www.ecao.org 14 A FEATURE adjustment of $0.65 for a total ETBA/IBEW settlement over three years of $4.45. This dispute went to arbitration and the arbitrator accepted the IBEW position and determined that the PNWA should be $2.15. In a supplemental decision, the arbitrator also determined that the whole adjustment should be applied as of May 1, 2008, which meant that the IBEW received a wage increase of $3.40 an hour on May 1, 2008, and a total wage increase of $5.95 over the life of the collective agreement. The Seventh Joint Proposal (2010-2012): In 2009, after extensive negotiations, the ETBA and the IBEW agreed to renew the Joint Proposal. Given the dispute over the post negotiation wage adjustment that arose under the Sixth Joint Proposal, this time the parties addressed this issue in greater detail. Not only were the comparison trades limited to eight and a cap of 50¢ imposed on the PNWA, for the first time the issue of differential settlements were addressed by providing a formula on how they were to be valued in the PNWA process. Once again the ETBA and the IBEW were able to achieve a negotiated settlement during the 2010 round of negotiations, which provided for an increase of $3.25 over three years. Once all the comparison trades had settled, it was determined that a PNWA adjustment of 50¢ was appropriate for a total wage increase of $3.75 over three years. The Eighth Joint Proposal (2013-2015): In 2012 after extensive negotiations, the ETBA and the IBEW agreed to renew the Joint Proposal. Once again the ETBA and the IBEW were able to achieve a negotiated settlement during the 2013 round of negotiations, which provided for an increase of $4.10 over three years. Once all the comparison trades had settled it was determined that a PNWA adjustment of 10¢ was appropriate for a total wage increase of $4.20 over three years. The Ninth Joint Proposal (2016-2018): For the 2016 round of bargaining the Joint Proposal was not renewed until January 2016, which was very late. In fact the Mechanical trade settled early before the ETBA and the IBEW finished bargaining for the monetary wage increase, which made it difficult for the parties to reach a negotiated settlement. The ETBA’s final offer was $3.15 over three years, which was equivalent to the Mechanical settlement, and the IBEW’s final offer was $3.50 over three years. The selector agreed that the ETBA’s final offer was the more reasonable one given the Mechanical settlement and awarded the ETBA’s final offer. Once all the comparison trades had settled the ETJB determined that the average of the two highest comparison trades was $3.925 which was rounded up to produce a PNWA of $0.78 for a total wage increase over three years of $3.93. UPDATE FROM THE ETBA By Chris Cimek, Chair, Electrical Trade Bargaining Agency As you may know, the Electrical Trade Bargaining Agency (ETBA) is the legal representative of the ECAO in all matters relevant to labour negotiations in Ontario with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction Council of Ontario (IBEW/CCO). For a more thorough explanation of this, please see the article beginning on page 12, as well as articles in previous issues: Issue 2, Q2 - pages 20-21, and Issue 3, Q3 - pages 12-13. As ETBA Chair, I am happy to announce that the ETBA and IBEW/CCO were able to negotiate a tentative Joint Proposal, which is a no-strike, no-lockout agreement. By the time this article is printed, the Joint Proposal will ideally be ratified. Local Electrical Contractor Associations (ECAs) and Local Unions will be negotiating changes to their local appendices. New this round was a mechanism to provide local areas with a mediator to assist with making meaningful changes at the local area. Most of the 11 ECAs and Local Unions agreed to use a mediator and we are optimistic this will assist with the process. Provincially, we start to bargain changes to the ICI (blue pages) agreement in February. We will also be negotiating changes to the Line Agreement (yellow pages) and Communications Agreement (green pages). Your ETBA is optimistic that this round of bargaining will result in more meaningful language changes that will help ECAO members and IBEW members attain our shared goals of increasing the use of ECAO contractors and increasing IBEW membership while putting more IBEW members to work; in short increasing our market share. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the time and commitment of all parties that have helped us get to this point; and for your support of our efforts.