Message from the National President

Message from the National President

September 2019 Union News

Sisters and Brothers,

Summer is now coming to an end and I hope you have had the opportunity to take a vacation and have a good time with your family and friends during this beautiful time of year. I have done so over the past few weeks because the fall is once again looking very busy.

For more than a year now, we have been urging the employer to reopen the service counters at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Although these counters were closed in the fall of 2013, Canadian citizens continue to flock in large numbers to the doors of CRA offices day after day. In recent months, the CRA has undertaken a service transformation initiative and surveyed taxpayers in several of its offices for their comments. Public consultations were also held across the country. The Agency has had to face the fact that there are still many people who come to its offices and demand to meet with an agent in person to discuss their taxes. There is a real need to be met.

On May 27, I had a lengthy meeting with the Minister of National Revenue during which I presented her with our case study justifying the return of Counter Services to the CRA in order to complete the current offer of services to taxpayers. Following this meeting, which went very well, and the last meeting of the National Union-Management Consultation Committee held last June, I am optimistic that the Agency will once again, in the not so distant future, offer this personalized service on which so many Canadians depend on.

As you know, the Phoenix payroll system continues to give headaches to many federal public service employees, including members of the Union of Taxation Employees (UTE). According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, this intolerable situation should continue until at least the end of the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

After more than two years of negotiations to obtain fair and equitable compensation for all public servants paid by the Phoenix payroll system, who suffered and continue to suffer significant damage, the federal government has made an offer that the PSAC and its Components have rejected as insufficient.

Despite this, some unions and associations have decided to accept the government's offer. UTE regrets this decision. Indeed, this lack of solidarity works in favour for the government.  What is even more deplorable is the fact that these unions insisted on including a “Me too” clause that guarantees that if another bargaining agent, such as the PSAC, gets additional compensation for its members, they will get the same compensation for their members without having had to fight for it.

We are obviously extremely disappointed and frustrated by this situation and, although the Phoenix payroll system was imposed on us by Stephen Harper's Conservative government, it is high time for Justin Trudeau's Liberal government to resolve this issue and show us they truly respect federal public service workers, as promised in the 2015 federal election campaign.

Rest assured that we continue to put pressure on and negotiate with the government to reach an agreement as soon as possible.

In the meantime, UTE continues to follow up with federal government officials on our proposal to launch a pilot project at the CRA to replace the Phoenix payroll system. On June 12, the government announced the names of the three selected service providers. These included SAP, the manufacturer of the CAS system used by the CRA. It is expected that the pilot projects will be announced and launched by the end of the year.

As far as contract negotiations are concerned, the situation is equally frustrating. Our current collective agreement expired October 31, 2016 and our current round of negotiations is stalled. I am extremely disappointed with the employer's attitude at the bargaining table. From the beginning, the CRA has not shown a true willingness to seriously approach and resolve our members’ significant issues raised at the bargaining table. Negotiations have now reached an impasse and the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board (PSLREB) has advised us that the Public Interest Commission (PIC) hearing dates will be held on January 6 and 20, 2020. I fully agree with the members who are writing to us to complain that this waiting period is completely unacceptable, but there's nothing we can do about it.

I would like to point out that our union has made it clear to the employer on several occasions, that our bargaining team is ready to return to the table at any time and seriously negotiate, provided that the CRA itself is ready to finally address our members’ important concerns. So far, despite all our efforts, the necessary conditions have not been met to allow us to return to the negotiating table. We are still waiting.

We realize that many of our members are frustrated by the situation. We are as well. We want to sign a new collective agreement as soon as possible, but this is not always possible. And especially not at any price! As they say, it takes two to tango.

There are important issues at the CRA that need to be resolved and things need to change.

During this election period, I invite all members of the Union of Taxation Employees to meet or at least contact their Member of Parliament. Let them know how frustrated you are by the lack of progress at the bargaining table and the slow pace of negotiations to obtain fair and equitable compensation for all damages suffered as a result of Phoenix.

We must also continue to apply pressure on the CRA.

Feel free to let the employer know that you are tired of waiting forever and ever to get a new fair and equitable collective agreement that includes the decent wage increases that you fully deserve. You nevertheless continue to work hard every day and deserve more respect.

Let's keep fighting together.

In closing, a quick word on the next federal election that is now on our doorstep. All elections are important. But this year, they are particularly important for UTE members. In addition to electing the next government, which will also become our ultimate employer, we must be very concerned about the Conservative Party's proposal to Quebeckers to implement a single tax return in Quebec administered by Revenu Québec. If the Conservatives win the election and move forward with this project, all UTE members in Quebec and many others across the country are at high risk of losing their jobs. As you know, the UTE launched a campaign in August to fight this proposal and to protect our members' jobs.

On October 21, I invite all UTE members and their families to vote and consider the above before making their choice.

In solidarity,

Marc Brière
National President