What about the joint pay study?

The Employer and the Association have agreed to have a contractor to undertake a joint pay study.  

The joint pay study will compare compensation of the LP Group with several other federal government workers (internal comparability) selected jointly by the Employer and the Association.  The AJC agreed to have the contractor undertake an internal comparability exercise because the FPSLRA requires an arbitrator to consider internal comparability in coming to a decision.

The joint pay study will also compare compensation of the LP Group with external lawyers doing similar work (external comparability).  Both parties agree that provincial government lawyers are the most appropriate comparators.

All work done by the contractor, including job matching and job evaluations, will be conducted under the supervision of both parties as equal parties in instructing the contractor.  Any disputes that arise during the process that cannot be resolved on consensus will be referred to a third-party who will make a final and binding decision.

Once the results of the study are available, we may agree on further market adjustments. If we do not agree on further market adjustments, we may proceed to arbitration on the sole issue of whether a further market adjustment is warranted.

The study is to be completed in within fifteen (15) months from the time the project plan is submitted to the working group by the contractors.