The PSAC-UCTE NAV CANADA bargaining team met with employer representatives on October 1-3. We made some progress, including an agreement to remove the cap on banked overtime for compensatory time off.

Both sides also mutually withdrew their respective proposals on the On-the-Job Instruction (OJI) pay, while making it clear that our interpretations on this issue differ. This means, we may need to resolve it through other channels.

We also discussed NAV CANADA’s recent plans to centralize the Scheduling group. This clarified some of our concerns about the potential impacts on our members but also raised some questions. To address these, we proposed new language that would protect member’s rights and  provide more clarity as the employer moves forward with its plans.

NAV CANADA seeking concessions on pensions and job security

In the wake of the proposed changes to the Scheduling group, NAV CANADA also re-emphasized that they are looking for concessions on our pensions and job security. They have proposed to increase our pension contributions by 2.8 per cent to account for changes to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). This would mean that members in Plan A could be paying thousands more per year to fix a short-term issue that NAV CANADA has already acknowledged will resolve itself in a few years.

They have also proposed changes that would essentially gut our Departure Incentive Program (DIP).

We expressed our concerns over these proposed changes, and that we were looking to improve and protect our rights and benefits, not weaken them.

Our priorities

As we approach the second anniversary without a contract, and with only three other bargaining dates scheduled in the future, we notified NAV CANADA of what it will take to reach a fair deal.

Our priorities include:

• Strong job security provisions
• Clarity on premium hours for members working across time zones
• Wage increases in line with those offered to other unionized groups at NAV CANADA

There are three days of bargaining scheduled at the end of October. We will continue to work towards reaching an agreement that is fair and provides recognition and respect for all our members.

Stay informed and engaged: make sure your contact information is up to date and sign up to receive bargaining updates as the team moves forward