Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Friends,
This message is intended for all our members, but especially for our term members.
Today marks exactly two (2) years since the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) decided to keep thousands of its employees in a state of perpetual job insecurity. On April 8, 2024, the CRA implemented, under its Staffing Program, a moratorium on the administrative conversion of term employees (contract workers). As you know, this administrative conversion allows a term employee to automatically obtain indeterminate (permanent) status after completing three (3) years of cumulative service, provided there is no break in service (period without a contract) of more than thirty (30) consecutive days.
As soon as the moratorium was announced, our union condemned the decision.
As of April 8, 2024, service performed by term employees no longer counts toward the three (3) years of cumulative service required for administrative conversion to indeterminate (permanent) status. And it gets worse. We are fully aware that for those of you whose contracts were not renewed and who were subsequently recalled to work by the Agency, all your previously accumulated time was wiped out. So you’re starting from scratch! And you’re stuck back at square one until this damn moratorium is finally lifted! This is unacceptable!
Just like you, we are outraged by this situation.
I want you to know that we hear you and we see you. Your local representatives are listening to you and hearing you, and they are sharing with us your dissatisfaction, your anger, your ongoing stress, your bitterness toward your employer, and even your distress. When I visit Agency offices with Regional Vice Presidents and representatives from your locals, or during Annual General Meetings, I listen to you, I hear you, and I see your suffering and frustration with this unfair situation. Many of you have told me that you are seriously considering leaving the Agency to find stable employment elsewhere. And some are even actively looking for another job. This is completely understandable. But it is deeply regrettable. Regrettable because most of you love your jobs and greatly appreciate your coworkers. Regrettable because the workloads are there and there is plenty of work to be done. Regrettable because your work is well done. And regrettable because the Agency has invested a great deal of time and money in training you, and you are competent and experienced employees.
This situation is simply unacceptable—not only for you, but also for Canadian taxpayers.
Over the past two years, we have repeatedly asked the Agency to lift this moratorium. We raised the issue during national union-management meetings with all senior CRA executives. I have raised it directly with Commissioner Bob Hamilton on several occasions. I have discussed it frequently with the Agency’s Chief Human Resources Officer. But to no avail.
When we discuss the moratorium, the employer always talks about the need for flexibility and managing financial risks. But they don’t mention the immensely negative impact this moratorium has on you, our members, their employees, and your families. The employer does not mention the impacts on your health and well-being, both psychologically and physically. This moratorium keeps term employees in a constant state of stress with no hope of predictability or stability in their lives.
Today, we’re telling the Canada Revenue Agency that enough is enough. The last time the Agency imposed such a moratorium in the early 2010s, it remained in effect for eighteen (18) months. This time, it’s already been two (2) years—that’s twenty-four (24) months!
During a meeting scheduled for this afternoon with the Agency’s Acting Commissioner, Mr. Jean-François Fortin, I will convey this message. As Commissioner, he now has the responsibility and the authority to lift the moratorium. I expect the Commissioner to listen carefully to the message I will deliver on behalf of more than 9,000 of our members with determined status. I do not expect an immediate positive response from him. But I do expect him to give this serious consideration, to conduct a new analysis of the human resources situation that will confirm that many employees will be leaving the Agency voluntarily through natural attrition (retirement, etc.), which will give him sufficient flexibility, and that he will soon come to the same conclusion as we have: that enough is enough! That it is time to end this moratorium!
Next Monday, April 13, I will also be meeting with the Secretary of State for the Canada Revenue Agency, the Honourable Wayne Long. During this meeting, I will discuss several topics, but you can be sure that I will also raise this issue with him. And I will also request a meeting with the Minister of National Revenue, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, if necessary.
But that’s not all. Today, we decided to share this message not only with the Agency and its senior leadership but also with the Canadian public. To that end, we sent out a press release earlier this morning to numerous media outlets across the country. You will find a copy of the press release at the bottom of this message.
Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Friends, we know that our term members are fed up with working from contract to contract or having their contracts not renewed. That's no way to treat its employees, especially for an employer that prides itself on putting “People First”!
I want you to know that we, at the Union of Taxation Employees, greatly appreciate all the work you do every day, whether you are a permanent employee or a term employee. Thank you for your hard work and your dedication to the Canadian public!
The CRA must end this moratorium. It is a matter of respect towards you, its employees, to ensure you have a healthy and stimulating work environment that offers real career opportunities. It is also important for the Agency to retain its experienced employees so that it can consistently provide Canadian taxpayers with high-quality public service.
The Union of Taxation Employees is urging the Canada Revenue Agency to lift the moratorium as soon as possible.
In solidarity,
Marc Brière
National President
Union of Taxation Employees