Report of the National President - Executive Council

Marc Brière – Item 6

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

Given the lack of progress in the bargaining, the UTE-PSAC bargaining team had to declare an impasse and thus move on to the next step provided for under the legislation, namely asking for a public interest commission (PIC) to be formed. Further to that action, the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) decided to put our request on hold and, instead, opted for the parties to return to the bargaining table with the assistance of a federal mediator. Our negotiator therefore contacted the mediator, and the next bargaining meeting will be held April 2 to 4.

In order to express our members’ dissatisfaction with the employer and to continue demonstrating their unwavering support for their bargaining team, we asked our locals to not only circulate a petition but also organize mobilization activities. With the aim of promoting and raising our members’ awareness about the importance of mobilizing and signing the petition, we published a video and document promoting those activities. Those mobilization activities started in February and are continuing all across the country until further notice. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the locals and our members for their involvement in this initiative and for their support for our bargaining team. Regarding the petition, we collected 7,580 signatures from our members. I would like to thank the locals that took the time to circulate the petition and the members who signed it.

CORPORATE ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM (CAS) AND REPLACING PHOENIX:

With the assistance of Brother Chris Aylward, PSAC National President, I am still following up with federal government representatives regarding our proposal to launch a pilot project at the CRA for having the CAS replace the Phoenix pay system at the CRA and thus enable the Agency to pay its own employees directly. I will continue to monitor the situation closely in the coming months and will keep you informed of any developments.

AGMs:

As detailed in my activity report, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) period is at its peak. During the AGMs, the primary discussion topic is bargaining, yet without forgetting that, for the Québec and Montreal regions, the members are increasingly aware that their jobs are at risk if the Conservative Party comes into power in the next federal election and puts forward its proposal of having a single tax return in Quebec administered by the province of Quebec.

MEETINGS WITH THE CRA:

I attended meetings and telephone interviews with senior officials from the Agency and from federal government ministers regarding various current issues and topics, such as:

• Presentation regarding structured engagement sessions facilitated by the members of the Canada Revenue Agency’s Council Service.
• Attended the news conference regarding the proposed construction of a new building on the current site of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) National Verification and Collections Centre (NVCC) in Shawinigan.
• Meeting with the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and Mr. Steven Mackinnon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility.
• Bargaining: I hand-delivered our petition to the CRA Commissioner.
• Return of the Counter Services at CRA: we submitted our business case to the CRA Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner. In the coming weeks, we plan to meet with the Minister of National Revenue to show our presentation to her and continue discussing the subject.

POLITICAL ACTION:

On February 28, I joined hundreds of Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) members during a major demonstration in downtown Ottawa to highlight the 3rd anniversary of the launch of the Phoenix pay system to express our growing frustration with this entirely unacceptable situation. Despite the intense cold, the demonstrators’ message to the federal government was very clear.

We demand that the government:

• Establish a specific schedule, for which they will be held accountable if deadlines are missed, for stabilizing the Phoenix system, eliminating the backlog and moving to a new pay system.

• Compensate all public servants for the financial and emotional suffering due to Phoenix.

• Show more respect for its employees by bargaining seriously at the various bargaining tables in order to not add insult to injury.

I also participated in a meeting with the UTE Political Action Committee to discuss our action plan for this federal election year. The discussion was very productive, and the Committee Chair, Brother Jamie vanSydenborgh, will brief the UTE Executive Council on this matter and will also speak about it at the March 2019 Presidents’ Conference.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS:

Regarding the Conservative Party’s proposal to introduce a single tax return in Quebec administered by the province of Quebec, in the event that it forms the next government after the federal elections in October 2019, a number of major members of that party and some journalists made some statements about it. Therefore, I gave a number of interviews on the radio, television and in the print media for the purpose of informing the public and correcting the facts regarding the many false statements that have been made, such as saying that there would be no job losses in the federal public service if that proposal were put forward by the Conservatives.

WEB/COMMUNICATIONS:

Our website is working well and updates are occurring in a timely fashion.  We created a few videos including the recent update on bargaining and the Phoenix demonstration. We are also updating the UTE Owner’s Manual and UTE Accomplishments booklets and will be printing them shortly.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:

All IT systems have been running well. Regular software maintenance of internal computers, servers and network was performed.

DONATIONS / SPONSORSHIPS:

Donations/Sponsorships
Dons/Commandites
As of March 5, 2019 / Au 5 mars 2019

Donations/Sponsorships
Dons/Commandites
As of December 31, 2018 / Au 31 décembre 2018

NON-UTE UNION EVENTS:

Non-UTE Union Events
Événements syndicaux autres que ceux du SEI
As of March 5, 2019 / Au 5 mars 2019

Non-UTE Union Events
Événements syndicaux autres que ceux du SEI
As of December 31, 2018 / Au 31 décembre 2018

GRIEVANCES:

GRIEVANCE REPORT
DECEMBER 3^rd, 2018   TO February 26^th, 2019

Since our last Executive Council meeting, the National Office received forty-two (42) grievances, other than classification.

During the same period, fifty-nine (59) grievances were presented. During this quarter, one (1) grievance was withdrawn. In addition to the grievance withdrawn, there were also eighteen (18) replies received from CRA, with one (1) being allowed, three (3) being partially allowed and the remaining fourteen (14) denied. Seven (7) grievances were also settled at the final level.

1. Grievance in abeyance pending Human Rights Tribunal and WSIB complaints. The complaints are still active and outside legal counsel has carriage of the file. The complaints are currently held in abeyance.
2. Letter rec’d Oct 19, 2018 stated CHRC has instructed to CHRT to proceed with an inquiry into complaint.  Grievance remains in abeyance pending outcome of tribunal inquiry.
3. Grievance held in abeyance at grievors request pending his ATIP request
4. Grievance is concerning termination.  Multiple attempts to contact the grievor to no avail. Latest letter was sent on Jan 30, 2019 and the grievor has not picked it up yet. Local was contacted, they have no other way to communicate with her.
5. One grievance held in abeyance pending the arbitration decision on termination. Thirty-one grievances related to Hours of Work are being held in abeyance pending a statutory freeze complaint.
6. Thirteen of these grievances relate to work description and extensions for reply have been approved Seven grievances are in the process of settlement discussions and 3 will be scheduled for hearing as a result of failed settlement discussions.

There are presently fifty-eight (58) grievances in the National Office inventory which have not yet been presented at the Final Level dealing with a variety of issues.

POLICY GRIEVANCE

There were no new policy grievances filed during this period.

CLASSIFICATION GRIEVANCES

There were no new classification grievances filed during this period.

INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY REVIEWS (ITPRs)

During this quarter, the National Office did not present any ITPRs, however a number of ITPRs from previous quarters are pending being scheduled. Three (3) new ITPR’s were received in the National Office this quarter. Two (2) ITPRs were subsequently withdrawn by the grievor subsequent to their review by our office. Our office recommended withdrawal of a third ITPR as there were no persuasive arguments to be advanced. The member will be proceeding on their own.

CRA POLICY GRIEVANCES

Currently there are no new CRA Policy Grievances in our inventory.  There is one (1) grievance that has been referred to the joint committee but to date has not been scheduled for hearing.  

PRESIDENT’S ITINERARY

DATE        ACTIVITY                                             PLACE

NOVEMBER 2018

27               Site visit of Bathurst TSO and AGM - Local 60006                    Bathurst
27               Demonstration - Negotiation and media interviews                    Bathurst
30               Regional Equal Opportunities Conference                                 Toronto
30               Meeting with Ed Smith (ICA)                                                      Toronto

DECEMBER 2018

1-2              Regional Equal Opportunities Conference                                Toronto
4                 Demonstration to support the Bargaining Team                        Ottawa
7                 Meeting with the Executif Committee                                        Ottawa
7                 Meeting with NSCC                                                                   Ottawa
10-12         Executive Council Meeting                                                         Ottawa
12               Meeting with CRA Commissioner                                              Ottawa
13               Meeting with NUMCC                                                                Ottawa      
16               Demonstration - Montreal Airport                                              Montreal
19               Rally - Many Rivers Workers                                                     Ottawa

JANUARY 2019

15               Meeting - PSAC NBoD Committee on Representation Issues          Ottawa
25               Meeting with NSCC                                                                            Ottawa
25               Meeting with NBoD - Phoenix                                                            Ottawa
29               Meeting with Executive Council - Conference Call                            Ottawa
29               Site visit of Prince George TSO and AGM - Local 20002                  Prince George
31               Site visit of Pacific Region Call Center and AGM – Local 20050       Surrey

FEBRUARY 2019

4                 Meeting with Ministers – Shawinigan NVCC                                       Shawinigan
4                 Interviews with the media following the News Conference              
                   at the NVCC in Shawinigan                                                                Shawinigan
7                 Site visit of Hamilton TSO and AGM - Local 00014                            Hamilton
7                 NBoD Conference Call – Mobilization for Phoenix and Bargaining    Hamilton
7                 AGM - Local 00014
8-9              Interregional conference, Quebec and Montreal regions                  Quebec
11               Meeting with the CRA Service Council Manager                               Ottawa
11               PSAC Components Presidents’ Meeting                                           Ottawa
12-14         NBoD Meeting                                                                                    Ottawa
15               Meeting with the CRA Chief Service Officer                                      Ottawa
21               Site visit of St. Catharines TSO                                                         St. Catharines
21               Conference Call – Phoenix Mobilization and Bargaining                  St. Catharines
21               AGM - Local 00016                                                                           St. Catharines
22               Conference Call – Bargaining                                                           St. Catharines
26               Site visit of Chicoutimi TSO and AGM – Local 10110                       Chicoutimi
28               PSAC’s Rally – Phoenix and Bargaininga                                        Ottawa

MARCH 2019

4                 NBoD Conference Call – Compensations for Phoenix                      Victoria
5                 Site visit of Victoria TSO and AGM – Local 20028                            Victoria
6                 Conference call – CAS versus Phoenix                                             Victoria
7                 Site visit of NVCC of Surrey and AGM - Local 20029                        Surrey
11               Meeting with the Action Political Committee                                      Ottawa

Acronyms

AGM – Annual General Meeting
NSCC - PSAC National Strategy Communication Committee
NUMCC - National Union Management Consultation Committee
NBoD - National Board of Directors
NVCC - National Verification and Collection Centre
CAS – Corporate Administrative Systems

MEMBERSHIP:

Respectfully submitted,

Marc Brière
National President