My current activities as second national vice-president led me to attend the Executive Council and Executive Committee meetings. I also replaced the President and 1st National Vice-President at the PSAC National Board of Directors meetings several times. Contrary to what I said in my 2005 report, the result of establishing the full-time 2nd national vice-president position was to reduce the activities of the Executive Committee. The modus operandi established between the 3 national positions was modified, given the reciprocity of 2 of those 3 positions. It was clear that when this decision was made at the convention that the duties usually vested in the presidency would be modified. The responsibility for certain jobs that the presidency was not able to carry out and usually vested between the 2 other national officers would also undergo this major modification. It is a natural result due to the closeness of 2 of the national positions.
It is important to recognize that the responsibilities and duties for Executive Council members are no longer the same. Just compare the 2001 activity reports. The many improvements made to the different activities scheduled in the UTE calendar and the improvements or unexpected events from the Executive Council and the Locals have quadrupled the responsibilities of the Presidency. To cite a few examples, think of the implementation of the web site, publication of the Union News, the various additions to the president’s report, political activities, the addition of staff members, etc. Despite this state of things, I believe I have continued to take my place and especially to do the work passed on to me with respect and determination for UTE members.
I also attended various meetings of the Honours and Awards Committee. This committee supported the promotion and recognition of its activists at all levels of the UTE and made huge improvements towards this. New awards were created for recognizing the role of UTE members in the community.
I also attended joint meetings of the Technological Change Committee. We can still say at this point that technological changes are under high surveillance and that the negative impacts are at a minimum (job losses, etc.). The number of retirements in the next few years enable us to demand that the employer respect the attrition and lessen the impacts of technological change on workers. The fact remains that this committee needs to stay alert, but it is the Locals that must keep their eyes and ears open. The emphasis has also been put on reducing the period for preparing the reports of this joint committee in order to circulate the information as quickly as possible.
I attended various UTE special meetings and conferences, meetings of the PSAC Regional Council, my region’s inter-union coalition, the Convention of the Fédération des travailleuses et travailleurs du Québec. My political activities were a regular part of my daily life. I would meet regularly with the MP of my region during my travels, which enabled us to follow up on certain issues. In addition, some meetings scheduled as part of particular interests affecting our members were held to determine actions or information. These meetings and discussions enabled this MP to take some action in the House, which produced results.
Naturally I led the meetings of the Standing Bargaining Committee, the meeting of the National Bargaining Committee and participated on the Bargaining Team. This round of bargaining, which is historic due to the signing of an agreement before the expiry date, meant that the usually intense period needed for the bargaining process was short. As a result, there were much fewer meetings of the PSAC national strike/strategy committee. Our involvement on the PSAC multi-table strike/strategy committee will probably be only for information purposes and to support the other bargaining tables that do not yet have agreements.
HONOURS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE
The committee has terms of reference, and I can say unequivocally that this committee has largely addressed its terms of reference and achieved its objectives, which include promoting, encouraging and fostering an atmosphere of appreciation and recognition at all levels of the union. In fact, in the past three years, several ceremonies were held during Presidents’ Conferences, inter-regional meetings and Local annual general meetings to issue pins, certificates of achievement, awards of merit and lifetime memberships to recognize the involvement and dedication of union activists at all levels of the union.
These actions encourage activists to continue their involvement, value their essential work for the workers represented by the Union and ensure the viability and continuity of the Union by demonstrating the respect that the activists deserve. These actions demonstrate openness for potentially welcoming new activists. The purpose of these actions is also to develop solidarity among all members coast to coast. These acts of recognition break down barriers and prejudices that too often are maintained through a lack of knowledge of others among people who are peers and have common objectives to reach with their different tools and characteristics.
The committee also launched a new award to recognize the humanitarian contribution of UTE members in the community. The UTE has recognized its first recipient, Brother William (Bill) McCallum. His humanitarian actions leave no doubt about the dedication and determination of this colleague. Recognizing these actions instils pride in belonging to the UTE. The union, being an important cog in society from an economic and humanitarian standpoint, must exhibit that and properly highlight these actions of giving oneself to the community.
The committee also looked after awarding regional and national scholarships among candidates from the ten UTE regions. These scholarships help students continue their education. The committee must ensure it selects recipients as objectively as possible. To accomplish this, the committee amended some of the awarding rules for these scholarships. Again, this exercise is intended to boost the UTE’s reputation among members. By properly using members’ money, it supports young people’s accomplishments in society and raises young people’s awareness of the union.
The last but not least aspect of the committee’s work is sponsoring the organization International Children’s Awareness Canada through the UTE. The committee is responsible for selecting a student and a UTE member to accompany and assist Captain Smith in Africa. I honestly admit that, unlike scholarship selection, this selection is more difficult for me, since I don’t know exactly what the organization’s specific need in the field is. Having to make our selection only on pieces of writing, it is not easy to confirm that our selection is sound, even though this selection is made honestly and objectively. The committee held discussions with the organization to further define the criteria for applicants most suitable for participating. To close, the committee, with a view to having a vision towards all UTE members and with the involvement of people skilled in translation, works with the organization to provide the ICAC’s bilingual web site.
TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE COMMITTEE
Technological change in the workplace today is still very present, and its progress has no respect for people. These improvements are good for serving the ongoing attempt to do more with less. Globalization has also accentuated the search for and implementation of technological change so that the employer remains competitive and efficient. To try preventing the negative effects of technological change, the committee continues to urge the employer to give it as much notice as possible of technological changes. It has also put forward the monitoring of pilot projects that are mostly the announcement of the implementation of permanent technological changes.
The committee meets regularly with the employer’s senior managers to discuss the implementation of new technologies, existing technological changes and pilot projects to prevent impacts on workers. The committee ensures that it knows which jobs will be at risk in order to inform the Union and the WFA Committee to save or at least ensure workers’ rights and enforce the collective agreement.
The committee constantly urges the employer to produce reports and to follow up on items in shorter timeframes. The purpose of this action is to adequately inform the Locals so they can establish the prevention required for implementing the new technological changes because, as I said earlier, it is the Locals that experience and see the technological innovations that have a potential impact on the workers. As the proverb says, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
BARGAINING
My primary activities as 2nd national vice-president responsible for bargaining are in part defined by our following By-Laws:
(1) oversee the implementation of the Regulation governing Collective Bargaining procedures;
(2) issue frequent bulletins on the state of negotiations during the bargaining process;
(3) chairperson of the Standing Bargaining Committee;
(4) participate on the Negotiating Team;
(5) be the Chairperson of the National Collective Bargaining Committee;
(6) member of the PSAC National Strike Co-ordinating Committee; and
(7) ensures that the bargaining process for UTE is handled in a sound manner in the best interests of the members.To put together this document, I reviewed all of the Standing Bargaining Committee reports, UTE bulletins, the Union News, the 2005 convention resolutions, and certain other documents. As we know, verba volent scripta manent [the spoken word is fleeting, the written word endures].
In general, I could state that all the activities mentioned above were respected. I will take a few lines more to reflect on this statement. However, it would be dishonest if I were to state that all these actions, works and decisions are the result of my own work. It goes without saying that the involvement, commitment, dedication and ideas of the members of the Standing Bargaining Committee, the bargaining team and, since 2006, the involvement of Sisters Paquette and St-Aubin supporting the Committee, mean that I can again support this statement.
Thus, once the 2005 Convention was over, the committee set to work and made sure it established and implemented the ongoing bargaining demand collection process, a process put forward by late Sister Diana Gee and adopted at Convention (Resolution 234). This process, now operational and publicized by the UTE bulletins, enabled over 100 members to express their expectations during our last bargaining period. It was of course necessary to adapt and modify the originally established process to overcome certain difficulties that this new process created. This process pleases members and the Locals because it enables them to issue expectations or bargaining demand requirements on a daily basis without having to wait for the official bargaining demand collection period.
The committee also reviewed the various bargaining and dispute resolution models to determine which ones would be more beneficial for UTE members (Resolution 238). The sound advice, information and documentation from Sister Gaby Lévesque on these processes and on the amendments to the Public Service Modernization Act enabled the committee to recommend supporting the PSAC’s position based on the conciliation with right to strike method. Sister Lévesque also gave additional information at the Presidents’ Conference. A bulletin (16-06) was prepared to explain these bargaining and dispute resolution models to members.
The committee also dealt with the various items from the bargaining resolution from Peterborough passed at the Presidents’ Conference in September 2005. As requested in that resolution, the committee reported at the Presidents’ Conference this September 2006. The ongoing bargaining demand collection process, which was operational at that time, partly addressed that resolution. A questionnaire was prepared to gather feedback on the strike activities, and an article appeared in the September Union News, Volume 4 number 2, to provide a glance at what the dates for the next bargaining process might be. A detailed report on the disciplinary action taken against scabs was given. Various recommendations were also made to the Executive Council.
The committee prepared the document “2007 PSAC/CRA Program of Demands”, which was sent to the PSAC, then sent in both languages to the Locals as part of the official bargaining demand collection process. To publicize the start of the bargaining process, various promotional items were supplied. Coasters with a slogan chosen by the Locals were sent to all members. With agreement from the Executive Council, jackets were given to Local activists to increase visibility among members.
Several demands from members and Locals made up the workbook for enabling the National Bargaining Committee to select and prioritize the official bargaining demands submitted to the CRA and, new development, these demands were publicized on our web site.
The last bargaining process, which can be described as historic due to an agreement being signed before the end of the collective agreement, is unique in the federal public service. This historic fact was also accompanied by a quality agreement. Of course, it is not a unanimous agreement, but it enables us to have a new classification standard that is not discriminatory. Also, the improvement of some other articles in the collective agreement, the application of which we were able to benefit from right away. It will be necessary to continue representations to the employer to try maintaining the employer’s responsibility at the bargaining table. The team members unanimously hoped that this process becomes the norm in terms of bargaining between the CRA and PSAC/UTE.
To summarize the results of this bargaining process, I am taking the liberty of citing some passages from the document “Update on Bargaining from the Collective Bargaining Branch, Winter 2008, PSAC”:
As the above tables illustrate, PSAC members on average have been successful in achieving wage increases that are in line with the average annual increases outlined by HRSDC of 3.3% for 2007. Looking at the settlements by sector, the 3.12% average annual increases for PSLRA and PESRA members is well above the average of 2.7% for bargaining units under the federal jurisdiction, though it is important to remember that those increases were partly related to a conversion to a bargaining unit wide classification plan at the Canada Revenue Agency. Similarly, the 3.25% average annual increase for non Airport CLC units and NPFs includes increases related to universal classification conversion that occurred at the National Gallery of Canada. In 2007, the Airport units garnered the highest increases with average wage increases of close to 4% per year.
- A good settlement for CRA, where pay rates already higher than Treasury Board rates.
The settlement itself is a good one for CRA – a bargaining unit that for the past few years, has received higher rates of pay compared to their Treasury Board counterparts. The conversion provides an immediate 1.75% increase, followed by a 2.5% increase in each year of the 3-year agreement. We have compared CRA rates after conversion with TB unit’s rates of pay. At the PM 1-3 level, CRA members make between 3.5 and 5.5% more than their TB counterparts. And that is before adding the 2.5% increase in each year. At the CR 4 level, with conversion, the CRA members now make 3.75% more than the TB counterparts. Again, this is before adding the 2.5% increase in each year.
I would also like to cite a portion of the “Statement of Principle on Bargaining” adopted at our 2005 Convention and let you judge the objectives and work achieved for bargaining:
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLE ON BARGAINING
WHAT WE WANT AND/OR WILL DO
Process length
Given that we start bargaining 90 days prior to the expiry of the collective agreement, it is achievable to meet our objective of getting a tentative agreement before the expiry of the current contract. To achieve it, however, the employer must agree to set intensive, continuous, contiguous bargaining periods. The employer will have to appoint to its bargaining team a responsible person who has the authority to make decisions. The teams should stay at the table until there is a tentative agreement or an impasse. These issues must be discussed and written agreements drawn up between the bargaining agent, our union and the employer.
Bargaining team
The UTE must ensure that the PSAC schedules their negotiators and researchers’ schedule so that the same negotiator and researcher are assigned to our bargaining team for the entire bargaining process.
Demands
Locals should be mandated to solicit their members for their demands during their annual general meetings or special meetings. In the 12 months proceeding the Notice‑to-Bargain year, the UTE will remind Locals to do this prior to the beginning of the bargaining process.
The UTE is in favour of establishing a bargaining committee in each Local. These committees could be responsible for ensuring that all aspects of bargaining in the Local run smoothly.
These committees would oversee the demands process with members.
Some of the duties of the committee would be to:
- ensure that membership lists for the phone lines are up to date,
- maintain interest in and contacts for the strike structure; and
- develop the communication aspect for bargaining.
Vote processes
The UTE believes that, with existing technology, it is possible to reduce the ratification process, including results, to 30 days. The UTE submitted a resolution asking the PSAC to amend the vote process accordingly.
Conclusion
All desires to improve the bargaining process that require employer representation or agreement are and will be part of the representations of our elected national officers to the employer through its representative, the Commissioner. These desires must be continually discussed with the employer. We must try to get written commitments from the CRA to make real progress.
CONCLUSION
To close, I would like to point out that I greatly enjoyed working on the Honours and Awards Committee. I owe this enjoyment to the members of this committee, who are pleasant company to whom I give my sincerest thanks. I also thank the members of the Technological Change Committee for their knowledge, dedication and sincerity. I am proud to work with them.
Finally, I would like to thank the Executive Council members, the Local executives and members of their executive councils, the members and staff of the UTE and the PSAC. Special thanks to the members of the Standing Bargaining Committee, the National Bargaining Committee and the Bargaining Team for your involvement. To all of you for your commitment, dedication, action and participation, which make the UTE a union that listens to its members and has earned the respect of the employer and its members.
Naturally, we must not rest on our laurels. What we have won are also objectives to protect, and as I said in my report to the 2005 Convention: There is no magic formula for reaching the objectives our members have set. With perseverance, hard work, the best possible use of the right information, the support of union Locals, respect, all in a spirit of trade unionism and solidarity, we as workers will maintain this respect and hold on to our jobs.
Work and wages are not a privilege; they are a right!
Respectfully submitted,
Denis Lalancette
2nd National Vice-President