The Parks Canada bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement with Parks Canada Agency.
The package includes a number of breakthroughs, including salary increases, a letter of agreement on students and a subcommittee on benefits. You can read more about the package on the PSAC website.
“Getting student language is a huge deal,” said Mike LeBlanc, an assistant regional vice-president in the Atlantic region and a member of the Parks bargaining team. The proposed package includes a letter of agreement that creates a sub-committee of the National Labour Management Consultation Committee to discuss and recommend on student employment issues.
“It’s huge – it’s monumental.”
Parks Canada has had a tendency to replace employees with students. LeBlanc said it would be great to finally have students included in the collective agreement, as they’re essentially workers. He hopes this can be the start of a process that will offer students better protections, especially when it comes to health and safety.
The bargaining team is also proud of the improvements to volunteer leave. Employees will now be able to take volunteer leave when they reach 12 weeks of work, rather than the current 18-week requirement. “It’s a little thing, but it’s still there,” said LeBlanc
Many classifications at Parks Canada were underpaid in comparison to their counterparts who work for Treasury Board. LeBlanc said the tentative agreement will finally bring the members of the PG, FI and CS groups up to par with employees of Treasury Board.
LeBlanc, who spent twelve weeks at the bargaining table, is quite happy with finally having such a great tentative agreement to present to the membership – and doing so before the NHL!
“I remember some of our members said ‘if you guys can get a deal before the NHL, you guys are good.’”
LeBlanc and the bargaining team are looking forward to visiting Locals to discuss the tentative agreement.
“There’s something for everybody at Parks Canada. Everybody is going to benefit from the things we got. I’m quite eager to go out and talk with the membership and see what their reaction is,” said LeBlanc.
The Parks Canada bargaining team was at the bargaining table in Ottawa, last week. Among its UNE members were Céline Ahodekon, Benoit Dubeau, Mike LeBlanc, Kevin King, and Loretta Maur.
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Correction: an earlier version of this article reported that students would automatically benefit from better protections in the workplace. In fact, the letter of agreement on students opens the door for discussion at the national level on student employment within the Agency. The union hopes that this will help students get better employment provisions and help us have better input on student issues.