THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
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 and 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, Pamela Abbott, Jamie vanSydenborgh, Christine McLennan and Lyson Paquette. 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 were then introduced.
The CPR attendants were presented as follows: Janet Albinet, Bob Campbell, Susan Duncan, Doug Gaetz, Scott Henneberry, Denis Lalancette, Dave Lanthier, Kent MacDonald, Pierre Mulvihill, Shane O’Brien, and Alex Thon.
President Campbell acknowledged in the room the former UTE National President, Sister Betty Bannon; Brother Chris Aylward, PSAC 1st National Vice-President; and CRA-UTE Liaison Bonnie Lehman, who was invited as she will be retiring shortly.
HOURS OF SESSION
MS Christine McLennan/Sylvie Lahaie
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 05:00 or closure of business
MOTION CARRIED.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA
(See attached agenda, participants list and Items submitted by the Local Presidents)
MS Janet Albinet/Gesina Campbell
That the agenda be adopted with the additional items.
Movement of PIPSC Members to UTE Jobs - Saint John
Insurance Coverage for UTE Members - Montreal
IAD Discipline Database – Toronto East
WFA and RJOs - Hamilton
Regulation 15.1 Funding of Non-UTE Events - Charlottetown
Management Assessment Ratings for MGs – Toronto West
Trust Exam Travel – Halifax
Pension Centre Issues – Toronto East
CRA Call letters and request for resumes – Thunder Bay
Y280s Lack of Consistency - Summerside
Superannuation Changes re. CPP – Toronto East
October 1st Closing Service Counters – Toronto East
Bargaining Demands & Public Perception – Toronto East
IAD Discipline Opportunity to retire vs being fired – Toronto East
CRA Tuition Discrimination Policy – Toronto East
CRA In-house Occupational Therapists – Toronto East
Sun Life Issues re. APSAR Members – Toronto East
MOTION CARRIED.
Newly elected Local Presidents
Lee Ann Bota, Sudbury
Dorothy Chafe, St. John’s TSO
Nancy Johnson, Saskatoon
Sylvain Moisan, Laval
Louise Vallière, new ARVP Montréal
OPENING REMARKS
President Campbell started his remarks by saying that it was with a heavy heart that he will try to put into words the feelings that he has had for the past months. He acknowledged and congratulated the activists that have worked very hard for the members in organizing information sessions and running campaigns. They have done everything in their power to inform, lead and motivate the members. However, he also acknowledged the fact that there were activists, leaders of this union that are not stepping up. He went on to ask how can we change this around and how can we motivate our own activists? He urged the locals to stop the infighting and to work together for the membership using all the tools that they can think of to get the members involved and informed. He went on to say that the members need to stand up for themselves and tell their family, friends, neighbours, businesses and politicians that the job they do is important and that they work hard for the Canadian people. He concluded by asking everyone to join him and all their fellow unionists to stand up, be counted and get someone new involved to start to swell the ranks of the activists, one member at a time.
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 see the attached Executive Council Minutes and Committee Reports of September 2012).
Executive Council Meeting:
Adoption of the following items during the week:
- Recommendation from the National Health & Safety Committee to overspend the line item Conferences by a total of $96,000.00.
- Recommendation from the Finance Committee to overspend the amount of $48,967.23.
- Renaming the Southwestern Ontario Regional Scholarship to the Nick Stein Southwestern Ontario Regional Scholarship.
- A UTE loan to two Sisters who were injured last spring while travelling on UTE business.
- Recommendation to amend Regulation 3 for election purposes on UTE Standing Committees.
- Recommendation to adopt the Guidelines on Union Intervention in Harassment Cases – Member against Member in the Workplace.
President Campbell gave the opportunity to say a few words to the candidates who ran for the position of First National Vice-President. He took the opportunity to thank all candidates who put their name forward for the position.
Both Brothers Brad Feraday and Adam Jackson congratulated Brother Marc Brière on his election to the position and expressed their thanks for the opportunity they had been given to put their name forward. Brother Jackson thanked his nominator and seconder Brother Doug Gaetz and Scott Hennebury and the other candidates who ran for the elections.
President Campbell announced that the hotel for the next UTE National Convention would be the Caesars Hotel in Windsor. He advised that the hotel chosen meets perfectly our needs to run a successful convention, and emphasized on the fact that the hotel is not family oriented.
President Campbell informed the participants that some locals have co-signed a Dress Code Agreement with management. He advised that this was not acceptable as we can’t give away our members’ rights. He urged the locals to talk to their RVPs or the National Office to get approval before signing any agreements with the employer. He added that this procedure is valid for any policy that management would put on the table for them to sign.
President Campbell invited Brother Alan Craig from the Ottawa TC Local to come up and introduced "Camp Ozanam" a Charity Organization for which he is raising money to help families who would not be able to afford to have vacations at a camp. A nice painting from an aboriginal artist named Brad Henry was put forward by Brother Campbell for a draw at the end of the conference. Brother Craig invited the delegation to buy tickets to help raise money for the Camp.
President Campbell acknowledged Sister Bonnie Lehman from CRA Human Resources who will be retiring in November. He thanked her for her great help and assistance over the years in her capacity as the liaison between CRA and UTE. He thanked her for the respect she shown toward UTE and for her professionalism. She was offered a gift as a mark of appreciation. Sister Lehman said a few words to the delegation.
President Campbell invited to the stage the Honours and Award Committee and the Health and Safety Committee to pay tribute to Sister Betty Bannon for her great involvement in Health and Safety in the work place, with UTE and the PSAC. She was a pioneer, a visionary, an educator and a champion of workplace health and safety. CRA workplaces today are much safer and healthier due in large part to the advocacy of Sister Bannon. The Union of Taxation Employees has created the Betty Bannon Health and Safety Award and this was presented to her in recognition of her great contribution and involvement. Sister Bannon addressed the participants and thanked the membership for this honor.
President Campbell drew attention to the fact that The Betty Bannon Health and Safety plaque would be awarded each year to a successful candidate. All nominations for this award must be received by the Chair of the Honours and Awards Committee by December 15 of each year.
President Campbell presented Brother Lorne Roslinski, RVP for the Rocky Mountains with a 20 year service pin for his contribution to UTE. Brother Roslinski held many positions since he has began his passionate involvement in the union movement. He is a great asset to UTE and the Membership. Congratulations!
REPORT OF THE UTE NATIONAL BARGAINING COMMITTEE
Brother Lalancette, Chair of the UTE Bargaining Committee, informed the participants that the negotiations will be starting on September 24th and took the opportunity to introduce the bargaining team: Sisters Dawn Hardy and Robin Johnson, Brothers Pietro Masdea, Doug Gaetz, Sabri Khayat, Jean-Pierre Fraser, Sister Pamela Abbott, alternate, Sister Lyson Paquette, UTE Technical Advisor and PSAC Negotiator Brother Morgan Gay. He stated that this round of negotiations would not be as easy as the two last ones were. The Commissioner at the last NUMCC stated that if we do not let go the severance pay, there would be no agreement. Knowing that, the bargaining team will focus on the other demands as our priorities, without leaving out the severance pay. He urged the delegates and members present to talk to their members and let them know that it will not be an easy negotiation and that the team will need their help to pass the message to the employer. He concluded by saying that a promotional item for members would be available for October 31st, to coincide with the expiration of the Collective Agreement.
Brother Morgan Gay appreciated the opportunity to address the participants and commented that the team has met to examine the demands from all the locals. A few priorities came up and the first one was to protect the members’ jobs as more students are brought in to do our members’ work. He acknowledged that the government made it clear that they want to privatize and contract out the work done by union members in the public service. The team will be pursuing protection and rights for employees with respect of the hours of work, personal and family leaves, and will be using the bargaining process as an opportunity to raise issues related to term employees. He concluded saying that this will be a hard round of negotiations and that we need the membership’s help in this time of negotiation to keep what we have gained over the years and to get benefits that other unions have gained i.e. seniority rights and protection against contracting out.
President Campbell then introduced Sister Barb Stewart, former Local President of the Ottawa TSO Local 70010. Sister Barb provided information on the Workers’ History Museum saying that the museum was founded in January 2011, and that it was dedicated to the development and preservation of workers, history and heritage in the NCR and Ottawa Valley. Their goal is to present, promote, interpret, and preserve workers’ history, heritage, and culture. The 50/50 draws will help achieve this goal. She invited the participants to visit their web site (http://workershistorymuseum.blogspot.ca/) for additional information: info@workershistorymuseum.ca
Point of Privilege – Pietro Masdea, President of the Thunder Bay Local
He thanked the National Office for their generous donation to the Red Cross as well as the Sudbury and Belleville Locals with respect to a devastating storm in Thunder Bay last spring that caused their sewer treatment facilities plant to back up and damaged many houses.
The Point of privilege was well taken by the Chair.
ITEMS PRESENTED BY THE LOCAL PRESIDENTS
Membership Mobilization - MONTREAL 10008
The Local asked what can be done to mobilize the membership.
President Campbell mentioned that a discussion on this issue took place at the Council Meeting during the week. At the Presidents’ Conference next March, there will be a demonstration. He then asked the locals what we should we be doing to get people involved?
A few locals went to the mikes and stated their points of view as follows:
Ask the members what they want and what they need to get members involved in the union
Reframe the debate and be more positive
Use Social Media
Reach out to the community groups
Do more publicity about the job losses
Focus on what the population will loose not only federal employees
Workshop on mobilization next March
Be more visible with the media
Focus on the strength of the message
Work together as a mass
Emphasize on what works
Use the PSAC Mobilization Course during the summit in November for our next March Conference.
President Campbell welcomed and thanked the participants for these ideas.
Sister Barb Stewart announced the winner of $204.00 in the 50/50 draw as being Brother Randy McKeown from Toronto West.
The meeting recessed at 1700 hours.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012
MORNING SESSION
President Campbell was in the Chair and informed the delegation that Brother Brad Feraday’s brother passed away the night before and that Sister Jennifer Phillips would be acting as the delegate for their local for the rest of the conference. Our thoughts are with Brad and his family.
Point of privilege – Dawn Hardy, Local President for Summerside
Sister Hardy brought a 15-foot petition banner that was part of their campaign during the September 15th activities to show how they have been affected by the decisions made by the government. She suggested that the banner be displayed in the hall outside for the participants to write a message and sign their name to show their solidarity.
The information will be gathered and, hopefully with the help of the Federation of Labour, some of these issues will be resolved.
The point of privilege was well taken by the chair.
REPORT OF THE UTE NATIONAL STAFFING COMMITTEE
Brother Khayat, Chair of the UTE National Staffing Committee introduced his Co-Chair Brother Adam Jackson. He then introduced Sister Madonna Gardiner and Brother Chris Diliberatore, the representatives of the Local Presidents’ and Brother Shane O’Brien, Staff Advisor. Brother Khayat commented that the committee had discussions on how to improve the communication between the locals and the committee and also how to improve the work within the committee. He added that the liaison list was a challenge for the committee. The committee has asked the locals to identify a person with whom they could communicate regularly with respect to staffing issues. The list is up to date, but it doesn’t work. When the committee members send out information, they do not receive any feedback or questions from that liaison person. The issues that have occurred 2 or 3 months ago are raised here at a Presidents’ Conference instead of being sent to the committee.
Brother Khayat agreed with what was stated earlier by the Chair, President Campbell that locals should not have any signed local agreements with management. The Committee answered a few questions from the participants.
President Campbell mentioned that there will be no Staffing Course offered until we know what is happening with the Staffing Simplification Project.
Terms and Conditions’ Letter - HALIFAX 80003
The Local asked if any members from other locals had received these letters and do these letters indicate an expiry date.
Locals answered yes they have received these letters and the expiration time frame was about 3 months.
Roll Back of Previous Contract – HALIFAX 80003
The Local asked if we had received any news on that issue.
President Campbell answered that he had spoken with Sister Bannon a few minutes ago as she was involved in this issue and she confirmed that everything has been postponed. It is in the hands of the Court.
Enforcement New Jobs – HALIFAX 80003
The Local asked if the National Office will have anything new on that issue.
Brother Khayat answered that the Staffing Committee had received job descriptions for these clerical positions and that the committee’s comments will be sent to the employer during the week. In addition, the committee heard about the eventual inspector positions in the enforcement sector. A request for information was addressed to CRA and the Committee is waiting a response next week.
Outside Competitions for MG05 Positions - SAINT JOHN 60005
The Local commented that they have asked the employer why they were looking outside to fill such a position when there are people that are affected at this level in the region. Their answer was that they can’t find bilingual people for these jobs. Do other locals have experience this situation? The Ottawa Centre Local answered yes they do have outside MG05 competitions.
Severance Pay for UTE members who become PIPSC members - KITCHENER 00015
The Local wanted to know if there were provisions for leaving to work for another employer and what about if they just change Unions?
Brother Kent MacDonald, Labour Relations Officer explained that members have three options. They can leave their severance and be paid out at retirement; they may take a portion of the money or cash it all. They have a 30 day window to decide on which option.
The Summerside Local added that when someone accepts an acting assignment with PIPSC, they can’t access any of the three options and this move to another job doesn’t affect their Severance Pay.
Canada Revenue Agency Site – KITCHENER 00015
The Local commented that CRA in its communications refers to the “Harper government” when in fact it’s the Canadian government
President Campbell thanked the local for their comment.
Counter/Cash closing – KITCHENER 00015
The Local asked if there will still be Commissionaires Positions. People do not seem to be “getting it” when they are provided with information on the closing. Why is the employer doing this in such a sneaky manner?
Other Locals commented that managers are keeping this issue low key. They do not want the public to know that the counters would be closing thus affecting the services that we provided to the elderly, to the youth and the new people coming in to our country.
Other comments as follows: The buttons are working very well, but the term employees will not wear them as they are too scared of management. We could ask the public to drop their cheque directly to the MPs Office. A letter should be sent to the CARP, a senior's association, telling them what they will be losing.
The Montreal Local had blocked the sidewalk of a very busy street with information boards that slowed down the traffic and they distributed 2000 flyers in 2 days. They will be sending a letter to the downtown accounting firms so they can advise their clients and to suggest to them that they contact their MP on the closure. The local will send the letter to the National Office for translation and distribution by email to the locals.
President Campbell commented that a meeting was scheduled to take place next week with the employer on that issue and that this topic will be discussed at Council on Sunday to try to come up with effective campaign activities.
Point of privilege – Linda Koenders, Ottawa Headquarters
Her daughter was the successful candidate in 2011 of the UTE Scholarship and she had also the opportunity to join Captain Smith in Africa. She said that having this experience on her resume was instrumental in her daughter being accepted to the Ontario Teachers College. She thanked UTE for making a difference.
Point of privilege - Marc Brière, 1st National Vice-President
He thanked all the people for his election, his nominator Sister Dawn Hardy and his seconder Sister Louise Vallière. He also thanked the other candidates that ran for elections and the delegates that voted. He confirmed his commitment to serve the locals and the membership.
Future of SP-05 and SP-06 in Auditing further to the creation of the AU-D Group PIPSC - ROUYN-NORANDA 10009
The Local asked if there have been discussions with the employer about the creation of these new jobs.
President Campbell advised that he had called management when he heard about these new positions and was told that they are talking about it, but they have not been created yet. We are watching this very closely. He also said that our bargaining team will make sure that the wording in our contract is adequate to protect our members.
Some locals advised that they are hearing that audit jobs will become AUs. In addition, we are losing members in Audit because management is changing our SPs jobs into AUs.
Any information on this should be sent to Brothers Khayat and O’Brien, members of the Staffing Committee.
UTE’S Position on merged Offices – ROUYN-NORANDA 10009
The Local commented that the Quebec Region has been proactive. They have set up a committee and are collecting information and questions from the locals.
They asked if there would be any changes in our union structure because of the mergers.
President Campbell advised the locals that there will be a discussion on Sunday on this subject to look at our structure.
Supervisory in-basket Exam (SIBE) - SURREY 20029
The Local explained that there was inconsistency with respect to these exams. Only the most recent results are valid regardless of if they are higher or lower than the previous results.
Brother O’Brien, SLRO and Technical Staff Advisor to the Staffing Committee commented that it would be important to know if it is an Agency or Public Service Commission Supervisory in-basket exercise, as it does make a difference. However, for either, the rules are consistent. He confirmed that the employer takes the most recent score because people’s qualifications change overtime. They get stronger or weaker. The committee has addressed this with the employer numerous times and they won’t change their mind. They should have a standardized pass mark. We are not aware of anyone who has been demoted as a result of a more recent score on such an exam. There are recourses: the member can ask for a review of the scoring; the grievance option is available: and because the SIBE is part of the assessment result, it is subject to the Agency Staffing Recourse Individual Feedback followed by Decision Review.
Pensions - KITCHENER 00015
The Local expressed their concern about the increase to the retirement age by the additional two years. What effect will this have on the members’ contributions/benefits? Would there be any way to have our pensions “de-linked” from the Canadian Pension Plan?
President Campbell welcomed the question and suggested that they ask the expert, Brother James Infantino, who will be giving a workshop that afternoon.
Dollar Level Review for GST/HST vs Tax Auditors - KITCHENER 00015
The Local drew attention to the fact that when a GST/HST Auditor completes that portion of a combined audit, they hand the file over to a Tax Auditor, who is being paid at a higher level to complete essentially the same work.
Brother O’Brien explained that the Agency is taking the position in their classification process that the dollar limit has little to do with the classification of jobs. In the classification standards, there are 16 elements and dollar range is not one of them. He advised the local to review their job description, check that all the duties required to be performed are included, not to remove any duties even though they are not performed and to add duties that are done but not included. The information must be provided to the supervisor with a request for an amended job description with the point rating and classification along with the organizational chart showing that position in relation to others. The wording can be found in the Collective Agreement under Article 56. If members receive their results and nothing has changed, then they can file a job description grievance. After revision, if there are no changes to point ratings, they can file a classification grievance.
Employee Survey Committees - KITCHENER 00015
The Local commented that locals were mandated to set up committees and wanted to know if this was going forward.
President Campbell asked on a show of hands how many locals have a local committee set up.
Many locals do not have local committees set up and running yet because there were many mistakes with the numbers provided and they were returned to Statistics Canada to be reviewed.
Staffing Simplification – HALIFAX 80003
The item was withdrawn with permission by the submitting local.
PSAC Campaign – HALIFAX 80003
The Local commented that they did not get the material that it is required to run a good campaign.
Other locals are experiencing the same problem with supplies from the PSAC.
President Campbell agreed that this is a problem and confirmed that this will be brought to the NBoD meeting the first week of October, and that he will be asking many questions on the issue.
Competencies - Planning, Monitoring and Organization – EDMONTON 30025
The Local was wondering if there was a plan to make this a portable competency as this is being used quite often as a Locally Developed Tool to screen people out in various competitions.
President Campbell asked Brother Khayat if the Staffing Committee had heard something about standardizing the test, and the answer was no. Brother Khayat invited the locals to send any information to the Staffing Committee.
Collections Outsourcing, Confidentially Issues – KITCHENER 00015
The Local commented that this was related to outsourcing for collections of criminal fines. What can we done to prevent this from happening with respect to confidentiality?
President Campbell answered that the outsourcing has nothing to do with CRA. This work belongs to Justice Canada, and if eventually we hear that the CRA plans to go that route, the press would be contacted right away.
The Summerside Local indicated that there have been talk by their management team about outsourcing the mail/printing section workload.
Moving PIPSC Members to UTE Jobs - SAINT JOHN 60005
The Local explained that there are AU/FI 2 PIPS members moving to UTE MG3 jobs. They are kept in their AU/FI 2 position and paid at their FI 2 level salary to do MG3 jobs. This is unacceptable and they should be UTE members.
The President commented that it was brought nationally for discussion more than once as this was happening and still is in the Ontario Region. The bargaining team is trying to make changes to our collective agreement to stop them from taking our members’ jobs. As it is now, they can assign people to a lesser job and this affects our members as it stops our people from getting these jobs.
The Staffing Committee will be looking at filing a policy grievance.
Insurance for Members Travelling on UTE Business – MONTREAL 10008
The Local commented on the accident that happened with the train not too long ago where UTE members were injured. How are we protected under the UTE Insurance?
President Campbell indicated that members travelling for UTE business are insured for accidental loss of life or dismemberment. PSAC has accidental injury coverage for members while working for the union through Sun Life. The National Office has looked into buying additional insurance coverage, but it is too costly. He confirmed that the insurance we have in place covers everyone who travels on UTE business.
Sister Melanson will be sending out by email some information on this issue next week.
The meeting recessed at 1145 hours.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012
AFTERNOON SESSION
Workshops took place as follows:
Workforce Adjustment, presented by Brother Kent MacDonald and Sister Pamela Abbott.
Canada Pension Plan, presented by Brother James Infantino, PSAC Pensions and Disability Insurance Officer.
Duty to Accommodate, presented by Sister Lisa Addario, PSAC, Legal Officer.
Local Treasurers, presented by Brother Marc Brière, UTE First National President
Quebec Pension Plan presented by Sister Annette Marquis, PSAC Pensions and Disability Insurance Officer.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2012
MORNING SESSION
The Conference was called to order at 9:00 a.m. with President Campbell in the Chair.
Point of privilege – Adam Jackson, RVP for the Northern and Eastern Region
Brother Jackson acknowledged a few people starting with Sister Cathy Ketcheson, a long time activist from the Peterborough Local who will be retiring and who is attending her last Presidents’ Conference. He mentioned Brother Tim Higgins, a long time Health and Safety activist from the Kingston Local. Finally, Brother David Webster, Local President from the Kingston Local, who will not be re-offering for that position.
Sister Barb Stewart drew the winning 50/50 number for the amount of $316.50. No one claimed the money and the last draw was done later at the end of the day.
The points of privilege were well taken by the Chair.
Brother Lalancette was absent with permission.
GUEST SPEAKER
President Campbell introduced Sister Robyn Benson, PSAC National President and former UTE member of the Winnipeg TC Local who made her way to UTE RVP for the Prairie Region and later the PSAC REVP for the Prairie Region.
Sister Benson thanked Brother Campbell for inviting her to address the UTE’s activists in these difficult times. She was joined by Brother Chris Aylward, former UTE 1st National Vice-President and she commented that they have not forgotten their roots, and never will. She went on saying that, like them in their role as Local Presidents and Local Leaders, she was affected by every affected letter that our members receive. As the Harper government cuts take hold, the services that we provide to Canadian will be diminished and members of our society will be worse off than they have been for decades. She emphasized the fact that we have to continue to be smart, focussed and united. She added that our ‘’We are all Affected’’ campaign strikes the right cord with members and the public at large. With this campaign we put ‘’We are all Affected’’ into the public consciousness. She stated that September 15th was a start, not an end, and we are going to continue to assert that the Harper’s austerity budget and his cuts are not just about our jobs, they are about services that Canadians don’t’ just need but deserve if our society is to be civilized and compassionate. She went on to talk about a few political issues. She concluded stating that she and Chris were committed to working as a team and were elected to represent the members, to hear their voices and they will. She answered a few questions on September 15th campaign.
President Campbell offered Sister Benson a UTE vest as a token of appreciation.
Point of privilege - Robin Johnson, RVP Greater Toronto
She asked permission to pass a sympathy card for brother Feraday and invited the locals to sign it.
The point of privilege was well taken by the Chair.
President Campbell thanked the people who helped to clean the hospitality suite for the past few days. He reminded the participants that the suite has to be closed at no later than 1h00 a.m.
ELECTIONS TO UTE NATIONAL STANDING COMMITTEES
Bargaining Committee
Pietro Masdea was acclaimed as TSO Representative to the Bargaining Committee.
Dawn Hardy was acclaimed as TC Representative to the Bargaining Committee.
By-Laws Committee
Michele Neil was acclaimed to the By-Laws Committee
Staffing Committee
Chris Diliberatore was acclaimed as TSO Representative to the Staffing Committee.
Madonna Gardiner was acclaimed as TC Representative to the Staffing Committee.
Technological Change Committee
Brian Oldford was acclaimed as the Representative to the Technological Change Committee.
Health and Safety Committee
Debbie Ferguson was acclaimed to the Health and Safety Committee.
Equal Opportunities Committee
Linda Koenders was elected to the Equal Opportunities Committee.
Employee Assistance Program Committee
Randy McKeown was elected to the Employee Assistance Program Committee.
Finance Committee
Robert Hume was acclaimed to the Finance Committee.
Honours & Awards Committee
Dianne Rayner was acclaimed to the Honours & Awards Committee
Workforce Adjustment Committee
Hicham Youssfi was acclaimed TSO Representative to the Workforce Adjustment Committee
Sylvie Lahaie was acclaimed TC Representative to the Workforce Adjustment Committee.
Harassment Committee
Christine McLennan was acclaimed to the Harassment Committee.
Communications Committee
Barry Melanson was acclaimed to the Communications Committee
Political Action Committee
Dave Lanthier was elected to the Political Action Committee.
MS Richard Hyatt/Randy McKeown
That the ballots be destroyed.
MOTION CARRIED.
President Campbell thanked all candidates who put their names forward.
Sister Caren Tallon served notice to amend the agenda with the addition of one item.
President Campbell acknowledged the presence of Sister Linda Cassidy, UTE Labour Relations Officer and Life Member, who is working for awhile on an assignment with the PSAC.
ITEMS PRESENTED BY THE LOCAL PRESIDENTS
IAD Discipline Database – Toronto East 00001
The Local questioned the increase of the numbers of IAD Investigations, the increase in discipline that have been handed out, and the results and asked if the National Office could set up a database showing the timelines and the results that members could use as a reference tool to help other members in the same situations.
President Campbell responded that we can look into this request and we will report to the RVPs on the feasibility of such a database. He added that the National Office is developing right now a help book on IAD to help the members.
WFA and RJOs – Hamilton 00014
The item was withdrawn with permission by the submitting local.
Funding for Non UTE Events – Charlottetown 90002
The Local referred to the Canadian Centre of Occupation Health and Safety two-day event being held in Halifax on October 29-30 and wanted to know what the criteria were for getting approval of a Non UTE Event.
President Campbell had a discussion with 1st National Vice-President at that time, Brother Aylward and they didn’t believe that this conference was a benefit to UTE.
Management Assessment Ratings for MGs - Toronto West 00051
The Local shared the information found on Infozone regarding a document called the Recommended Distribution Range for Effective People Management Assessment Ratings that was put in place on April 1st, 2012. This initiative is aimed at measuring the performance of MGs and HR managers. They asked if the National Office and other locals were aware of this issue. How this would impact on our MGs and would this be showing on the Y280s? The document was given to President Campbell.
The locals have heard nothing on this issue.
President Campbell thanked the local for providing him with this information. The National Office and Staffing Committee will look into this.
Brother Alan Craig who had spoken earlier about the Ozanam Camp drew the 1st prize-the painting that went to Sister Kim Price from Sudbury. The 2nd prize- a nice food basket went to Brother Robert Hume who gave it back for another draw and the winner was Sister Nancy Johnson. The 3rd prize- a nice UTE hoody jacket went to Lorne Roslinski and the 4th and final prize- an Old-timer hockey jersey went to Peter Gagnon from Ottawa. The sale of ticket collected as of now the amount of $1029.00 for the camp.
AFTERNOON SESSION
The meeting was called to order at 1:15 pm. with President Campbell in the Chair.
Point of privilege – Alan Craig, Ottawa TC
Brother Craig thanked President Campbell for giving him the opportunity to present the Ozanam Camp as it means a lot to him. He presented Sister Lise Desforges, General Manager of the Ozanam Camp. She gave the history of the Camp and informed the participants on the purposes and goals of the Camp. She thanked everyone for their generosity. Brother Craig remitted to Lise the great amount of $1100.00
MS Caren Tallon/ Mike Montague
That the agenda be amended to add the item ‘Collective Bargaining Strategy and Support’.
MOTION TO ADMEND CARRIED.
MS Sylvie Lahaie/John Drozd
That the ballot used for the election of the First National Vice-President be destroyed.
MOTION CARRIED.
GUEST SPEAKER – Guidelines on Speaking Out
President Campbell introduced Sister Edith Bramwell, PSAC Legal Council with the Collective Bargaining Branch, who was invited to speak on what union activists need to keep in mind when they are spreading the Union message either to the membership, within the workplace or with the public in general. She answered a few questions from the participants. President Campbell gave Sister Bramwell a gift as a token of appreciation.
UTE NATIONAL WORKFORCE ADJUSTMENT COMMITTEE
Sister Pamela Abbott, Chair of the UTE National WFA Committee introduced her Co-Chair Brother Bill Blair, the Presidents’ Representative, Sister Sylvie Lahaie and Brother Hicham Youssfi and Brother Kent MacDonald, Staff Advisor.
Brother MacDonald and Sister Abbott answered a few questions following the workshop of the day before.
Sister Barb Stewart did the last 50/50 draw for the Workers History Museum and Brother Jamie vanSydenborgh, RVP for the Southwestern Ontario Region was the happy winner of $327.
ITEMS PRESENTED BY THE LOCAL PRESIDENTS
Trust Examiner Travel – Halifax 80003
The Local mentioned that they have to use a web-based costing tool to determine how much it will cost to use their own car when going on the road. Is this happening in other locals?
The Victoria Local said that they are starting to talk about using this tool.
President Campbell pointed out that members do not have to take their own car on the road.
Pension Centre Issues – Toronto East 00001
The Local stated that members have their date set for retirement and have submitted to the appropriate section what was needed as paper work. These members have asked to be informed if the form had been completed accurately. They never receive a reply. Can they at least receive an acknowledgement letter? Members would like to receive their money on time.
The President thanked the local for their input and commented that this issue was brought to the last NUMCC meeting. The government has centralized these services. CRA is aware of the problem and they have stepped in for members occasionally. We suggest that members fill in the paperwork as soon as possible. Also, the Association of Public Service Alliance Retirees (APSAR) can help you in contacting the Pension Centre and push them to speed up the process. We will have this item again on the NUMCC in December. The PSPC (Public Service Pension Cventre) website states that the waiting period is 90 days, but in reality it is more likely 120 days.
One local mentioned that they were told by the Pension Centre that the delay is often due to the fact that the employer fails to advise the Centre that the employee has terminated their employment. It is imperative that the Centre be advised the next day that the employee is no longer employed. The process can’t start rolling before that notice is received from the employer.
CRA Call Letter and Requests for Resumes – Thunder Bay 00020
The item was withdrawn with permission by the submitting local.
Y280s Lack of Consistency – Summerside 90006
The Local explained that the employer revamped the term rehire document to include expectations as criteria to make it more consistent with the document used for permanent employees. There are many criteria that are not related to assigned tasks, i.e. dependability or respect of break and lunch times, etc. What there should be in the document, and what people should be assessed on is the expected tasks such as maintaining a filing system, dealing with taxpayers etc,. Did the National Office ever try to get samples of the Y280s and the expectation document that has been used for a variety of different workloads? You would see that all these inconsistencies that we are experiencing do exist in other working places.
President Campbell asked if the Staffing Committee had looked into this recently.
Brother MacDonald, LRO answered that there was a Performance Management Working Group on Y280s.
Brother Khayat, Chair of the Staffing Committee added that the Staffing Policy is based on a flexibility that is given to managers to add what they deem necessary. In Montreal for the determinate employees, they have mixed together performance and discipline. What the Staffing Committee receives is the standard term rehire document that is prepared by Headquarters; and HQ will not follow up to see how it is used and modified in each office. This is the reason why we ask the locals to advise the committee on these inconsistencies because what we are aware of is the standard Y280, while locals see the one that managers have used their flexibility to change. Brother Khayat reiterated that the Y280s should be related to duties.
A suggestion was made to have the expectations listed on the UTE Newsletter to help the members.
A few locals commented that the indeterminate employees are provided with the standard Y280 document while the term employees are provided with the tailored one.
Superannuation and Changes related to CPP - Toronto East 00001
The item was withdrawn with permission by the submitting local.
October 1st closing Service Counters – Toronto 00001
The item was withdrawn with permission by the submitting local.
Bargaining Demands and Public Perception - Toronto East 00001
The item was withdrawn with permission by the submitting local.
IAD Discipline Opportunity to Retire vs Being Terminated - Toronto East 00001
The item was withdrawn with permission by the submitting local.
CRA Tuition Discrimination Policy – Toronto East 00001
The item was withdrawn with permission by the submitting local.
CRA In-house Occupational Therapists – Toronto East 00001
The item was withdrawn with permission by the submitting local.
Sun Life Issues PSTAR Members – Toronto East 00001
The item was withdrawn with permission by the submitting local.
Collective Bargaining and Strategy and Support – St. Catharines 00016
The Local commented that October 31st is the expiration date of our contract. As a suggestion to help the bargaining team it might be a good idea to dress up for Halloween and pass on the message on what the employer has taken away from us and are prepared to take away from our members.
President Campbell answered that this can be put forward to Council as we will be looking at our structure and strategies for November 1st.President Campbell suggested that if locals are doing something special for November 1st , they advise their RVP and they will advise the National Office on what is being done across the country. He encouraged them to send pictures of the event, whenever possible, to the National Office for posting on our website.
President Campbell informed the locals that if they would like a guest speaker and/or the negotiator to speak at their AGM to let him know, so that arrangements can be made where possible.
CLOSING REMARKS
President Campbell’s closing remarks were to thank the interpreters and technician and the UTE staff here at the conference, but also the staff back in the office that assist in the preparation of the conference. He thanked the participants for their good work and commitment. He stressed the importance of getting the whole membership involved and getting our activists active. Furthermore, we have to inform the members on the issues we are fighting for. We can’t let the membership say that the union is not doing anything for them. As we are getting into negotiations, we need your support to be successful. He concluded wishing everyone a safe trip home.
The meeting adjourned at 5h00 p.m.