The Provincial Bargaining and Compensation Office (PBCO) plays a crucial role in Alberta’s public sector bargaining, which includes post-secondary collective agreements.

The PBCO was created in 2015 to support the government’s fiscal, economic and policy priorities as an employer and a funder. They provide:

  • bargaining directives and negotiations for unionized staff.
  • oversight and administration of non-union and out-of-scope compensation for applicable public sector agencies.
  • applied economic labour analysis.
  • compensation research and data analytics.
  • strategic negotiation planning and arbitration support.
  • labour relations advice to internal and external partners.

To ensure compliance with the directive provided by the PBCO, before any tentative agreement is reached with either the Grant MacEwan University Faculty Association (GMUFA) or MacEwan Staff Union (MSU) it must first be submitted to the PBCO for review. The PBCO will confirm that the proposed terms of settlement align with the established directive before the agreement can be signed. 

There are also several pieces of legislation that govern the bargaining process itself, including the Labour Relations Code, the Public Service Employee Relations Act and the Post-Secondary Learning Act.

The Alberta Labour Relations Board, who is an independent and impartial tribunal responsible for interpreting and applying the legislation governing collective bargaining including:

  • how the employer and union must bargain to reach or renew a collective agreement.
  • what kinds of union and employer conduct is prohibited.
  • when the parties may have recourse to a lawful strike or lockout.

Additional information about the collective bargaining process and how collective agreements are reached with government-funded employees in Alberta can be found here.

From Human Resources