President's Message

I hope that the holiday season was an enjoyable one for you all! I wish each of you the very best in the coming year. My one wish for the new year is a successful conclusion to this round of collective bargaining.

I find it hard to express the anger I feel when I think of what has happened at the bargaining table. Every group that has settled recently has been a pattern in the range of 1st year 2%, 2nd year 2.5% and 3rd year 2.5% plus an extra increment added to the levels. If this type of offer was made to us by Treasury Board, I believe that your Collective Bargaining Committee would be prepared to put it to a vote. Why is our group being treated differently than other represented groups such as FS, EL and CX? We are told that PEs used us as a comparator for pay equity purposes and now Treasury Board cannot give us the same as other represented groups. If they gave it to us, they would have to give it to the PEs. This stance defies logic. I cannot accept that a non represented group, over which the employer has complete control, is preventing us from being offered a similar settlement to other groups. What about equity for us? What reason is there for treating us differently? I await an explanation from Treasury Board at the conciliation board hearing. I understand that this is a very frustrating time as you wait for a well deserved pay increase but I think you can appreciate why your Collective Bargaining Committee has refused to compromise on some very fundamental principles. I ask that you continue to support your Committee as they deal with some very difficult decisions on your behalf. I encourage you to talk with committee members to share your views.

Some members have been critical of the time taken and that questions are being asked about strike action. I believe their criticism is misdirected. It is the employer who suspended arbitration. An option that would have been used by your Collective Bargaining Committee without question. It is the employer who refused to offer us a reasonable pay settlement and then insulted us by offering other represented groups settlements similar to our pay demands. Your Committee has shown leadership and made the difficult decisions. They need you to stand with them as they enter conciliation in January. Your support is critical to their success. You must show the Employer that you will take a strong stand to demand a fair settlement. We are not asking for something that they have not already given to others. Also remember that this is the pre UCS round and it is important the we get the same settlement as others to maintain our relativity.

UCS is still a very major concern. Progress is being made towards the proper recognition of the value of our work but we must continue to watch closely our relativity to other groups. Please be sure to inform the Association of any concerns you may have.

I appeal to you to work together as a community to face the challenges ahead, especially collective bargaining. The recognition of the Financial Management Community as professionals depends on it.

Merdon Hosking
President

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