Back from a two-day round of negotiations at the Toronto Broadcast Centre on April 24 and 25 the APS team was finally convinced that the changes announced by the employer at the very outset of talks were for real. A wind of change is effectively visible on the horizon. After 8 meetings the improvements discussed are significant enough to expect changes in our relations with the Corporation. Three major topics have been discussed since the start of negotiations: compensation, respect and recognition. The latter two have been thoroughly debated while the compensation issue was brought forth at the tail end of meetings. However on all three fronts signs of solution are in sight to hope for modifications suitable to reach our expectations.

A bit of History

Since its origin APS has been fighting for a different type of relation between the employer and its unionized personnel of professionals and supervisors. The result is a collective agreement free of constraints and complicated procedures. A minimalist agreement to use the expression of our president Mario Poudrier. In reaction the employer has deployed since the very outset of our existence a legalistic and petty attitude by ignoring it openness and exploiting its natural breaches. In practical terms this translated, as an example, by total avoidance of dispositions concerning training and career planning. While doing this the employer was going at the extreme opposite, by stepping away from it’s own policies on preferential rehiring (providing laid off employees a 12 month recall possibility). On one side the will to build careers in collaboration with the employer and on the other, shutting down the door in the extreme case of a job loss.).

APS was therefore approaching this new round of negotiations with well-founded suspicion after 10 years of strenuous relations.

A different style

Right off the bat representatives of the corporation admitted a lack of recognition as to the values defended by APS. They tried to show an open attitude for the future. To this effect they brought to the table the officers responsible for the files we were preoccupied with. APS had thus the opportunity to make representations on behalf of its members as well as to express its intention of participating in future changes.

Exchanges are showing the way to a major re-haul of performance evaluation with the inclusion of career planning and training components in the system. The employer sent to the table the officers in charge of the process as well as other line authorities for other files. For this topic, the team leader came before the group to discuss the advent of the Talent Management. Same thing for compensation where the head of the service came in to participate. Different attitudes and a promise of change supported by president Hubert T. Lacroix who dropped in to confirm the committement in person.

Our target to conclude this first round by reaching agreement on the framework did not materialize however but we are still hopeful. The meetings of the 24th and 25th were added to those of April 17 and 18 to reach that objective. The parties will reconvene in the third week of May with a firm intention to cap off this strategic part of negotiations.