Tories seek deal with public sector unions

The federal Conservative government and one of two major public service unions have agreed to open negotiations on a new collective agreement months before talks were expected to begin.

Treasury Board President Stockwell Day announced Wednesday that the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has agreed to "engage in exploratory discussions with my officials with a view to establishing the parameters of collective agreements."

PSAC said talks would start on either Sept. 21 or 22, and if no deal was reached the union would proceed with the regularly scheduled bargaining process, set to resume in spring 2011.

The government's unusual offer to negotiate wages with PSAC and the other major public sector union, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), comes with the caveat that negotiations start immediately and that a settlement is reached within weeks instead of months.

"While Canada has fared better than most countries, our recovery from the global economic downturn remains fragile," said Day in a statement.

"In this period of fiscal restraint, I believe early discussions between bargaining agents and the employer are important to achieving financial predictability for the government as well as certainty for employees," he said.

PIPSC weighing offer

PIPSC president Gary Corbett said his union is still debating whether to accept the offer and head to the bargaining table, but that he has some concerns about the process.

"I've never seen this in all my years, and the timelines are so short that it's going to be an interesting process," said Corbett. "I'm not sure how successful it will be."

PIPSC's national board is expected to discuss the proposal and make a decision on Thursday.