Civil Service Bargaining Update

The Civil Service Collective Bargaining Act lays out the way in which disputes will be resolved in collective bargaining. In the Act, the mechanism we have been given is called interest arbitration where an Arbitration Board (also called an Adjudication Board) will hear the issues and render a decision. The Arbitration Board is comprised of a nominee from each party (the employer and the union) and then a third who is agreed to by both parties and will act as Chair. The decision of the majority of the Arbitration Board is the decision of the Board but if there is no majority, the decision of the Chair of the Arbitration Board is the decision of the Board.

The Union’s nominee is Paul Cavalluzzo and the Employer’s is Rollie King. We have just received confirmation that Susan Ashley has been agreed to by both parties and will be the third member of the panel and act as Chair.

Members of the Civil Service Arbitration Board

• Susan Ashley, Chair
• Paul Cavalluzzo, Nominee for NSGEU
• Rollie King, Nominee for Province of Nova Scotia

Now that the Board is complete, the next step is to set dates for the hearing.

The outstanding items we put forward to be addressed during interest arbitration are:

• Article 20 – Standby and callback
• Article 21 – Vacations
• Article 32 – Travel Regulations
• Article 38 – Pay Provisions:
• Rates of pay
• Step adjustment (CL, PR, TS)
• Pay equity (CL)
• Shift & Weekend Premiums
• Acting Pay
• Retention incentive (twenty-five (25) years of service)
• Article 44 – Term of the Agreement
• Appendix 11 – Work from home programs

Your Bargaining Committee appreciates your solidarity and support through this process.

Please watch for updates and share this information with your coworkers. If they haven’t received this email, let them know they should contact the union to confirm their email address.

If you have any questions about bargaining or the bargaining process, please contact a member of your Bargaining Council below. You can also call the NSGEU at 1-877-556-7438 (toll-free) or inquiry@nsgeu.ca.

Your Union Negotiating Council (UNC):

Clerical (CL)

Chair – Tammy Gillis, Local 2 – tammygillis@eastlink.ca

Vice-Chair – Sherry Dennis, Local 7 – sherry424@hotmail.com

Professional (PR)

Chair – David Brewster, Local 4 – david.brewster@novascotia.ca

Vice-Chair – Scott Hart, Local 8 – scott.hart@novascotia.ca

Technical (TS)

Chair – Hugh Gillis, Local 480 – secretarytreasurer@nslabour.ca

Vice-Chair – Holly Martin, Local 17 – holly.martin@novascotia.ca

Chief Negotiators:

Odette MacLeod, NSGEU Servicing Coordinator, omacleod@nsgeu.ca

Jim Gosse, NSGEU Servicing Coordinator, jgosse@nsgeu.ca