THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017
AFTERNOON SESSION
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 1:15 p.m. Bob Campbell, President of the Union of Taxation Employees, presided the meeting and welcomed everyone. The session opened with the song Solidarity Forever in both French and English.
President Campbell asked the delegation to respect a moment of silence for members who have passed away since the last conference.
President Campbell went over the Harassment Policy and introduced the Complaint Administrators: Doug Gaetz, Annette Melanson and Shane O’Brien. He introduced the members of the staff from the National Office present in the room, and then asked the Local Presidents to introduce themselves. The members of the Executive Council and Life Members were then introduced.
HOURS OF SESSION
M/S Chris Beaton / Melanee Jessup
That the hours of session be as follows:
Thursday: 01:15 to 5:00
Friday: 09:00 to 11:45; 1:15 to 5:00
Saturday: 09:00 to 11:45; 1:15 to 5:00 or closure of business
MOTION CARRIED.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA
(See attached agenda, participants list and Items submitted by the Local Presidents)
M/S Richard Weintrager / Brian Oldford
That the agenda be adopted with the following additional items:
- Prior Bargaining Demands (Kitchener)
- Bargaining Plan Going Forward (Kelowna)
- Implementation of Article 34.05(b) (St. Catharines)
- Article 42 Collective Agreement definition of other professional representatives (Sherbrooke)
- MOTION CARRIED.
The CPR attendants were introduced as follows:
Bill Blair, RVP National Capital
Marc Brière, 1st National Vice-President
Ken Bye, RVP Greater Toronto
Mike Chartrand, Ottawa HQ
Cosimo Crupi, RVP Northern and Eastern Ontario Region
Patrick Ferguson, Regina
Madonna Gardiner, 2nd National Vice-President
Linda Koenders, Ottawa HQ
Greg Krokosh, RVP Rocky Mountains
Jamie vanSydenborgh, RVP Southwestern Ontario Region
Alex Thon, National Office
New Local Presidents
Kevin Welgush Saskatoon
Chris Heywood, Sudbury
Trixie Gorzo, Calgary
Andrew Wickens, Victoria
Sharon Cowie, Vancouver
Adam Jackson, Kingston
OPENING REMARKS
President Campbell urged the locals to please stop the internal fighting, the behind-the-scenes agreements and act respectfully with each other as we are all in the same union family. The Collective Agreement is placed in your hands to protect the members’ rights. He spoke about the upcoming UTE Triennial Convention saying that this was the last one he will be presiding and he made a point of saying that every member in good standing has the right to attend the convention. He went on by asking the participants to let him know if someone was running for the national positions. He emphasized the fact that a member attending the convention has a very severe allergy to peanut products. He also emphasized the fact that the registration to convention will open on Tuesday, July 18th and that people must register that day before sightseeing the city or going shopping to permit the opening of the convention at 9 o’clock sharp the next day. He added saying that t-shirt orders for regional caucus must be Canadian made. He concluded commenting that our President’s Conference are what makes UTE stand out among other components and asked the participants to fill in the evaluation forms as they give the National Office a very good indication of what members are expecting at these conferences. He thanked the Locals for their good work.
He announced that our challenge to Bill C-10 is over as the Supreme Court will not hear our appeal, and does not have to give the rationale for refusing it. We thought we had a good case and believed that Bill C-10 violates federal public service workers’ right to freedom of association and to collectively bargain.
On Service Renewal, he asked the locals that have members about to reach their five (5) years of service to provide the information to the National Office and that we will try to work with CRA on that issue.
Brother Shane O’Brien, Senior Labour Relation Officer (SLRO) was pleased to announce that following a policy grievance that was filed regarding the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada members occupying UTE jobs, a memorandum of settlement with CRA has been signed today and they agree that PIPSC’s members will no longer occupy PSAC/UTE jobs and will be paying dues to UTE effective immediately. There might be technical exceptions in cases of harassment situations and temporary lateral moves to unclassified levels. This settlement does not include excluded members, but we could file another policy grievance on that issue if locals have information to provide to the National Office. He concluded by saying that an invoice has been sent to CRA and that additional information will be shared as it becomes available.
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL BUSINESS
President Campbell reported briefly on some of the business conducted by the Executive Council earlier during the week. (For additional details, please refer to the Executive Council Minutes and Committee Reports of March 2017 that were sent earlier).
From Executive Council Minutes:
Adoption of two awards: UTE Godfroy Côté and UTE Humanitarian Awards
Amendment to Regulations 18.1, 18.2 and 22.7
Amendment to By-Law 8, Section 2 – Equal Opportunities Conferences
Creation of two new Locals in Ottawa, effective August 1st, 2017
Adoption of Convention Committees: Finance, Bargaining, General and By-Laws
Adoption of Terms of Reference of Convention Committees
Adoption of Convention Rules of Order
Adoption of Convention Nominations Committee
Adoption of Convention Credentials Committee
Adoption of Audited Financial Statements - 2016
Points of Privilege
Sister Gesine Campbell will be doing a 50/50 draw for the Dragon Boat event of next June.
The point was well taken by the President.
REPORT OF THE UTE NATIONAL BARGAINING COMMITTEE
Sister Madonna Gardiner, Chair of the UTE Bargaining Committee introduced the members of the team in attendance at the Presidents’ Conference: Brothers Doug Gaetz, Daniel Camera, and Shane O’Brien. Sister Madonna provided the following update to the delegates and observers.
PSAC is our bargaining agent and decisions made concerning collective bargaining are made by the PSAC National President, who, of course, would consult with our National President, Bob Campbell.
UTE received the input call for bargaining from PSAC for the next round of bargaining. A memo will be issued next week to the locals with the information and deadline for submission of bargaining demands. As we have an ongoing collection of bargaining demands process, locals can send in bargaining demands anytime up to and including the deadline which will be outlined in the memo. However, once the input call is issued, locals will be restricted to submitting 10 demands.
Further to the previous round of collective bargaining, and specifically the reopener clause, we are in the process of setting up dates with the employer to meet. The team which is currently in place will be the team doing this negotiation. The reopener clause allows us to reopen the collective agreement to negotiate economic increases for the 3rd and 4th year of our current agreement. It should be noted that if we cannot come to an agreement, the issue will be submitted for binding arbitration. The best-case scenario would be to come to an agreement however, if we can’t, we will present our case to the arbitrator. More details will follow once we have the dates.
Again, further to the previous round of collective bargaining and the committees to be struck per the MOU and LOU that were signed, the committees have been appointed and are myself, Daniel Camera, Ken Bye and Shane O’Brien. The members are the same for both committees. Meetings have taken place and we are moving forward.
MOU – Met with the CRA Feb. 2nd and 3rd and additional meetings have been set for April 11th and 12th. A questionnaire will be send to the locals for completion and it is very important that this information be sent back so our committee can continue to work on the issues outlined in the MOU. The purpose of the committee is to discuss and provide suggested improvements to be used during the next round of bargaining.
LOU – Met with the CRA Feb. 21st and 22nd and additional meetings are scheduled for April 10th and 13th. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss certain issues around staffing which are outside the collective agreement with the hope we can get some improvements.
A new collective bargaining team will be put in place after our convention in July.
ITEMS PRESENTED BY THE LOCAL PRESIDENTS
SAINT JOHN – 60005
1. Dues (Phoenix) with new hires and returning employees
The Local commented that dues should be deducted gradually when new employees start to work. One of their members was deducted back dues all at once. This is not acceptable as it is a lot of money.
President Campbell acknowledged that we had problem with the old system as well and we understand the members’ frustration. This issue has been brought to CRA many times. Phoenix is a system that should not have been implemented. The Compensation Call Centre is doing the best they can on this issue. He suggested that members could call the Compensation Division proactively when they notice that the dues have not being deducted and with a little chance it might be corrected on their next pay cheque. Sister Melanson had a meeting with CRA head of compensation who informed her that the all resources were being used to try to implement the terms of the new collective agreement, and they are hoping to go back to the normal issues by the end of March.
A few locals went to the microphones to voice their concerns and frustration on the subject and to acknowledge the good work of the members working in Compensation Client Services.
2. Phoenix part-time employees and many pay issues
The Local explained that because of the workload they had 70 part-time members that were not paid for months for the difference hours of work from 25 to 371/2 hours which constitutes regular pay because they could not key in the right number of working hours. We were able to fix the problem internally, but would there be a protocol to be followed when these situations occurred?
President Campbell commented that there could be a protocol that the employer is not following and that is why the RVP should be informed in order to have these situations dealt with regionally. We have not heard about this issue nationally. Please send the information to the RVP before we look at it nationally.
One local commented that they have filed grievances with success on administrative or procedural issues causing pay problems outside Phoenix.
3. Mental Health Promotion
The Local informed the floor that their Local management has introduced a video for team leaders to promote awareness and good mental health. Their concern with that is that team leaders are already over loaded with work and that they are not experts on mental health issues, but they will be perceived as such. This issue was brought to their AGM and meetings.
A team leader commented that, on the contrary, team leaders have to be part of the process to help the members as it could be related to performance review, schedules, assessments etc... The video is a tool to make members aware that team leaders are there to listen to their concerns, that they are not alone and to explore all avenues.
HALIFAX – 80003
1. Password expired and still no notification
The Local explained that it is still not receiving notices prior to expiry of the password for the local’s email inbox.
Brother Marc Brière, 1st National Vice-President, again explained that an automatic notice was sent during the last 21 days before the password expired. To view that notice, users have to access emails via an Internet browser on their computer.
The Local accesses emails solely via a mobile application available on its tablet computer or smart phone. So, it is not seeing the notice sent automatically by the national UTE.
In addition to sending an automatic notice, the Local asked the national UTE to email an additional reminder to everyone prior to passwords expiring. Brother Brière refused, and the UTE's IT specialist, Brother Alex Thon explained the reasons, including the fact that people continually change their passwords and that it would be too complex and demanding to do so much monitoring.
The Local then asked the National UTE to activate an option that would enable users to request a new, temporary password if theirs expires.
In the absence of Brother Thon, Sister Susan Duncan, the UTE Communications and Web Officer, explained that there would be a greater risk with protecting confidential information. For that reason, Brother Brière said that he was reluctant to implement that option, but would think about it. As a solution, he suggested that users place a reminder in their calendars to prevent their password from expiring.
PRESENTATION OF BACA – OTTAWA CHAPTER
President Campbell introduced the cofounder and President of the Ottawa Chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA), who made a very touching presentation on how to help children grow in a safe environment. A few people were pleased to make a donation.
The presentation led to a few questions from the participants.
Points of Privilege
The 50/50 draw for the Dragon Boat collected the amount of $650.00 of which $325.00 went to Brother Stephen Au from the London Local.
The point was well taken by the President.
The meeting recessed at 1700 hours.
FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2017
MORNING SESSION
The meeting reconvened at 9h00 with National President Campbell in the Chair.
REPORT OF THE UTE NATIONAL WFA COMMITTEE
Brother Bill Blair, President of the Committee introduced Brother Cosimo Crupi, Co-Chair, Sister Theresa Greenough, TC Presidents’ Representative and Brother Kent MacDonald, Staff Advisor. Brother Gabriel Bourdon was absent.
The Chair of the WFA Committee commented on the Service Renewal initiative and the impacts on the staff of the CRA nationally. The committee discussed the changes to the workloads in the NCR and the changes to the other offices, such as the closure of the Toronto Call Centre.
Discussions also took place on the fact that the Committee did not meet with the Employer for three (3) months after the fact. Service Renewal had been announced in mid-November, and the National WFA Committee didn’t meet with the employer until mid-February. This terrible treatment was discussed with the employer, along with the fact that we had not received any details about service renewal in that time frame. All of the information that we had was primarily from the Regions and the Locals, and we thanked those groups for sending information to the committee.
Brother MacDonald presented the results of his meeting with the employer, and shared his expertise with the floor. On the issue of Service Renewal Initiative, Brother Macdonald acknowledged the locals’ concerns and informed the locals that there will be a follow-up meeting on March 22 and that hopefully CRA will provide specific information on the issues that were brought forward during the previous meeting that was held at the beginning of March which some of the issues are mentioned here on the floor. A bulletin will be issued shortly after the 22nd of March.
A few locals commented on the specific issues pertaining to their offices.
President Campbell reiterated and reinforced the national directive to not enter in joint Union Management Consultations with PIPSC. UMCs are for UTE members and CRA. Locals that are doing UMCs with PIPSC are to stop immediately.
REPORT OF THE UTE NATIONAL HONOURS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE
Brother Wayne Little, President of the Committee introduced the members of the Committee. Brother Jérôme Martel, Co-Chair and Sister Gesine Campbell, Presidents’ Representative.
Brother Little took the opportunity to ask locals to get involved in the International Children Awareness (ICA) and UTE Scholarship and to send their submissions to the committee. The information can be found in the UTE Regulations.
Brother Little was very pleased to present a 40-year pin award to National President, Brother Bob Campbell for his dedicated work and involvement with the Union of Taxation Employees.
President Campbell was pleased also to award a 30-year pin to Brother Doug Gaetz, RVP for the Atlantic Region and a 25-year pin to Brother Wayne Little, RVP for the Pacific Region. President Campbell thanked both Brothers for their involvement with UTE.
President Campbell made special mention on the importance that people get recognized and asked the locals to let their RVP know if someone is eligible to receive his or her recognition award being 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or more years of service.
ITEMS PRESENTED BY THE LOCAL PRESIDENTS
HALIFAX – 80003
2. How do we deal with Compensation?
The Local asked if we could have a mechanism to help track down our requests for information, and where they are at?
President Campbell acknowledged the question and he and Sister Melanson will follow on that and added that there was no policy on the time limits to respond.
A local asked if Compensation employees received directives to limit time on phone calls?
The Ottawa TC Local President confirmed with management that there was no policy on time limit on phone calls. However, they have a development performance objective on time to listen to a call approximately 8 to 10 minutes to make a decision or issue another ticket.
Brother O’Brien, SLRO commented that he was surprised to hear that there is no policy, because there is. However, it is not written anywhere he said, but the employer has acknowledged to him that they have 7 minutes to answer and terminate (not hanging up) a call and if needed, issue a ticket if the case can’t be resolved within the time allocated.
Comments were made to the effect that issues of overpayments, acting pay, T4s etc… are dealt with last, or not dealt at all. Members have been calling many, many times and still they do not receive any information. Locals would appreciate if this concern could be brought to the attention of CRA.
Comments were made also on the fact that determinate employees who do not contribute to their pension fund would not be able to buy back their time if nothing is done by the end of the month, when they will be laid off. It is very unfortunate that because of Phoenix these members will not be able to buy back their pension time.
WORKSHOPS IN THE AFTERNOON
President Campbell announced that the following workshops would take place in the afternoon.
- Duty of Fair Representation - Facilitator: Mathieu Juneau
- Rules of Order – Facilitator: Shane O’Brien
- Early Intervention and Return to Work Approach – Facilitator: Paula Warnholtz, CRA
- Collective Agreement (version 2) – Facilitator Kent MacDonald
Points of Privilege
The 50/50 draw for the Dragon Boat collected the amount of $626.00 of which $313.00 went to Brother Michael Sanon from the Ottawa TSO Local.
The point was well taken by the President.
The regular meeting recessed at 1145 hours.
SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 2017
MORNING SESSION
REPORT OF THE UTE NATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
Brother Jamie vanSydenborgh, Chair of the Committee introduced Brother Cosimo Crupi, Co-Chair, Brother Brad Feraday, Presidents’ representative and Sister Annette Melanson, Staff Advisor.
In October, the committee was tasked by National President Bob Campbell to put in place a campaign to lobby Members of Parliament to convince the Federal Government to remove CRA bargaining from under Treasury Board (Bill C-45) and return to separate bargaining.
In November, the campaign expanded to include Bill C-27 which was introduced to change pensions for workers in federally regulated agencies, such as Canada Post and Navcan, from defined benefit to risky defined contribution plans. This should be included when meeting with MPs. Our plan was announced in the December UTE Newsletter.
In December, the Executive Council met with the Minister of National Revenue, Diane Lebouthillier and addressed bargaining, pensions and Phoenix issues.
In January, the plan, including the PSAC Phoenix campaign was rolled out and was sent out to all locals and all regions via email. The campaign includes all the tools locals need to successfully lobby their MPs, including finding who their MP is, as well as tips for lobbying and speaking notes or talking points.
The Chair drew attention to the fact that all the information on the campaign is posted on UTE web side. Get involved! We need to be there for our members.
A few locals went to the microphone to make comments and thanked the PAC for sending the information, including the speaking notes.
The Committee answered a few questions from the participants.
REPORT OF THE CONVENTION HOST COMMITTEE
The Chair of the Committee, Sister Donna Blair and Committee member Imre Bene gave an update on the Fun Night, saying that the event will take place at La Ferme Rouge on the Quebec side where a unique experience mixing entertainment and good food await everyone. There will be cocktails served at 6 p.m. followed with a buffet dinner at 7 p.m. They advise that there will be prizes for the most creative and the best western duo and invited everyone to come out and dress in their favorite country and western gear. A bus will be leaving the hotel at 5h45 p.m. and will run every 15 minutes and every half hour on the way back to the hotel starting at 10 p.m. As places are limited to approximately 350 people, tickets will be sold on a made first come, first serve basis.
HALIFAX – 80003
3. Phoenix Pay / more Compensation Officers
The item was withdrawn by the submitting Local.
SURREY – 20029
1. Collective Agreement / Article 10.02 no paper copy to employee
The Local commented that the employer will not provide a paper copy of the collective agreement. They use a paper copies at all times, as they refer to the document almost every day. We have the right to ask and obtain a paper copy.
Some locals were provided with copies.
Shane O’Brien, SLRO commented that the employer agreed to provide a paper copy to their employees. He suggested that a grievance be filled by all employees as it appears to be a regional issue.
President Campbell will contact CRA to see what is happening with the distribution of copy paper.
ST. JOHN’S T.C. – 90000
1. Usage of the terms “Sisters” and “Brothers”.
The Local expressed their concerns about the usage of the terms “Sisters” and “Brothers” could be divisible to some people and suggested that we should change the name or add to the name to be more inclusive and get more people involved in the union.
A good discussion took place and there was some agreement to the change and some disagreement as “Sisters” and “Brothers” describes the UTE family very well. It is the choice of the individual on how he or she wants to be identified.
Locals commented that there is value in considering changing it to be more inclusive. We need to be open and accommodating to people that do not want to be called “Sister” and “Brother”.
President Campbell commented that this issue has been brought up for some time now with different groups. He thanked the local for bringing up the item as it is a timely discussion. He could bring the issue to the PSAC if the National Office receives information and suggestions from the locals.
ST. JOHN – 90001
1. Terms and Conditions letters and Mental Health
The Local is of the view that there seems to be a trend with terms and conditions letters being given to members with a diagnosed mental illness who have attendance issues. The Local was wondering if this was a problem with other locals as it is being used to impose discipline and is leading members down the path to termination.
It was strongly suggested to analyze the situation and push back on the requirement to obtain medical notes and reinforce the duty to accommodate trigger. In some cases, it is unrealistic and too arbitrary to impose members obtain a Doctor’s note. The employer is using the terms and conditions to set them up for failure, and then apply disciplinary measures. They should be used to correct behavior i.e. when people are coming in late without advising their manager, situations of this nature.
We have to make the employer understand what members are going through when suffering with mental health issues and if necessary, raise human rights complaints, and file grievances. As union activists, we have to hold management to the fact that what they are requesting is unnecessary, costly to the member and will do more harm than help to our members, their employees. A comment was made to put forward a bargaining demand to have the employer pay for obtaining doctor’s notes.
A few locals went to the microphone to give their point of view and comments.
President Campbell welcomed the input and suggested that this could be put on the agenda of the NUMC next June if locals send information to the National Office through their RVP.
OTTAWA TECHNOLOGY CENTRE – 70030
1. Local Communications
The Local wanted to get other locals’ comments on their methods of communication i.e. facebook, web sites, bulletin boards etc..
A few locals went to the microphones to comment on the type of activities they undertake to promote communications and get members engaged.
To name a few:
- Communications committee that meets regularly or as requested
- Facebook page and bulletin boards
- UTE talk time during afternoon breaks
- Appreciation events such as BBQ and giving away cookies and coffee in the cafeteria
- Desk drop information
- Social committees
- Orientation sessions
- Fitness classes
The submitting local thanked the locals for their information and suggestions on the issue.
PUBLIC SERVICE WEEK
President Campbell took some time from the agenda to inform the participants that he received a message from Sister Robyn Benson, National PSAC President in regard to PSAC intention to once again boycott the National Public Service Week (NPSW); mostly because of the way the negotiations went, the problems with Phoenix, and how members are treated. The PSAC is asking all Components to discuss this action and to confirm their willingness to continue the boycott and have the support of the activists.
Many locals when to the microphone to express their view on the issue.
On a show of hands, 13 offices are getting time off during that week ranging from half hour to three hours or more.
On a hand vote, the majority voted to continue the boycott of the NPSW.
Members have to be reminded by way of a communique that it is important to continue the boycott.
President Campbell will bring back the comments to the PSAC and will write a letter to the Commissioner and the Minister stating our intention of boycotting the activities and to ask them to be consistent with their instructions to managers in regard to giving time off to all employees or none.
The meeting recessed at 1145 hours.
AFTERNOON SESSION
The meeting was called to order at 1:15 pm. with President Campbell in the Chair.
President Campbell announced that this was the last Presidents’ Conference for Sister Madonna Gardiner and that she will not be reoffering for the position of Second National Vice-President as she will be retiring soon after convention. He took the opportunity to thank her for the good work during her mandate.
President Campbell thanked the participants for the money collected for BACA in the amount of $639.00.
ITEMS PRESENTED BY THE LOCAL PRESIDENTS
OTTAWA TECHNOLOGY CENTRE – 70030
2. Members getting access to local minutes
The Local wanted feed-back from other locals on how they keep minutes, are they accessible, should they be posted on the web site, etc…
Some locals send them by email to their members and a copy is kept in the email box of the local. Others store them in the local drop box and other locals do not post minutes.
President Campbell asked that the minutes and other local documents be kept by more than one person in the local and be available to all executive members of the local.
3. Experience with jurisdiction and local structural changes, best practices
The item was withdrawn by the submitting local.
KINGSTON – 00011
1. Parking Lots / Landlord vs CRA Responsibilities
The Local explained that they have changed buildings last year and had two slips and falls this winter in the parking lot. A member got injured and was denied by WSIB based on the fact that CRA does not own or lease that area. The member works 4 hours daily and takes sick leave for the balance, which will soon expire. Management is not clear on what is covered or not. An appeal will be filed through PSAC. Furthermore, washrooms are located outside of the secured doors and accessible to the public.
Doug Gaetz, RVP for the Atlantic Region and Chair of the Health and Safety Committee referred to a document available on Infozone under the Health and Safety Section called Workplace Inspections, including Qs and As about inspections of parking lots etc…
If someone slips and falls in the parking lot, what does that means for Workers’ Compensation? While Workers’ Compensation Board have compensation for injuries sustained in parking lots in some instances, each case is decided on his own particular facts etc… please refer to the Infozone document.
Brother Gaetz stated that it was very important, whether premises are CRA-owned or a private owner, that slips and falls in parking lots be reported on the hazard occurrence form T4009 in order to be investigated properly. He added that there is specific information on field workers and teleworkers on the Infozone web site and the same rules apply as if they were in the office.
OTTAWA TSO – 70010
1. Union Management Approach (UMA)
The Local wanted to know where we stand on this issue now that we are back to consultation.
Doug Gaetz, Chair of the Ad-hoc UMA Committee commented that he has been a supporter of the consultation process. At the first meeting since 2015, management wanted to resign the philosophy of UMA, which we were not in support of. Lengthy discussions took place on a number of issues, including training, the UMA philosophy, the buy-in by both management and union and the recommitment by senior leaders from both union and management. It was agreed that a working group be formed, which he and Brother Wayne Little will be sitting on, to look at the training material and related needs of the regions. A meeting was scheduled for next week and has now been postponed until April.
President Campbell firmly stated that UMA is an approach between the union and management, while Conflict Resolution is an approach between all employees of the CRA, and they should not be seen as the same thing.
He asked that locals get in touch with their office management to let them know that UTE wants the UMA Local Committees set back up to determine how many people need to get trained, etc… and that there should be a regional UMA Committee in every region. If some locals have problems in the field, they should email both Brothers Gaetz and Little.
2. CR1 Conflict Resolution
The Local commented that their advisor has asked that they assist and facilitate the Conflict Resolution CR1.
Doug Gaetz, Chair of the Informal Conflict Resolution Committee commented that he has not much information on what is going on, but that he will prepare a report following the meeting of next week. He advised that the training is to be done by a UTE Union Representative, a management representative and a Conflict Resolution Advisor.
President Campbell reiterated that UMA and Conflict Resolution were two distinct issues and should be treated as such.
CHARLOTTETOWN – 90002
1. Severance Clause Impact to Term Employees
The Local informed the participants that at the end of their terms, regardless of the choice that may have made, their severance will be paid out. Furthermore, for the ones that return, their vacation leave credits will be reset as new employees and if they are at the top level of SP4, they will be back to first level and treated as brand new employees.
O’Brien, SLRO stated that there are discussions on that issue with the employer. The words in the Collective Agreement favor the employer’s interpretation. The negotiator has agreed in principle to our position, but does not have the authority to grant what we want. He has to present a business case to the Human Resources Assistant Commissioner, which has been done. We may have an argument based on the actual wording that they’re receiving a retiring allowance. He concluded that we should know more by next week.
2. New bargaining
The item was withdrawn by the submitting Local.
3. Consequences for management not following staffing recourse procedure
The Local asked if there should be consequences if management does not follow the procedure?
Shane O’Brien, SLRO answered that we have meetings on regular basis called Staffing Projects and Activities, where this issue is brought forward. One of the principles they outline in their staffing program is accountability. We have talked about specific cases where management was deliberately not offering recourse. We were assured that if we provide the name of the manager and specific cases and they investigate and find deliberate actions not issuing recourse, they will give the manager a warning and probably revoke their staffing authority, at least as an interim measure. He asked the local to provide him with the information they have.
SAINT JOHN – 60005
4. Christmas Eve /New Year’s Eve at Call Centre
The Local wanted to know what is happening in other Call Centres. Saint John TSO employees may leave at 12 noon and yet in the Call Centre, the numbers went down gradually, but the ones left as skeleton crew were not given time off later. Management is creating difficult situations by having different rules. The local is planning on presenting a bargaining demand on this issue.
Locals commented that they leave early on the 23rd of December and New Year’s Eve at 2 or 3 p.m. depending on the office.
It is different across the country.
President Campbell is aware that this is not consistent all across the country. The decision is left to the managers.
Points of Privilege
The 50/50 draw collected $408.00 of which half went to Sister Marina Robbins from the Peterborough Local.
The point was well taken by the President.
HALIFAX – 80003
4. Quotas being placed on Y280
The Local wanted to know if this is happening in other offices.
Shane O’Brien, SLRO commented that he received several cases from some locals to be reviewed, and only one had true quotas. As per the Agency’s policy, they can use numeric targets when they set the expectations. They have to look at the reasons why an employee might have been above or below, were they complex files, were they new employees and requiring additional training etc…
A few locals commented that they do not have quotas on Y280s.
5. Recent Staffing Meeting
The Local was looking for the high points of the recent meeting.
Shane O’Brien, SLRO reported that we seldom report on specific meetings with the Agency. The meeting with Collection Verification Branch did have a few staffing elements. Usually the Chair will send a short highlight to Council. Among other agenda items, they spoke on Service Renewal which has been covered during the week. With respect to Debt Management Compliance Directorate they staffed jobs as of April 2016, and we were not consulted on that initiative. On April 1st 2017 there will be a new Quality Assurance Module which will be conducted region by region and they will focus on TSO workload and prepare an annual report. Another item was the 2016 budget where they received 351 million dollars over 5 years infused into their collection budgets. They have estimated that 70% will be used for ARNI and 30% to DAC2 workloads.
Brother Gaetz asked if we knew if they will use some funds to do additional staffing. Brother O’Brien did not know the answer, but he could find out next week from Mike Snaauw from CRA. He added that the funds have not been allocated yet as no decisions have been taken to where it will be going.
6. New Hires
The item was withdrawn by the submitting local.
KITCHENER – 00015
1. Prior Bargaining Demands (Kitchener)
The Local wanted to know before submitting new demands if the old ones would still be available somewhere in the National Office.
President Campbell asked the web expert Sister Duncan who answered that our previous demands were available on the web site, but not the Employer’s demands.
KELOWNA – 20003
1. Bargaining Plan going Forward
The item was withdrawn by the submitting local.
ST. CATHARINES – 00016
1. Implementation of Article 34.05 (b) (St. Catharines)
The Local asked how operational requirements were determined for each division. Are they done locally, regionally or nationally?
Shane O’Brien, SLRO commented that there is no magic formula. Headquarters certainly does not set the operational requirements. Employees are expected to take their vacation during the year. The employer should make every reasonable attempt to schedule vacation at a time convenient to the employee. Operational requirements are not defined in the collective agreement or any piece of legislation, but we have had numerous adjudication cases and federal court applications of the term. For the employer to say that they need 30% of operational staff is not good enough as it is not an operational requirement. They need to substantiate their requirements. We are working with the employer to try to make this work and clarify the situation. We will be consulting with the bargaining team on this issue.
SHERBROOKE – 10007
1. Article 42.02 Collective Agreement definition of other professional representatives
The Local talked about family leave specifically Article 42.02 (h)(B) where 45 hours were negotiated and 7.5 were made separate for paragraph (A) and (B) of the sub-article. We do not know what the definition of “professional representatives” is. How do we apply this article? To what extent can a manager question code 4720? We do not want to be questioned on this code of 4720. What should we tell our members if team leaders are challenging their leave requests.
President Campbell answered that CRA will give this clause the widest interpretation possible.
He advised that if there are offices that are being challenged by their manager on this article to tell them to contact Todd Burke at CRA to obtain an interpretation. Todd Burke was very clear on this at the bargaining table that they (CRA) do not care what this is used for.
ANNOUNCEMENT ON NATIONAL POSITIONS
President Campbell announced who was running for National positions at convention, to his knowledge:
- Marc Brière as National President
- Doug Gaetz as 1st National Vice-President
- Randy McKeown and Adam Jackson as 2nd Vice-President National
CLOSING REMARKS
President Campbell thanked everyone for their attendance at the conference and asked them to be proud of themselves and the good work they do for the membership.
Let’s treat people with respect.
The meeting adjourned at 4 p.m.