The federal government has been bargaining in bad faith in its negotiations with striking diplomats, the Public Service Labour Relations Board ruled on Friday.


The government "violated its duty to bargain collectively in good faith and make every reasonable effort to enter into a collective agreement," concluded the board.


While the board does not recommend any remedial action on the part of the federal government, it does "encourage" all sides to "renew their attempts at arriving at a mutually agreeable process under which final and binding determination … can be used to break their impasse, in the event that their inability to resolve their differences at the bargaining table continues."



Frédéric Fournier, media co-ordinator for the union representing Canada's foreign service, told CBC News in an email that "as soon as the secretary of the Treasury Board agrees to binding arbitration with no conditions, work actions would stop immediately as a sign of good faith."


More to come