Local 43 – Canadian Blood Services Bargaining Update: Negotiations Stalled, Conciliation to Resume March 1st

Good afternoon,

Your bargaining committee and employer resumed negotiations virtually on Thursday, February 17th, and were unable to reach agreement on the issues that remain in dispute. Unfortunately, it became increasingly clear that your employer had no sincere interest in concluding an agreement despite considerable movement on the part of your bargaining committee.

The parties met again the following day (Friday, February 18th), this time with the assistance of Conciliation Officer Peter Lloyd and were still unable to conclude a tentative agreement. The Conciliation Officer has set March 1st as an additional day to resume negotiations.

Your employer has made little to no effort in satisfactorily addressing important proposals which have been identified by the membership, including key concerns related to Acting Pay, Leaves of Absence, Hours of Work & Job Security.

The employer has also indicated they intend to fundamentally change how people are compensated when called back to work. Your bargaining committee told CBS these were not changes we are willing to entertain. However, further discussions at the table did not move the employer away from their position.

Your bargaining committee and CBS met on January 12th, 2022, for the purpose of coming to an agreement on the delivery of services in the event of a strike. While we hope to avoid a strike, by law the parties must conclude an Essential Services Agreement before the union can take strike action. The union will soon be responding to the Essential Services Agreement provided to us during this meeting.

Your bargaining committee appreciates your solidarity and support throughout this process.

Please watch for future updates and if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the NSGEU or a member of your committee:

Mary Otto, maryeotto@gmail.com

Tammy Whipple, tammywhipple@hotmail.com

Jim Gosse Chief Negotiator, jgosse@nsgeu.ca