E-mail

Print Version

Site Plan

Search

Other Links

Shop

Subscribe

Français

President’s Report
Executive Council
December 2009

Betty Bannon - Item 6

CRA Changes:

Jean Laronde has now left the CRA and her replacement, Josée Tremblay met the Executive Council during the September meeting.  I have had at least two face to face meetings and a phone call or two with Cheryl Fraser, the new AC-HR and have also dealt with her as Co-chair of the OSH Policy Committee.  We will continue our informal meetings from time to time, as we did with her predecessor.

I have spoken with the new Commissioner, Linda Lizotte-MacPherson, by phone and have a face to face meeting scheduled with her on December 16th.  We tried to have the meeting prior to the NUMC; however our schedules did not allow it.  She will be attending the NUMC this week and has advised that she will be attending these meetings in the future as well.  She recognizes that Union Management relations need to be strong and that these meetings are one way to ensure good relations.

Official Languages:

We have met with the PSAC regarding challenging the Active Offer, as well as the ability of our members to write in the language of their choice on files and diaries and they have no objections, at this time, if we pursue these matters.  We were expecting information from some locals prior to deciding how we would proceed, but only a few individuals have sent information in to us.  Therefore we will prepare a plan of action based on the information received.  The first step will be to challenge the Active Offer issue and then the language of work vs. language of service.  We will be advising the Executive Council and the locals shortly on the plan of action to follow.

Web/Communications:

Since my last report, we have prepared the December Union News and reviewed the new employee PowerPoint presentation.  We produced our first Youtube video as part of the November 2nd Bill C-10 efforts.  We created Facebook, UnionBook, and LabourStart accounts, to reach more members.  The feedback was very positive.

Information Technology:

Since my last report, all IT systems have been running well.  Regular software maintenance of internal computers and servers was performed.  We renewed our licenses for our Anti-Virus, Anti-SPAM and backup software. We also purchased software to upgrade our web server.  We are upgrading our email system to Exchange 2007 and this new email software will provide much more user productivity via Outlook Web Access and provide greater security.  In my last report the IT department was working on documenting all IT information and procedures.  This document is now complete and updated on a regular basis.  We are in the process of creating an IT policy concerning Internet, email and computer usage that will govern the way we use our IT information and resources.  We are also in the process of looking for a backup solution and data encryption solution for the laptops of the RVPs.

Provincial HST Transfer:

I have had several Conference Call updates on this issue.  It was decided that the updates would come as soon as possible after each meeting the CRA has with either Ontario or BC.  I remind you that in these two transfers, the Treasury Board is also involved, due to some positions being transferred to the CBSA.  So the meetings are not with just CRA being involved nor are they alone in the decision making.  At this point in time I have no major concerns; however, a wrinkle in the process has occurred since the talks between the CRA and PIPSC and new business acquisitions broke off.  WhenPIPSC reached a Tentative Agreement to their negotiations with the CRA, they had agreed to talks regarding the issues surrounding new business coming to the CRA and the possible transfers of staff that come with the new business.  The CRA put a message on their Infozone regarding the talks breaking off, as well as, stating that this event would not delay the HST transfers in any way.

Regional EO Conferences:

I have attended three of the four Regional EO Conferences held in Edmonton, Halifax and Niagara Falls.  Due to health reasons, I was not able to attend the fourth one in Quebec City but I want to thank Brother Campbell for attending in my stead on such short notice.  In speaking with many of the participants, the conferences have been very well received.  This has also been seen in the evaluations, so “Kudos” to the committee.  It also gave us a timely chance at some of them to talk about the implications of Bill C-10 and our activities for November 2nd, which the participants showed great interest with their attentiveness and questions.

Use of YouTube:

Although the video was far from “professional” the reaction of the membership was overwhelmingly positive.  I hope the next time that we use this medium that we will be able to produce a better product, but it was a good learning experience.  The English was viewed 1028 times and the French 588 times.  I want to thank Susan Duncan for arranging it all and being one of the cue card holder for me and Steve Hartman from the PSAC who did the actual filming. A special thanks goes to my Administrative Assistant, Pierrette Labrie for agreeing to do the French voice over for me and for doing a great job.  Maybe, we all have budding acting careers..................NOT! (speaking for myself).

Preventing and Resolving Harassment Guidelines:

The CRA has developed a new package on this issue and in consultation with our UTE Harassment Committee wanted to present it to the Council prior to it going out into the field.  After looking at our Agenda, I have agreed to the request of our Harassment Committee Chair and there will be a presentation to Executive Council on Wednesday morning.  Waiting until our next meeting would be too late as it would already be in the field.

Donations / Sponsorships
2009

Non UTE Events/
2009

Grievance:

Since our last Executive Council meeting, thirty-five (35) grievances, other than classification, were received at the National Office.
During the same period, twenty-nine (29) grievances were presented dealing with a variety of issues, including four (4) terminations and two (2) suspensions.

__________________________
1 Outstanding due to Currie decision which has now been returned to the Federal Court
2 Outstanding due to the adjudication and/or classification decisions pertaining to certain MG positions
3 Pending resolution of job content grievance
4 Pending negotiating settlement

There are presently eighty-nine (89) grievances in the National Office inventory which have not yet been presented at the Final Level. 

Classification Grievances

During this quarter, we received two (2) classification grievances.

____________________
*** We have concluded an arrangement with the PSAC to directly provide representation to our members with respect to forty-six (46) ACS-SP Classification Conversion grievances and we have entered into consultations with the Agency with a view to arranging for a reasonable schedule for the presentation of these grievances.  To date, we have provided representation for nineteen (19) of these grievances and await the employer’s decisions with respect to these grievances.  An additional chart to track the progress of the ACS-SP Classification Conversion grievances is produced below”.

Independent Third Party Reviews (ITPR'S)

During this quarter, no ITPR’s were received in the National Office.  There are currently three (3) ITPR’s in our inventory at this time and all have been assigned to various LRO’s and are being actively handled. 

CRA Policy Review Grievances

There are presently three (3) CRA Policy Review grievances to be heard by the Joint Review Committee but have not been scheduled to date.  These will not be scheduled to be heard until the New Year.

President’s Itinerary

MEMBERSHIP / NOS MEMBRES

Respectfully submitted,

Visit often, and send us your comments to the webmaster@ute-sei.org if you have any problems.