First day of bargaining with the City of Ottawa
Bargaining with the City of Ottawa for your new collective agreement is officially underway.
As you know, in recent years bargaining with the City of Ottawa has been very disappointing. Your employer has failed to engage meaningfully with us at the bargaining table, forcing us to go to arbitration, and the results have not been good.
Your frustration and disappointment became the catalyst for change. Your union launched CIPP Connect: a member-led program designed to build bargaining power through member engagement, leadership, and action.
CIPP Connect, along with members like you, came together to create the Bargaining Expectations Petition as a first step to demonstrate the union’s collective strength and tell City of Ottawa management exactly what you expect going forward.
Over 1700 CIPP members signed that petition, achieving a supermajority of over 70%! And your employer took notice. Not only did City management meet our petition’s demand to begin bargaining before the expiration of your current collective agreement, but City Manager and Chief HR Officer were also at the table for the exchange of proposals.
Yesterday, CIPP members delivered the Bargaining Expectations Petition in-person to your employer. The presence of the petition behind your negotiating committee drove home the message that CIPP members have expectations in bargaining and are more engaged than ever before.
BARGAINING PRIORITIES
Your negotiating committee made a strong presentation setting out proposals that reflect your priorities. As always, these evidence-based proposals are the result of extensive consultation and research. The proposals include several measures over a two-year term that inject fairness into your agreement and seek to repair the erosion of your salary and benefits.
Fair pay is by far the top priority. But it’s not just about pay, almost every item with a dollar value in your current collective agreement is well past its best before date. Everything from extended health benefits to mileage reimbursement to performance pay is out of alignment with the financial reality you deal with every day. Along with your salary, your benefits have also not kept up with inflation.
Work/life balance is another priority. Our proposals include accessing more annual leave sooner, expanding and removing barriers to the use of special leave and bereavement leave, improving pregnancy and parental leave to rival best practices in our region, and reducing the requirements for medical certificates for IPP. We are also putting forward language to clarify the hybrid rights that are already included in our current agreement. Learn more about what you can do to secure hybrid work in 2026 here.
Other proposals address the growing concern surrounding job security such as including language to limit contracting out or the use of generative AI. Some proposals target the needs of specific groups within our membership including long-term care and the Ottawa Paramedic Service. While others reflect and support CIPP’s diverse membership and the particular challenges you face when it comes to leave and benefits.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Your negotiating committee has one bargaining date scheduled in December and several dates in January and February. As bargaining continues, you will be kept updated on progress at the table and other plans to maintain pressure on the employer to address your priorities. Updates will be posted to our website and sent to you by email. If you are not receiving communications from us, please email connect@cipp.on.ca to update your contact information.
If you are interested in more detailed information on City of Ottawa bargaining and CIPP’s proposals, register to attend the 2025 CIPP Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, November 26 at 7 PM over Zoom. For those who cannot attend a recording of the AGM and a copy of the slide deck will be posted to our website and shared with you by email.
