EC Bargaining Update

CAPE’s EC bargaining team met with the Employer for four days of bargaining on January 15, 16, 17 and 18. During the first few days, no progress of significance was made at the table. In order to give the bargaining process impetus CAPE’s EC team presented reasonable and innovative solutions to the Employer’s most important problems, including the Employer’s issues with retroactivity. Unfortunately, it would be misleading to write that the parties are closer to an agreement. The Employer has made only one concession since October on a very minor issue. What has become most frustrating is that after 8 days of bargaining, the Employer still hasn’t been able to clearly present in a consistent manner what it expects to achieve in the current round of bargaining on major issues that it has brought to the table. It is proving most difficult to negotiate. The EC bargaining team and the Employer are scheduled to return to the table on March 6 and 7.