
	Thursday September 9, 2010

Here Today – Gone Tomorrow!!

Look beside you. Is the same co-worker that has always been there, still there? Or is the desk empty?

The CRA is proceeding with several major initiatives that not only may affect the person next to you but could also affect you.

UTE’s campaign against the Client Service Cash and Counter cutbacks is up and running as we try and educate not only the public, but politicians, special interest groups and our members.

The CRA is in the midst of, or has already completed the following initiatives that could or have affected your job:

closing of “ALL” cash and counter service
net file – e-file – tele-file
bar coding of both individual and corporate tax returns
Compensation Service regionalization
regionalization of Individual Enquiries functions, such as telephone enquiries
centralization of Business Window functions
contracting out of Finance and Administration workload.

Your Union is aware of all of these and more and we are working to ensure your job security is a priority. Your Collective Agreement ensures you have job security rights and they are found in the Work Force Adjustment Appendix. You should familiarize yourself with this part of your contract and don’t be afraid to ask questions. You can ask your Local Union Representative, your human resource contact (if you still have one) or your manager.
As your Executive Council Member responsible for job security, I want to assure you that we are diligently working at keeping you employed.

We initiated a National Joint Work Force Adjustment Committee with the employer. The first meeting was held May 18, 2005.

National committees of this nature are important but local and regional committees are even more vital to ensure your future. You should talk to your local and regional UTE representatives and ask if they are part of a Joint WFA Committee. If they say they are not, ask them why not? If they say because local or regional management won’t agree, then ask your manager why the employer is so reluctant.

Many of the CRA’s initiatives make no sense to your Union, others involving technological changes are inevitable. We need you to ask the important questions. We need you to go to your Member of Parliament and ask them why the Government is doing these things. We need you to write letters to the editor of your local newspaper about the service cuts to the public. We need you to talk to your family, your friends, and your neighbors and tell them that these service cuts are a disservice.

Union leaders can lead, but the membership is the strength. We now have the intensity and the determination to show the CRA and the Government that their plan is a disservice to the Canadian public.

You cannot put this off. Your future is at stake, and your future is now.

Nick Stein Chair UTE National Work Force Adjustment Committee.

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