FPSLREB Decisions

(1) The collective agreement for the Translation Group (TR) expired on April 18, 2011. The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (“the bargaining agent”) gave the Treasury Board of Canada (“the employer”) notice to bargain on April 27, 2011.

(2) The TR group includes positions associated primarily with translation, simultaneous and consecutive interpretation, and terminology and with providing language advisory services. The main duties of the positions in this group involve one or more of the following: providing translation, simultaneous or consecutive interpretation, and terminology services; revising translated texts, including editing and verifying meaning; conducting terminological and linguistic research; providing training or consulting services to translators, interpreters, terminologists and others working in the language field; providing expert language advisory services; and leading any of those activities.

(3) The bargaining teams for the bargaining agent and the employer met 11 times in June, August, September, November and December 2011.

(4) After the bargaining sessions, the bargaining agent submitted a request for arbitration to the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB) on January 10, 2012, pursuant to section 136 of the Public Service Labour Relations Act (“the Act”). Along with its request, the bargaining agent provided a list of the terms and conditions of employment that it wished to refer to arbitration.

(5) By letter dated January 20, 2012, the employer provided its position on the terms and conditions of employment that the bargaining agent wished to refer to arbitration. In the letter, the employer also included a list of additional terms and conditions of employment that it wished to refer to arbitration.

(6) By letter dated January 27, 2012, the bargaining agent provided its position on the additional terms and conditions of employment that the employer wished to refer to arbitration.

(7) The PSLRB Chairperson set the terms of reference for this arbitration board on February 27, 2012 (2012 PSLRB 26).

(8) Before the hearing on this matter, the bargaining agent and the employer exchanged briefs, which were submitted to the arbitration board.

(9) Pursuant to section 146 of the Act, the parties were given full opportunity to present their evidence and to make their representations at the hearing held in Ottawa on July 18 and 19, 2012.

(10) After the hearing, the arbitration board met to discuss and consider the evidence and the parties’ submissions along with the factors set out in section 148 of the Act.

(11) The arbitration board believes that all the factors set out in section 148 of the Act must be considered within the framework of this decision and that no one factor carries more weight than any other. Every arbitration board must study each factor and apply them to the circumstances of the case before it based on the evidence presented to it.

(12) In this case, the evidence shows no apparent major issues with recruiting and retaining employees in the TR group or major delays in the internal and external comparison criteria.

(13) The factor set out in paragraph 148(e) of the Act dealing with the state of the Canadian economy and the Government of Canada’s fiscal situation is somewhat more problematic since the political viewpoints on those issues send mixed messages. Moreover, the employer has had to cut back on hiring TRs at the Translation Bureau due to a drop in business volume and the rather bleak economic reality.

(14) Nevertheless, every arbitration board must consider the factors set out in section 148. However, those factors are not so restrictive as to constrain an arbitration board’s independence.

Issues in dispute and decision

Article 12 - Hours of Work

(15) The bargaining agent proposed adding a clause granting two 15-minute breaks per workday. According to the bargaining agent, the breaks would serve to re-establish a more reasonable work pace.

(16) The employer opposed this proposal.

(17) The arbitration board has determined that the following clause shall be incorporated into the new collective agreement:

12.XX The employer shall grant two (2) rest periods of fifteen (15) minutes each per normal workday as defined in paragraph 12.01(a), except if operational requirements do not permit it.

(18) The employer proposed changes to clause 12.05 to encourage TRs to volunteer to work outside normal work hours.

(19) The arbitration board has determined that the employer’s proposed changes to clause 12.05 shall be incorporated into the new collective agreement.

(20) The bargaining agent proposed adding a provision to clause 12.05 to address certain problems that might arise from the employer’s proposals.

(21) The arbitration board has decided that the following subparagraph shall be incorporated into the collective agreement:

12.05(b)(v) Subject to operational requirements, the employer may authorize telework for an employee who has voluntarily agreed to a special work arrangement.

Article 19 - Parliamentary Leave and Interpretation Leave

(22) The bargaining agent proposed that the provisions of clause 19.03, about meals, apply to all TRs in parliamentary services, not just those in debates.

(23) The arbitration board has determined that the bargaining agent’s proposed changes to clause 19.03 shall be incorporated into the new collective agreement.

Articles 22 and 18 - Severance Pay and Consequential Amendments

(24) The employer proposed deleting severance pay provisions for cases of voluntary resignation and retirement. Severance pay would continue to accumulate for deaths, layoffs, and terminations for incapacity or incompetence. The employer also proposed increasing severance pay for layoff reasons.

(25) Under that proposal, employees would have a few options to cash out accumulated severance benefits. Finally, the employer proposed additional increases of 0.25% in year one and 0.5% in year three of a three-year agreement in exchange for the elimination of severance pay in cases of resignation and retirement.

(26) The proposed changes to article 18 (Annual Leave) of the collective agreement stem from the proposed changes to article 22 of the collective agreement about severance pay.

(27) The employer pointed out that, in the current round of bargaining, a number of collective agreements covering over 100,000 unionized employees have been ratified and that the severance pay provisions for resignations and retirements were deleted from all those collective agreements. Moreover, severance pay provisions were eliminated for approximately 13,000 executives and unrepresented employees.

(28) The bargaining agent believes that the employer did not fully assess the detrimental financial implications that its proposal would have on bargaining unit members and finds the proposal grossly unfair.

(29) The bargaining agent proposed leaving the provisions unchanged. Alternatively, its first proposed solution was a 0.3% pay adjustment to offset the elimination of severance pay only for resignations. The second solution was a fair increase for the elimination of that valuable benefit.

(30) The arbitration board has determined that the employer’s proposal and the consequential changes to severance pay shall be incorporated into the new collective agreement.

Article 34 - Part-Time Employees

(31) The bargaining agent proposed adding a clause entitling part-time employees to two 15-minute breaks per workday.

(32) According to the bargaining agent, the translation rates and working conditions are the same for both part-time and full-time TRs.

(33) The employer opposed this proposal.

34) The arbitration board has determined that the following clause shall be incorporated into the new collective agreement:

34.XX The employer shall grant two (2) rest periods of fifteen (15) minutes each per normal workday, as defined in paragraph 12.01(a), except if operational requirements do not permit it.

Appendix A - Pay Note 5(a)(ii)

(35) The bargaining agent proposed expanding note 5(a)(ii) in Appendix A of the collective agreement to ensure that all TRs providing parliamentary services and working evenings or nights receive the established premium.

(36) The arbitration board has determined that the bargaining agent’s proposed changes to note 5(a)(ii) in Appendix A shall be incorporated into the new collective agreement.

Appendix A - Pay Note 5(g)

(37) The bargaining agent proposed expanding the scope of note 5(g) in Appendix A, which provides for a supplement of $7 for each gross hour of televised interpretation.

(38) According to the bargaining agent, broadcast technologies have advanced considerably since note 5(g) was introduced into the collective agreement in the 1990s.

(39) According to the employer, it objected because the term “broadcast” proposed by the bargaining agent is not sufficiently specific, and regardless, it is a major and potentially expensive change.

(40) The arbitration board has determined that the following note shall be incorporated into the new collective agreement:

5(g) A supplement of seven dollars ($7) for each gross hour of interpretation shall be paid to an employee interpreting a debate or conference that is broadcast live. This supplement shall be paid twice (2) each fiscal year. For that purpose, the total interpretation time during a live broadcast shall be calculated to the nearest quarter (1/4) hour.

Appendix A - Pay Note 5(n)

(41) The employer proposed changes to note 5(n) in Appendix A. Those changes are related to the changes made to clause 12.05 of the collective agreement (see paragraphs 18 and 19 of this award) about an incentive to convince certain employees to agree to work outside normal work hours.

(42) The arbitration board has determined that the employer’s proposed changes to note 5(n) in Appendix A shall be incorporated into the new collective agreement.

Memorandum of understanding on telework

(43) The bargaining agent proposed adding a new appendix to the collective agreement about telework. Although the employer already has such a policy, the bargaining agent would like to see it better encapsulated in the collective agreement.

(44) The arbitration board has determined that the collective agreement shall be renewed without adding the bargaining agent’s proposed memorandum of understanding on telework.

Article 41 - Term of Agreement

(45) The arbitration board has determined that the new collective agreement shall be effective for a three-year term and that it shall expire on April 18, 2014.

Pay adjustment

(46) The employer proposed the following economic increases over the three years of the collective agreement:

Effective April 19, 2011:	1.5%
Effective April 19, 2012:	1.5%
Effective April 19, 2013:	1.5%

(47) Given the arbitration board’s determination in paragraph 30 of this award, the effective increases shall be augmented by 0.25% on April 19, 2011 and 0.5% on April 19, 2013 to offset the elimination of severance pay for resignations and retirements.

(48) In addition to the employer’s proposals, the bargaining agent proposed additional increases of 1.6% for TR-02s and TR-03s to take effect at the start of year three, i.e., on April 19, 2013.

(49) Given our stated comments, particularly in paragraph 12 of this decision, the arbitration board has determined that the economic increases for the TR group shall be as follows:

1. Effective April 19, 2011: 1.5%
2. Effective April 19, 2012: 1.5%
3. Effective April 19, 2013: 1.5%

Given the arbitration board’s determination in paragraph 30, the effective economic increases for the group shall be 1.75% in year one and 2% in year three of the new collective agreement.

(50) The arbitration board shall remain seized of this matter for a period of two weeks from the date of this decision in the event that the parties encounter difficulties implementing it. Should that occur, the parties will advise the arbitration board immediately of any difficulty, and the arbitration board will deal with it as expeditiously as possible.

Yvon Tarte,
for the arbitration board

Ottawa, August 10, 2012

(PSLRB Translation)