Energy and Chemical

CEP NATIONAL ENERGY & CHEMICAL BARGAINING

Welcome to the 2009-2010 CEP National Energy Bargaining Program information site.  This page is designed for CEP members and others who are interested in following national pattern bargaining in Canada’s oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

Ratification of the National Bargaining Program

Meet the Committee

Bargaining Program proposals

Co-ordinator’s Report

In the news

2010 National Energy and Chemical Bargaining to commence with Suncor

I am very pleased to inform you that Suncor has agreed to meet the CEP National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Committee to negotiate pattern issues for the renewal of collective agreements in 2010.   These negotiations will cover pattern issues for all CEP Suncor bargaining units.   Bargaining dates are to be announced in the near future.

In solidarity

Joseph Gargiso

Coordinator – National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Program
 

 
Message from Dave Coles, President, CEP

CEP members in the energy sector expect and deserve a contract in 2010 that shares the immense wealth of the oil, gas and petrochemical industries with the people and the communities that create and sustain it.  Our union will agree to nothing less.

CEP knows very well that we have come through tough times in 2009.  We also know that these industries have continued to earn their shareholders strong profits, and the prospects are for oil profits to soon reach new records. (See the report on the Conference Board of Canada’s report published in September 2009).

The National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Program is one of the most important collective bargaining relationships in the Canadian economy.  This bargaining program has provided excellent results for workers and employers, while ensuring fairness and stability in labour relations across Canada.

I look forward to another round of positive and productive negotiations with the Canadian industry.  Our employers know that CEP members are more united than ever, and ready to negotiate. 

Meet the members of the CEP National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Committee and Advisory Committee

National Bargaining Committee

Dave Coles, CEP President

Joseph Gargiso, National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Coordinator

Kim Ginter, CEP Vice President, Ontario

Jim Britton, CEP Vice President, Western Canada

Keith Woodward, Vice President, CEP Local 593

2009-2010 Advisory Committee

The 2009-2010 National Bargaining Program proposals

On May 1-3, 2009, delegates from oil, gas and petrochemical bargaining units across Canada met in Edmonton, Alberta to adopt the 2009-2010 bargaining program that will be presented to the Canadian industry as the union’s bargaining demands.  The bargaining program must be adopted by membership votes in all participating local unions.

Term:

• 2 years

Wage increases:

• Year 1 – 4%
• Year 2 – 4%
• Plus locally negotiated oil sands supplement
• Applicable to shift differentials and all wage related premiums

Retroactivity:

• Retroactivity payable to all employees employed during the negotiation period

Severance:

• Increase severance formula to 2 weeks + 2 weeks per year of service X 1.3
  

Co-ordinator’s Report

By Joseph Gargiso

October 1/2009
Greetings!  The 2009-2010 Bargaining Program proposals, the revised format for the National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Program, and the rules for the 2009-2010 Supplementary Defense Fund are in the process of being adopted by CEP local unions.  At this time, 18 local unions and bargaining units have adopted the Bargaining Program and the format, and no bargaining units have to date rejected the proposals.  Please inform the CEP National Office as soon as your local or bargaining unit has voted.

Remember, according to the new rules for the Supplementary Defense Fund, contributions from members commence in November 2009. 

Our current pattern agreement negotiated in 2007 expired on January 31, 2010.  We are now making sure that all preparations are in place for the next round of national bargaining which will commence soon.  Stay tuned to these pages on CEP.ca for updates and information on 2009-2010 National Energy and Chemical Bargaining.
 

Energy bargaining – In the news

Oil profits seen slipping 24% in 2009

Pain will be brief, Conference Board study predicts 

Last Updated: Wednesday, September 2, 2009

CBC News

Canadian producers will be pumping more oil and hitting new profit records by 2013, study says. (CBC)

Profits of Canada's oil producers are expected to fall about 24 per cent in 2009 from levels reached amid record oil prices last year, but there are more fat years coming, the Conference Board of Canada says.

Despite the lower profits, this is "certainly not a bust year" for the industry, it adds in a study issued Wednesday.
The Conference Board, a business-oriented research group based in Ottawa, sees Canadian oil producers booking pre-tax profits of about $11.6 billion this year — down from $15.3 billion in 2008 — before starting to bounce back in 2010 on the strength of increased production and rising prices.

Profits will reach a new high of $32 billion in 2013, it projects. The figures do not include the natural gas industry.

In the oil business, price moves have been breathtaking in the past year, with oil fetching an unprecedented $145 US a barrel at one point in July 2008, then falling to $35 US amid a global economic slump.

The price has since doubled to about $70 US, and the Conference Board estimates it will average $61.74 US for 2009 as a whole.

"Economic growth is predicted to remain weak through the end of the year, but stimulus packages around the world will lead to improved performance starting in 2010. Accordingly, oil prices will resume their long-term upward trend, eventually reaching $103 US by 2013," it says.

“The Canadian oil industry has long been a boom or bust industry, and that has been the case over the past year,” Conference Board economist Todd Crawford said in a statement accompanying the study, which also made these points:

• Production declined in 2008 and is expected to increase by only 1.8 per cent this year due to the postponement of oil sands projects and a poor year for conventional drilling.
• The slowdown in production and investment will lower growth in total costs to 12.8 per cent, well below the 27 per cent increase in 2008.
• Starting next year, the oil extraction industry will begin to see strong production gains as prices resume their long-term upward trend.
• Industry revenues and costs are both expected to increase by an average of more than 20 per cent annually over the next four years.