Working through the process

Since its filing in March, ACFO’s pay equity complaint has made its way through the first stages of the process defined in the transitional provisions of Budget Implementation Act, which passed after ACFO’s filing.

The complaint was first referred to the Public Service Labour Relations Board, who assessed ACFO’s case and ruled that it was neither frivolous, vexatious nor made in bad faith. As a result, the Board was expected to send the matter to a mandatory six months mediation process under the transitional provisions in the Act.

However, before that process could be followed, the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) filed an objection stating that ACFO’s claim relates to classification matters which are not within the Board’s jurisdiction. TBS was then asked to provide further submissions to support their objection, which they did in late July.

CFO responded to these submissions on September 4, as requested. Treasury Board is expected to file a rebuttal to our submissions in early October. Once that’s complete, the Board will rule on the issue of jurisdiction. We expect this to take place later this fall.

Once this ruling is made, we will have a better idea of how our claim will proceed. In the meantime, please contact Vivian Gates at 613-728-0695 ext. 226 if you have any questions.