyears resolvinggrievancespriortoarbitrationandwevealsonegotiatedMOUsonsomeprettyimportant issues.Itisthispositiveproblemsolvingapproachthatwehopetodrawonduringthisroundof negotiations.

Recoveringlostground
ThelastwageincreaseourmembersenjoyedwasonApril1,2009.Sincethen,thepriceoffuel,food andothernecessitieshasgoneupconsiderably.Notonlythat,butgovernmenthasseenfittoincrease feesonpublictransit,hydrocostsandotherthings. Thisyear,wesawsomeveryinterestingeventsemergeonthenationalandinternationalstages.The Occupymovementdrewattentiontothe1%.Canadiansarenowtalkingaboutthatpreviously mundaneissueoftaxationandwealthdistribution. (over)

A membership united will never be defeated

 Wevealsoseenaconcertedeffortonbehalfoftherighttopaintthepublicservice,andparticularly unionizedpublicserviceemployeesasgreedyandlazy.Butwhatwasitthatcaughtthepublics attentioninthefirstplace? Manyordinarycitizenshaveseentheirsavingserodedoverthelastnumberofyears.Wevehadthe rollercoasterissuesintheworldeconomyonewherecrooksseemedtotrumpthehonesteffortsof ordinarycitizens.Peoplegotmad! InBC,oneofthebiggestproblemspeoplegotmadaboutcenteredonmanagementbonuses.Wesaw thecriticismslaunchedatBCHydro,TransitandICBC.Here,attheWCB,ourmembersknowmanagers ateverylevelwithintheBoardgotbonusesforeveryyearourmembersgotzeros.Infact,itismore accuratetosay,ourmemberstookalosswhilemanagerstookgains. Thistime,ourmemberswanttobetreatedfairly.Theywanttocatchup.Wewillproposeawage increaseforallofourmemberstoaddresstheselosses. Wewillalsoproposechangestothewagescheduletoaddresswhatwebelievetobethetruejobrate.

Creatingasustainableworkplacethatsupportsqualityservice
Ourmembersarefullycommittedtodoingagoodjob;onethatbenefitsallWCBsstakeholders.Our surveydemonstratedhowcommittedourmembersaretotheirwork.Weknowyoursurveyechoedour results.Inallmytravelsaroundtheprovince,meetingwithemployeesandmanagers,Ivebeenreally impressedwiththelevelofcareandcommitmentourmembersdemonstrateintheirdaydayapproach totheworktheydoforinjuredworkersandforemployers. Thosesameemployeestellusthereareproblems;thingsthatgetinthewayofdoingagoodjob.High levelsofworkloadandtroublesomeprocessesareputtingourmembersandallWCBstakeholdersat seriousrisk.Itisresultinginthedeteriorationofqualityservice.Takingactionwillnotonlyaddress workplaceabsences,butitwillalsohelptoensurethatqualityserviceandKPItargetscanbemore readilymet. Wewillproposechangestorecruitment,education,careerdevelopmentandworkloadprocessesthat willproactivelyaddressworkforceplanningandqualityserviceneedsintothefuture. WewillalsoproposethecontinuanceoftheWorkforceTransitionAgreementbecauseastable workforceisanecessarypieceofbuildingasustainableworkforcethatsupportsqualityservice.

Conclusion
Ourmajorobjectivesinthisroundofbargainingarequiteclear:recoveringlostgroundandaddressing recruitment,education,careerdevelopmentandworkloadbycreatingasustainableworkplace. Inaddition,wehavelookedatsomeoftheMOUsandotheragreementsalreadyinexistenceandwell beproposingtheybeincludedinthecollectiveagreementduringthesenegotiations. Wevebeenverydeliberateinnotcomingupwithalonggrocerylistofbargainingproposals.We haventcombedovereveryarticleinthecollectiveagreementtoseehowwecouldimproveit. Wewillbeveryfocusedonsomeveryclearpriorities. Ourmembershavebeenclearthatthereareveryseriousproblemsthatneedtobeaddressedinthis roundofbargaining. Wearenotlookingforpieintheskykindsofsolutions.Thiswillbeachallengingroundofbargaining forallofus.Letscommittogoingtheextramile.Letsworkhardtobuildtrustandconfidenceinthe collectivebargainingprocess.And,letsdeliverarenewedagreementthatourrespectiveconstituents willjumptosupport.

A membership united will never be defeated