The College and Institute Support Staff Bargaining Association (CISSBA) announced today that the Post-Secondary Employers’ Association (PSEA), located in Vancouver, B.C., has canceled provincial template-table bargaining.
The PSEA confirmed on October 30 that it would not be attending bargaining sessions scheduled for November 2 to 5. PSEA employers are now discussing whether to proceed with the template-table bargaining and will advise unions in late November or early December.
A multi-union table including the BCGEU and CUPE was created as part of an agreement with college and institute employers to commit to a provincial template-table model to negotiate a single template agreement on monetary issues.
CISSBA representatives expressed disappointment that the PSEA has chosen to cancel bargaining sessions with little notice to union negotiators. Unions believe that template-table negotiations are the most effective means to ensure consistency across the college and institute sector and remain committed to this bargaining model. Significant time and resources have been committed to this bargaining process and to abandon it at this late date would be very unfortunate.
Negotiations at most individual college and institute tables have begun. Local tables may adjust their negotiation schedule pending a resolution of the template-table talks with PSEA.
CISSBA members include CUPE locals at Camosun College, College of New Caledonia, College of the Rockies, North Island College and Vancouver Island University. BCGEU locals in CISSBA are at BCIT, Douglas College, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Northern Lights College, Okanagan College, and Northwest Community College. The FPSE represents staff at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology.
Please watch for further updates as they become available.