I'm not a negotiator myself. I'm a classification and equal pay officer. We have always kept that side of creating job evaluation plans and pay equity separate from negotiations, for good reason.
I've been involved in the consultations on the regulations. One of the things that came across from the employer representatives who were there, from both separate employers and the core public service, was the huge concern with the amount of information the employer is going to have to provide to the union. As we're saying, if we're liable for this, we will want very good data. We want clean data. We want solid data.
Most of them around the table seem to think that wasn't going to be available. I know this from other processes I've worked in, and even the Auditor General has talked about the lack of computer systems that have solid data, across the board; there are inconsistencies from every department. That's just a minor concern. We have no idea how long it's going to take. There are no timelines in the legislation for this to take place except that it has to be before we can come to a final collective agreement.
As my colleagues have said, the sheer technical side of it has the potential to drag negotiations on indefinitely.