
	Sunday October 12, 2008

Staffing Committee

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OVERVIEW

Staffing was, and still is non-negotiable within the federal public service. The UTE fought hard and long to have this prohibition removed from the legislation establishing the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. It seems, however, that the employer has gotten used to playing with a stacked deck. Especially, when it alone can change the rules of the game whenever it wants to. The UTE continues to place staffing as a priority demand in the bargaining process.

Nonetheless, the UTE some years ago formed a Staffing Committee to act as the members’ advocate on staffing issues with the employer. The Committee’s persistence and dogged work has succeeded in having a real impact on many employer staffing initiatives.

Here are just some examples of UTE achievements realized through the intervention and advocacy of the Staffing Committee:

The elimination of quotas used in the Performance Review process.
The reclassification of 700 CR04 Collection Clerks to PM01 Collection Officers.
The creation of a union-designed template for use in narrating the Agency Classification System elements of the job description rewrites in the Assessment and Collections Branch and other Branches.
The establishment of specific job descriptions for the Business Number/Business Window positions.
The establishment of separate Business Window Units in Client Services.
The issuance of acting PM-02 pay to employees in Tax Centres who were completing Rulings workloads. Furthermore, members performing these functions were assigned the PM-02 CPP/UI Coverage Officer job description.
The development of effective and persuasive allegations and arguments for use in appeals where the Department determined jobs to be "new" instead of "existing". The employer's "unfettered" right to rely on section 10(1) instead of 10(2) of the Public Service Employment Act to staff these positions was successfully challenged.
The creation of joint union/management committees to deal with problematic issues surrounding Term Rehire, Casual Delegation Authority, PM Educational Requirements in Audit, Performance Management and Tax Centre Modernization.
The development of a national policy to address irritants identified by Tax Centre Local Presidents concerning the Term Rehire process.
Effecting substantial changes to 1,000 national and regional job descriptions during the Modernization, Administrative Consolidation and UCS/ACS initiatives.
Effecting significant changes to the Department’s (Agency’s) assessment of “dependability” in the Term Rehire process.
The rescinding of many Developmental Assignment Programs where the UTE was able to prove they were inconsistent with the Public Service Employment Act and Regulations.
Reclassification of the position of Compensation Advisor to the AS-01 group and level.
Persuading the employer to return to national, instead of regional job descriptions, in Finance and Administration, resulting in the reclassification of some positions.

The above accomplishments are all the more noteworthy because, as previously noted, the employer has no requirement to negotiate or consult the UTE on staffing matters.

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