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News Release
For Immediate Release
GN and NEU reach tentative settlement on a new collective agreement
Iqaluit, Nunavut (February 28, 2022) – The Government of Nunavut and the Nunavut Employees Union today announced that on February 26, 2022, after a week of collaborative negotiations, they have reached a tentative settlement on a new collective agreement.
The previous agreement expired on September 30, 2018. The agreement is subject to ratification by both parties, at which point more details will be provided.
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Media Contacts:
Matthew Illaszewicz
Manager, Communications
Human Resources
867-975-6292
millaszewicz1@gov.nu.ca
James Kaylor
Communications Officer
Nunavut Employees Union
867-222-2436 (cell)
james@neu.ca
(February 25, 2022) After a day’s delay, the Public Service Alliance (PSAC) North/Nunavut Employees Union (NEU) Bargaining Team received a counter proposal from the Government of Nunavut (GN) on Friday (February 25) morning. While the GN’s counter proposal did not fully address the NEU’s demands for improvements to the Nunavut Northern Allowance (NNA) and wages, it was an improvement on the offer they made on Tuesday. For that reason, the NEU Team felt that the GN had finally begun to fulfil their obligation to bargain in Good Faith.
Once again, the NEU analyzed the GN’s offer to determine the best course of action. By day’s end on Friday, the NEU Team tabled another offer with two options, either of which would lead to a fair agreement that we could recommend to the Membership. Both offers were for 6-year agreements. The only outstanding issues are the NNA and wages, as the NEU continues to press for fair increases that will provide financial security for Members.
In presenting the offer, the NEU team expressed its willingness to work through the weekend to reach an agreement if we were close. We also indicated that we were not opposed to seeking the assistance of a mediator to help reach an agreement if, in the view of the GN, we remain far apart.
The NEU expects to here back from the GN tomorrow and we will provide an update by Monday at the latest.
(February 24, 2022):As we mentioned in yesterday's (February 23rd) update, the ball is in the Government of Nunavut's (GN) court. The Public Service Alliance (PSAC) North/Nunavut Employees Union (NEU) Bargaining Team has placed an offer with two fair options on the table: a five-year streamlined deal focusing on wages, the NNA, and Domestic Violence Leave; consistent with the offer we made on Monday; or a six-year deal that brought into play many of the outstanding issues that remained on the table when we entered mediation in October 2019.
The GN contacted the NEU late in the afternoon today indicating they will give us a response Friday morning.
(February 23, 2022) Today the Public Service Alliance (PSAC) North/Nunavut Employees Union (NEU) Bargaining Team met with Government of Nunavut (GN) and responded to the offer we received from the GN during yesterday’s (February 22) Bargaining meeting. As we stated yesterday, it was clear from the GN’s offer that we remain very far apart on wages and the Northern Nunavut Allowance (NNA). Upon analysis, it became very clear that the GN’s offer was worse than the offer they made in October 2019.
The October 2019 GN offer was what resulted in the NEU filing a Bad Faith Bargaining suit against the GN. That claim is now with the Nunavut Court of Justice. The NEU had offered to drop this claim against the GN and return to the table on the condition that the GN agree to Bargain in Good Faith to reach a fair settlement. They did not meet that condition with their offer yesterday. The NEU made that fact perfectly clear to the GN today.
We also made it perfectly clear to the GN that they had one more chance to prove they are the “Employer of Choice” (their words) for Nunavut and acknowledge the hard work GN employees have done to keep the Territory safe and running during the pandemic.
They can step up and do the right thing, or, they can squander this chance and deal with the consequences. The choice is theirs.
The Bargaining Team presented a fair offer for settlement with two options:
- A five-year streamlined deal focusing on wages, the NNA, and Domestic Violence Leave; consistent with the offer we made on Monday; or
- A six-year deal that brought into play many of the outstanding issues that remained on the table when we entered mediation in October 2019.
Again, the NEU team awaits a response from the GN.
(February 22, 2022) The Public Service Alliance (PSAC) North/Nunavut Employees Union (NEU) Bargaining Team received a counter proposal from the Government of Nunavut (GN). While it is clear from the GN’s offer that the NEU and the GN remain very far apart on wages and the Nunavut Northern Allowance, the Bargaining Team is analyzing the offer to determine the best way to proceed. We will provide more details shorty.
(February 21, 2022) Today, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)-North/Nunavut Employees Union (NEU) Bargaining Team held its first formal meeting with the Government of Nunavut (GN) since talks broke down in October of 2019. This meeting came about at the initiative of the NEU, which offered to drop a Bad Faith bargaining suit against the GN on the condition that they return to the table and bargain in good faith to reach a fair Collective Agreement. The NEU elected to take the lead on tabling a counter proposal. The last proposal received in formal Bargaining had been made by the GN and is the subject of the NEU’s Bad Faith Bargaining suit against the GN. In an effort to bring Bargaining to a conclusion, the NEU tabled an offer for a fair settlement concentrating on Wages, the Nunavut Northern Allowance, and Domestic Violence Leave. If we reach agreement on these provisions, all other outstanding proposals would be withdrawn and we would have a tentative agreement to bring to Members for ratification. The NEU awaits a response from the GN.
