The minister confirmed during that meeting the COLA will be paid out at the end of July and gave as reasons the fact that it's going to need a budget amendment and that lumping it together with the vacation pay in June would have resulted in a much higher tax deduction for the civil servant.
We at the WICSU/PSU are encouraged by the openness and willingness of the Minister to share information and pledge our continued cooperation in the interest of our members; we also hope that other unions and like organizations will join us in representing our members interests to the best of our ability.