Definitions - Collective Bargaining in the Core Public Administration
- Application for certification
- A request by an employee organization seeking to be certified as a bargaining agent for a group of employees that it considers a unit appropriate for collective bargaining.
- Arbitration
- Dispute resolution process to resolve a dispute or difference arising from negotiations carried out as part of the collective bargaining process.
- Arbitration Board
- Consists of either one or three members appointed to resolve a dispute between the parties to collective bargaining. Upon request of either the employer or the bargaining agent, the Public Service Labour Relations Board Chairperson establishes an Arbitration Board.
- Arbitral Award
- An award issued by an Arbitration Board in relation to the matters in dispute, that is binding on all parties.
- Bargaining agent
- An employee organization that is certified by the Public Service Labour Relations Board to represent employees in a bargaining unit.
- Bargaining unit
- A group of two or more employees that is determined by the Public Service Labour Relations Board to constitute a unit appropriate for collective bargaining.
- Clear days
- A number of days between two events, in calculating that number of days the days on which the events happen are excluded.
- Collective agreement
- An agreement in writing, entered into by the employer and a bargaining agent, containing provisions respecting terms and conditions of employment and related matters.
- Conciliation
- Dispute resolution process to resolve a dispute or difference arising from negotiations carried out as part of the collective bargaining process. On recommendation from the Public Service Labour Relations Board Chairperson, a public interest commission is established and will issue a public report as to its findings and recommendations. Should there still be disagreement, the bargaining agent can declare a strike providing conditions are met.
- Core public administration
- The departments and organizations named in Schedule I and IV of the Financial Administration Act.
- Dispute/Impasse
- A disagreement or difference that arises in connection with the entering into, renewing or revising a collective agreement, and in which a dispute resolution process may be applied.
- Employer
-
Her Majesty in right of Canada as represented by
- the Treasury Board, in the case of a department and agencies named in Schedule I and IV of the Financial Administration Act; and
- the separate agency, in the case of a portion of the federal public administration named in Schedule V of the Financial Administration Act.
- Essential Service
- A service, facility or activity of the Government of Canada that is or will be, at any time, necessary for the safety or security of the public or a segment of the public.
- Notice to bargain
- A notice given in writing by the employer or the bargaining agent requiring the other to commence bargaining collectively with a view to entering or revising a collective agreement.
- Public Interest Commission (PIC)
- Consists of either one or three members appointed to assist the parties in resolving the dispute. The PIC will submit a report to the Chairperson of the Public Service Labour Relations Board with regard to its success or failure and as to its findings and recommendations within 30 days after it was established, or within any longer period that may be agreed on by the parties or determined by the Chairperson.
- Public service
- Includes the core public administration, that is the departments and agencies named in Schedule I and IV of the Financial Administration Act, as well as the separate agencies named in Schedule V of the Financial Administration Act.
- Strike
- A cessation of work or a refusal to work or to continue to work or a slow-down of work or any other concerted activity by unionized employees that is designed to restrict or limit output.
- Tentative settlement
- An agreement in principle between the parties regarding the renewal of a collective agreement. A tentative settlement is subject to an authority given to the employer from the Treasury Board and to a positive ratification vote by the membership of the bargaining agent.
- Two-tier bargaining
- Mechanism that allows the deputy head of a department to conduct on behalf of the Treasury Board portions of the negotiations, if the bargaining agent has agreed to negotiate on that basis, along with the employer so that terms and conditions of a collective agreement may adapt to specific situations in a given department or departments.
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