Frequently asked questions – Collective bargaining in the core public administration

No. The Treasury Board is the employer for the core public administration, which consists of about 200,500 employees in more than 80 departments and agencies named in Schedule I and Schedule IV of the Financial Administration Act. As such, Treasury Board directly negotiates compensation for about 166,000 unionized employees with their respective bargaining agents and determines compensation for the non-unionized employees.

The core public administration, along with separate agencies, constitutes the public service, which totals about 262,800 employees. The 27 different separate agencies are listed under Schedule V of the Financial Administration Act and conduct their own negotiations for their respective unionized employees and determine compensation levels for their non-unionized employees.

For more details on the Financial Administration Act and related regulations, please consult the website.

A complete list detailing the status of negotiations between the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and bargaining units is available on the collective bargaining update web page. This page will be updated regularly to indicate when proposals are exchanged and meetings scheduled, etc.

Yes. The’Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act  establishes that issues such as staffing, classification and pension cannot be negotiated given that a collective agreement may not, directly or indirectly, establish, alter or eliminate any term or condition of employment if:

1. doing so would require the enactment or amendment of any legislation by Parliament, except for appropriation of money required to implement the term or condition; or
2. 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.

At the initial stage of bargaining, both parties will participate in an exchange of proposals. The proposals presented by the employer and the bargaining agent outline the items each party wishes to amend, delete or add to the collective agreement. In subsequent meetings, the parties continue their discussion with the objective of reaching an agreement.

The Chairperson of the’Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board’(FPSLREB) may at any time, whether requested to do so or not, appoint a mediator to discuss with the parties and to assist them in settling the dispute by any means that the mediator considers appropriate, including mediation, facilitation and fact finding. If the mediation is unsuccessful, either party can request that an arbitration or conciliation process be launched.

The bargaining agent has the right to choose the mechanism for dispute resolution they wish to use should an impasse be reached.  If arbitration is selected as the dispute resolution process, should the parties reach an impasse during negotiations, the Chairperson of the’Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board’(FPSLREB) establishes an arbitration board to settle the matters in dispute. As soon as possible after being established, the arbitration board will attempt to assist the parties in resolving the issues.

If the parties still cannot come to an agreement, the arbitration board must make an arbitral award, and explain its reasons for the award on all the matters in dispute. The content of the arbitral award is then incorporated into the new collective agreement, which is then signed. The arbitral award binds the employer, the bargaining agent and the employees it represents.

The bargaining agent has the right to choose the mechanism for dispute resolution they wish to use should an impasse be reached.
If the bargaining agent selects conciliation/strike, and the parties are unable to reach an agreement, after having bargained in good faith,  either party can request from the Chairperson of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB)’the establishment public interest commission (PIC) to conciliate the matters in dispute.  As soon as possible after being established, the public interest commission will attempt to assist the parties in resolving the dispute.

The public interest commission will submit a public report that includes its findings, recommendations and written reasons for its recommendations to the Chairperson of the FPSLREB. The recommendations of the public interest commission are only binding if both parties had agreed that they would be binding before the commission issues its report.

If the parties do not reach a collective agreement after receiving the public interest commission's recommendations, the bargaining agent can declare or authorize a strike, following a secret-ballot strike vote by the employees in the bargaining unit, provided certain conditions are met. The three main conditions are:

• Thirty (30) clear days have elapsed since the parities entered into an Essential Service Agreement (ESA).
• Seven (7) clear days have elapsed since the report of the public interest commission has been sent to the parties.
• Sixty (60) clear days or less have elapsed since a strike vote was conducted.

During a strike, the parties may continue to negotiate.

The Government of Canada must ensure that Canadians have access to essential services in the event of a strike. The determination of whether or not a position is designated as essential is based on whether or not the position supports a government service, facility or activity that is, or will be, at any time, necessary for the safety or security of the public or a segment of the public. Employees occupying essential positions are prohibited from striking.

Learn more by consulting the essential services section of the website.

Two-tier bargaining is a mechanism that allows the employer and the bargaining agent, and one or more deputy heads, to focus on and tailor the terms and conditions of the agreement to specific situations in a given department or departments.

Consult the Guidelines for Two-Tier Bargaining for more information.

The employer's officials, through the President of Treasury Board, seek authority from the Treasury Board to enter into an agreement with the bargaining agent. If the authority is denied, the parties must resume the collective bargaining process.

On the bargaining agent's side, the process will vary according to its by-laws. In many instances, the tentative agreement must be sent to the members in the affected bargaining unit for a ratification vote. If the vote is negative, the parties must resume the collective bargaining process.

If the vote is positive and the Treasury Board has provided its authority, the parties can then enter into a collective agreement.

Unless a longer timeframe is specified in the agreement, the employer is bound by the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act to implement the provisions of the new collective agreement within 90 days after the day it is signed.

The Treasury Board, as a Cabinet committee, is the employer of the core public administration. Officials of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), the administrative arm of the Treasury Board, are mandated to negotiate collective agreements on behalf of the Treasury Board. Once a tentative settlement is reached, Treasury Board needs to provide the authorization for TBS officials to enter into a collective agreement.