Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Authority
1.1.1 The National Joint Council (Council) is established under the authority of His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the President of the Treasury Board under Treasury Board Minute T.272382B of March 8, 1945, as amended by Orders in Council: P.C. 1966-37/2106 of November 10, 1966; P.C. 1980-2413 of September 5, 1980; P.C. 1981-2443 of September 3, 1981; P.C 1987-884 of April 30, 1987; and P.C. 1994-2/752 of May 5, 1994.
1.2 Purpose and Scope
1.2.1 The purpose of Council shall be to promote the efficiency of the public service and the well-being of those employed in the Public Service by providing for regular consultation between the government as the employer and bargaining agents on behalf of employees who come under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Labour Relations Act.
1.2.2 Council may agree to consult on any benefit or condition of work of service-wide applicability and make recommendations to the appropriate executive body of the government.
1.2.3 The executive body shall advise Council within a reasonable time of the executive action to be taken including, if any recommendation of Council is not accepted, the reason for not being accepted.
1.2.4 At the time Council agrees to consult on a matter, it shall be further agreed as to whether the matter shall be deemed to constitute part of the collective agreements between the parties or whether the consultation will only result in recommendations to the employer as to the particular matter.
1.2.5 Council may develop, as required, councils on a regional or other sub structure basis as appropriate.
2. Structure
2.1 Membership
2.1.1 Council shall consist of representatives of the employers and bargaining agents of the Public Service.
2.1.2 The representatives of the employers shall form the employer side of Council.
2.1.3 The representatives of the bargaining agents shall form the bargaining agent side of Council.
2.1.4 The representatives of the employer side shall be senior administrative officers in the Public Service. The officers representing the Treasury Board shall be appointed by the President of the Treasury Board and the officers representing participating separate employers shall be appointed by the chief executive officer of the appropriate separate employer.
2.1.5 A separate employer and those certified bargaining agents for bargaining units for which the separate employer is the employer may become members of Council, where the separate employer and the bargaining agents both agree to participate.
2.1.6 The representatives of the bargaining agent side shall be a representative from each employee organization or council of employee organizations certified as the bargaining agent for one or more bargaining units in accordance with the legislation.
2.1.7 Each organization which appoints a member to Council may appoint an alternate to that member. However, only one representative shall be recognized at a meeting.
2.2 Chairpersons
2.2.1 There shall be a chairperson and a co-chairperson (chairpersons) of Council. The chairperson shall be appointed by the President of the Treasury Board. The co-chairperson shall be appointed by the bargaining agent side.
2.3 Executive committee
2.3.1 There shall be an executive committee of Council. The executive committee shall be comprised of the chairpersons and two additional representatives from each side.
2.4 Committees and boards
2.4.1 Council may establish committees and boards from within its membership or from other sources within the public service and the employee organizations represented on Council as deemed necessary to the conduct of its business.
2.5 General Secretary
2.5.1 There shall be a General Secretary of Council. The General Secretary shall be nominated by the employer and the bargaining agent side in turn. The nomination shall be subject to the recommendation of the executive committee and appointment by Council.
2.5.2 The General Secretary shall not be a member of Council, nor any Council committees.
2.5.3 The General Secretary shall be under the general direction of the executive committee.
2.6 Side secretaries
2.6.1 The sides shall each appoint a secretary for their respective sides, who may or may not be a member of Council.
2.7 Departmental liaison officers
2.7.1 Each deputy head or chief executive officer of a separate employer participating in Council, shall appoint a departmental liaison officer and advise the General Secretary.
3. Duties
3.1 General
3.1.1 All duties performed by persons acting on behalf of Council shall be consistent with the constitution and by-laws of Council.
3.2 Chairpersons
3.2.1 The chairpersons shall alternately chair Council meetings and shall be the principal spokespersons of Council.
3.3 Executive committee
3.3.1 The executive committee shall act on behalf of Council in the intervals between meetings, subject to ratification of their actions at the next meeting of Council.
3.3.2 The executive committee shall perform such other duties as required by Council.
3.4 Committees and boards
3.4.1 Committees of Council shall perform the duties as outlined in their terms of reference establishing that committee.
3.4.2 Boards of management shall be governed by the terms of the agreement establishing that board.
3.5 General Secretary
3.5.1 The General Secretary shall attend and keep a record of each meeting of Council and the executive committee.
3.5.2 The General Secretary shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the executive committee or Council from time to time.
3.6 Side secretaries
3.6.1 The side secretaries shall be responsible for advising the General Secretary of changes in side representation on the Council and Council committees.
3.6.2 Side secretaries shall perform the duties assigned by the respective sides.
3.7 Departmental liaison officers
3.7.1 Department liaison officers shall be responsible for the operation of the Council grievance procedure within their department or agency.
3.7.2 Department liaison officers shall be responsible for the dissemination of information regarding Council within their jurisdiction.
4. By-laws
4.1 General
4.1.1 Council may establish by-laws consistent with this constitution to provide for its operation.
4.1.2 Either side may table a written notice of a proposal to amend the by-laws at a meeting of Council, and not later than the date of such tabling, a copy of the proposed amendment shall be made available to all representatives on Council. In any case the by-laws shall be reviewed every three years.
4.1.3 Council may approve a proposal to amend these by-laws at the next meeting of Council following the meeting at which the proposal was tabled.
5. Administration
5.1 Council meetings
5.1.1 Meetings shall be held at least once each quarter and special meetings may be held upon the call of the chairpersons.
5.2 Council recommendations
5.2.1 Recommendations of Council shall be by agreement of the two sides, and shall be reported by the General Secretary to the appropriate executive body of government.
5.2.2 Where it has been agreed that a matter shall be deemed to form part of collective agreements, any resulting agreement shall be signed by the respective parties.
5.3 Communications
5.3.1 Council shall be responsible for making information available with respect to its activities.
5.4 Amendments
5.4.1 Either side of Council may propose amendments to the constitution. Proposed amendments shall be made in writing at a meeting of Council. Proposed amendments, unless withdrawn, shall be voted on at the next following meeting of Council. Approved amendments shall be recommended to the Governor in Council.