Staffing Committee

REPORT OF THE STAFFING COMMITTEE
DECEMBER 2006

Linda Cassidy  Item 11(a)

The Committee has not meet during this quarter, although as the Chairperson, I have attended several meetings on behalf of UTE.  I have not been able to get a summary of the meetings issued so I will provide an update through this report.

On October 29th,I attended a meeting of Taxpayer Services Debt Management Branch where we were provided with several updates.  There was an overlap at this meeting where I was provided with information on several issues that were being dealt with by the Staffing Committee, but some of which had been dealt with by the Political action Committee (PAC). [This information has been provided to the Chair of PAC.]

One of the issues discussed was the concept of Pools.  The employer reported that national initiatives that include the national Collections and Compliance pools and Intake Centers, have been implemented in successive stages over the last three years and now represent established elements of our program delivery model.  As such the following are no longer considered pilots:

• National Collections Pools – T1
• National Collections Pools – GST/HST
• National Compliance Intake Centers – GST/HST
• National Compliance Intake Centers – PAYDAC

The employer also discussed the regional initiatives that were referred to as pilots and when these would be finalized, when they would end, and what the timing could be for indeterminate staffing.  These regional initiatives have been implemented in successive stages over the last three years and now represent established elements of their program delivery model.  As such the following are no longer considered pilots:

• Quebec Region – Regional Compliance Intake Centre, now part of the National Compliance Intake Centers (out of Laval TSO for both GST/HST and PAYDAC)
• Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic Region – Regional Intake Centre (Pools)
• Ontario Region - National Pools - Collections – PAYDAC

Furthermore, at the same meeting, information was also provided on the following projects:

• Non-filer Data Mining Pilot Project Update
• Ontario Region Insolvency Pilot Project Update
• Integrated Enforcement Team Pilot Project Update
• Line 104 and T4/T4A Pilot Project Update
• Non-Filer Call Centre Pilot Project Update
• T-1 Integration Pilot Project Update – Collections/Non-Filing

We were also provided with an update on the Work Assessment Project and the employer advised that the process will be ready to go by the end of the fiscal period.  They are hoping that the process will be ready to use during the next performance cycle.  The employer stated that there have been some substantial revisions to the form and we raised an objection to this.  The form was acceptable to the union and we have not been provided with any opportunity to provide input on any revisions.

On November 8th, Brother O’Brien and I attended the quarterly meeting for the Term Commitment. At this meeting, we were provided with a follow-up report on the final Term Commitment Report and an update on seasonal employment, including progress made on other term commitments.  In addition, Management is currently working with the Taxpayer Services and Debt Management Branch and the Assessment and Benefit Services Branch to facilitate a discussion on seasonal employment directly with us. The Directive on the Management of Term Employees and the bulletin for the creation of rehire pools for term employees have been distributed to UTE and the Human Resources community.  UTE has been invited to attend an information/training session on the management of terms planned for December 5th and Sister Gardiner and I will be attending.

On November 15th Bother O’Brien and I attended a meeting regarding Observe and Attest.  This meeting was called at our request as we were being provided with inconsistent information from the field.  Unfortunately, the information was correct and we advised the employer that when changes were made, they should be consulting with the union, not ignoring us.  Management has expanded the Observe and Attest and employees can now be evaluated on any of the six competencies as long as they are covered under the Job Profile.  We expressed our complete disagreement with this concept and advised they were providing an unfair advantage to some.  If some members are able to be observed and attested on Conflict Management and Developing Others, then they have a decided advantage in future processes.  The employer’s position was that they had never committed that all would be treated equally. This is just one more tool to use.  They also advised that guidelines have been written on what to do when an employee fails a competency test, but still has an opportunity to be attested by their manager. These guidelines, however, have not yet been shared with the union.

            
Respectfully submitted,

Linda Cassidy,

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