The Statistics Survey Operations (SSO) bargaining team made progress during negotiations in December, even though the employer did not bring outstanding proposals to the table. The team was disappointed that the employer did not table their monetary proposals, which would have enabled the parties to move through this round of bargaining more quickly and arrive at a long overdue agreement.

However, positive movement on several issues was an encouraging sign and the employer has committed to bringing all outstanding monetary items to the table in mid-February.

The SSO bargaining team continues to push for significant improvements in working conditions and work hours, including:

• Wage parity with the core public service
• An allowance to fully cover personal expenses when working remotely
• Better job security, and a fair and transparent process around the assignment of work hours
• Improved maternity and parental leave benefits
• Improved shift premiums for evenings and weekends
• Improvements to sick leave, family leave, vacation leave and compassionate care leave

A detailed update on the state of bargaining will be shared with PSAC members at upcoming info sessions. More information to come on the dates and times of these local meetings.