Parliamentary workers hit bargaining deadlock, union says | CBC News

Hundreds of workers who support the operations of the parliamentary precinct are getting “second-class” treatment, according to the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). 

With no option to strike, experts say union negotiators could face an uphill battle.

Six bargaining units, representing workers with the House of Commons, the Senate, the Library of Parliament and the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS), have reached an impasse with their employer and will move their dispute to arbitration. 

“There’s not enough going on, to put it bluntly. Not enough movement,” said Alex Silas, the PSAC regional vice-president for the National Capital Region. 

“Some of [these units] have been without a contract since 2020. So, that’s how long negotiations have been dragging on.” 

The union’s demands vary, but include an ask for an economic package on par with the deal signed by PSAC and the Treasury Board following a nine-day strike that was one of the largest in Canadian history. 

Phoenix, remote work under discussion

Silas said many of the affected employees — many of whom were unable to work from home during the pandemic and 2022 truck convoy protest — work similar jobs to others, but don’t enjoy the same working conditions. 

“This is a group of workers that to date have still gotten no damages for Phoenix (pay problems), even though there’s proof they’ve suffered just as much financial stress as every other worker in the federal public service,” he said.

Negotiators have also asked that PPS members who perform safety screenings at public buildings have access to the same radio equipment as members who patrol and secure the grounds. 

Jean‑Michel Lavergne, president of the union representing employees at the Library of Parliament, said his members are being paid wages negotiated for contracts that expired in 2020 before global prices surged. 

“We don’t see why if the government of Canada offered a deal to our colleagues from Treasury Board, why they cannot offer the same deal to us workers on Parliament Hill,” he said. 

CBC requested the government respond to PSAC’s statements. Amélie Crosson, director of communications for the House of Commons, said only that its administration “does not comment on ongoing negotiations.”

Arbitration removes public pressure, say experts

Unlike PSAC members with the Treasury Board and Canada Revenue Agency, these workers fall under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act and have no option to strike. 

This creates a “unique, challenging situation” for union negotiators, said Silas. 

Labour expert Barry Eidlin agrees. 

“You could luck out and get a sympathetic arbitrator,” he said, but more often their experience makes them more in tune with management.

“They have much more experience dealing with contracts and managing people than they do the day-to-day challenges of being a security officer, or something like that.” 

There’s also a loss of visibility when workers can’t demonstrate publicly, said Alison Braley-Rattai, a labour relations expert with Brock University. 

“The ability to exert that kind of pressure itself is removed,” she said. “That’s kind of the important linchpin that you can’t necessarily make up for by simply advertising the problems that you are having with negotiating.” 

Striking can lead to enormous breakthroughs, she said, while arbitration “tends to be fairly conservative.” 

Eidlin said it can also be a longer process, which tends to benefit the employer. 

‘Combative mood’ in labour movement

Braley-Rattai also said the “comparator principle” — weighing a potential deal against those reached for workers with similar jobs — is a common part of the process for arbitrators to evaluate what’s fair. 

That can cut both ways. 

Speaking more broadly, Eidlin said the appetite for worker action appears to be growing and fostering a “combative mood.” 

The erosion of wages and working conditions in recent years has combined with “pent-up frustrations crystallized by the pandemic,” he said, combining with a tight labour market that gives people confidence in their ability to fight. 

In the recent public servant strike, that culminated with some members rallying to reject the eventual deal. 

“We’ve seen, particularly this year, that the public sector is not immune to workplace conflict … and rising worker expectations.”