PSAC has reached a tentative agreement that provides increases to wages, no concessions, and improved working conditions for nearly 1,000 members of the Education and Library Science (EB) group under Treasury Board.

In addition to these successful talks, EB members will also be awarded a Phoenix damages settlement to compensate members for the pain and suffering caused by the broken pay system. Please read the update which provides greater detail on the general Phoenix compensation portion of the settlement, as well as the expansion of the claims process for out-of-pocket expenses and for those who suffered major losses because of Phoenix.

EB Group settlement 

The PSAC bargaining team successfully secured fair wage increases averaging at 2.11% per year. EB group members would receive the following wage increases: 

In addition to these wage increases, the following group-specific wage adjustments and allowances were also secured: ​

• Implementation of a new, national pay grid for 12-month teachers and instructors.

Other improvements to the EB collective agreement include: ​

• Increase in maternity related reassignment or leave qualification from 52 to 78 weeks following the birth of a child
• A new leave provision for members elected to union leadership
• An increase in meal allowance for overtime from $9 to $12
• Set timelines for receiving a response to vacation leave requests
• Improvements to travel time to pay for up to five hours of compensation for any stop-overs
• Language that emphasizes the importance of professional development activities, such as conferences and workshops, for LS members
• Commitment from the Employer to consult with the Union in the next review of Treasury Board’s policy on indemnification
• Commitment from the Employer to prepare informational material on employees’ injury on duty rights and benefits.
• Ability for ED-EST ten-month teachers to use their personal leave in 7.5 or 3.75 segments (Article 60)
• An MOU for a Joint Committee to address the issues related to teaching time and preparation time for Language Teachers (ED-LAT)
• An MOU for a Joint Committee to address the teaching of indigenous languages for 10-month teachers at INAC
• Increases to funding for the Joint Learning Program, including a pilot study on health and safety training

Common issues settlement  

Two weeks ago, when we obtained a settlement for the PA group, PSAC also reached a settlement for Treasury Board issues common to all groups. Some of the key improvements include:

• A one-time payment of $500 in recognition of the extended collective agreement implementation deadline and an additional $50 for every subsequent 90-day delay
• Ten days of paid Domestic Violence Leave
• Better language on return to work following a Maternity or Parental Leave, giving more flexibility to parents who wish to change positions within the federal public service.
• Improvements to Parental Leave pay
• Updated language to match the new legislation including a new extended leave option and the sharing of Parental Leave
• Expanded supplementary allowance for every week an employee is on extended or shared Parental Leave
• Additional weeks for parents covered under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, when both parents work in the public service.
• New Memorandum of Understanding to explore the issues related to childcare in the public service
• Updated and improved language to match the new legislation on Compassionate Care and Caregiving Leave
• Better language to allow the use of employer facilities for union activities
• New Memorandum of Understanding to protect certain working conditions of civilian members of the RCMP
• New Memorandum of Understanding on mental health in the workplace to support the work of the Centre for Expertise on Mental Health
• In the event of workforce adjustment, the education allowance has increased to $17,000.
• Deletion of Memorandum of Understanding on Supporting Employee Wellness. As a result, Sick Leave will remain untouched.

Full text and next steps  

We will share the final text and full details of the EB group tentative agreement, and common issues agreement, as soon as it becomes available. Shortly thereafter, EB members will be invited to participate in online ratification votes. Details about the votes will be shared as soon as possible.

The PSAC bargaining team unanimously recommends the ratification of the tentative agreement.

To ensure that you receive all updates and can participate in the ratification process, please ensure that you have either updated your contact information on PSAC’s member portal, or that you create an account if you have not done so already.