FPSLREB Decisions
Decision Information
Decision review - Appropriateness of bargaining units - the employer, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) applied jointly requesting an amendment to the bargaining units identified by the Board in its decision dated October 27, 1997: (140-32-14); (1997) 32 PSSRB Decisions 1 - in that decision PIPS had been determined to be the bargaining agent for three bargaining units and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) had been determined to be the bargaining agent for a unit comprised of all remaining employees - the applicants sought the replacement of the three bargaining units previously found to be appropriate and for which PIPSC was the bargaining agent by two bargaining units - PSAC did not oppose the application as it did not affect its interests - Board was satisfied that the amended units were appropriate for collective bargaining - accordingly, Board granted the application and revoked the certificate for the bargaining unit which was being subsumed by one of the two amended units - in addition the Board amended its decision of October 27, 1997, insofar as it related to the determination of the units appropriate for collective bargaining and substituted the two amended units proposed by the applicants for which PIPSC was the bargaining agent - this also required a consequential amendment to the description of the bargaining unit for which PSAC was the bargaining agent. Application allowed.
Decision Content
File: 125-32-90 Public Service Staff Before the Public Service Relations Act Staff Relations Board BETWEEN CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY and PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF CANADA Applicants and PUBLIC SERVICE ALLIANCE OF CANADA Interested Party RE: Application for review pursuant to Section 27 of the Public Service Staff Relations Act
Before: Yvon Tarte, Chairperson
Decided without an oral hearing
DECISION A joint application under section 27 of the Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA) was filed with the Board on February 25, 1999 by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (hereafter referred to as the employer) and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (the Institute) requesting an amendment to the bargaining units identified by the Board in its decision dated October 27, 1997: Board file 140-32-14.
In that decision at page 5, paragraphs 2 and 3, the Board determined the following: 2. The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada is the bargaining agent for:
(a) all the employees of the employer performing duties in positions which are or would be classified under the Veterinary Medicine (VM) Group in the classification system of the Treasury Board;
(b) all the employees of the employer performing duties in positions which are or would be classified under the Scientific Regulation (SG) Group in the classification system of the Treasury Board; and
(c) all the employees of the employer performing duties in positions which are or would be classified in the Agriculture (AG), Biological Sciences (BI), Chemistry (CH), Commerce (CO), Computer Systems Administration (CS), Engineering and Land Survey (ELS), Purchasing and Supply (PG), Scientific Research (SE) and Economics, Sociology and Statistics (ES) Groups in the classification system of the Treasury Board.
3. The Public Service Alliance of Canada is the bargaining agent for:
(a) all the employees of the employer other than those identified in paragraphs 2(a), (b) and (c) above.
Public Service Staff Relations Board
Decision Page 2 In the instant application the employer and the Institute have jointly requested the following: (a) That the Order of the PSSRB dated October 27, 1997 be amended to state that only two Bargaining Units are represented by PIPSC and the Agency; namely, the Veterinary Medicine (VM) Bargaining Unit and the Scientific and Analytical (S&A) Bargaining Unit;
(b) That the Order of the PSSRB dated October 27, 1997 be amended to delete any references to the Scientific Regulation (SG) Bargaining Unit;
(c) That the amended Order recognize the Scientific Regulation (SG) Bargaining Unit has ceased to exist at the Agency and that all SG employees have become part of the Scientific and Analytical Bargaining Unit pursuant to the terms and conditions of the collective agreement agreed to by the Agency and PIPSC in relation to the Scientific Regulation (SG) Bargaining Unit as signed in July of 1998.
Section 27 of the Public Service Staff Relations Act provides: 27. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Board may review, rescind, amend, alter or vary any decision or order made by it, or may re-hear any application before making an order in respect thereof.
27. (2) Any rights acquired by virtue of any decision or order that is reviewed, rescinded, amended, altered or varied pursuant to subsection (1) shall not be altered or extinguished with effect from a day earlier than the day on which the review, rescission, amendment, alteration or variation is made.
Upon review of the material filed by the parties, the Board consulted the Public Service Alliance of Canada (the Alliance), the bargaining agent for one of the bargaining units, as granting the request of the employer and the Institute would result in an amendment to the certificate previously issued to the Alliance. In its reply to the Board, the Alliance indicated that it did not oppose the present application on the basis that it does not affect the scope of the Alliance’s bargaining unit.
The Board is satisfied that the amended units proposed in the current application are appropriate for collective bargaining.
Public Service Staff Relations Board
Decision Page 3 Accordingly, pursuant to section 27 of the PSSRA, the Board grants the application and revokes the certificate issued to the Institute for the unit determined by the Board to be appropriate for collective bargaining in paragraph 2(b) on page 5 of its decision of October 27, 1997. In addition, the Board amends its decision of October 27, 1997, insofar as it relates to the determination of the units appropriate for collective bargaining and substitutes the following for paragraphs 2(b), 2(c) and 3(a):
2) The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada is the bargaining agent for: . . . (b) all the employees of the employer performing duties in positions which are or would be classified in the Agriculture (AG), Biological Sciences (BI) (which includes the former Scientific Regulation (SG) Group), Chemistry (CH), Commerce (CO), Computer Systems Administration (CS), Engineering and Land Survey (ELS), Purchasing and Supply (PG), Scientific Research (SE), and Economics, Sociology and Statistics (ES) Groups in the classification system of the Treasury Board.
3) The Public Service Alliance of Canada is the bargaining agent for: (a) all the employees of the employer other than those identified in paragraphs 2(a) and (b) above.
The Board will issue amended certificates for the bargaining units described above.
Yvon Tarte Chairperson
OTTAWA, April 20, 1999. Public Service Staff Relations Board