Report of the National President - Executive Council

Report of the National President - Executive Council
June 2019

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

Considering that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) refused to table its wage offer on May 9, despite the fact that their negotiator formally committed to it the day before, and that it still refuses to address our members' main concerns, there was no alternative for our bargaining team but to declare a new impasse.

Our negotiator therefore contacted the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board to reactivate our request for the establishment of a Public Interest Commission (PIC) to assist the parties in resolving their dispute.

On May 10, we issued a written message to our members to provide them with an update on the status of the negotiations.

On the same day, the employer issued its own message to employees regarding the negotiations in which it accused the union of not showing sufficient interest in continuing negotiations by claiming that our bargaining team refused to respond to an employer proposal. 

As a result of this false message, we could not stand by and watch.

So, at the end of the day on Friday, May 10, we released a video in which I set the record straight so that our members would know the truth about what really happened at the bargaining table that week.

Together with the PSAC Communications Department, we launched an email campaign on Wednesday, May 22, to the Minister of National Revenue to denounce the intransigence of the CRA negotiating team and to ask her to make it right.

In order to promote this campaign, we broadcast another video on Tuesday, May 21. In this video, I informed members that a message would be sent to them via email asking them to write to the Minister of National Revenue, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier. I explained that a text would be provided to them but that they would also be able to modify it in order to personalize it to their liking. By entering their postal code, the message is also copied to the Member of Parliament for their riding.

In addition, I have sent the Regional Vice-Presidents and Locals a lobbying kit regarding negotiations and other important issues such as problems with the Phoenix payroll system, the compensation that our members are entitled to expect as a result of this unprecedented mess and the proposal to introduce a Single Income-Tax Return in Quebec administered by the Government of Quebec. I asked everyone to make an appointment with their MP as soon as possible.

I have also asked Locals to forward the said kit to their members through their email distribution list and/or by making a paper copy distribution at the CRA office doors and asking their members to contact their MP. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Regional Vice-Presidents, Locals and our members for their participation in this initiative and for their support of our bargaining team. It should be noted that at the time of writing, more than 2,000 members had written to Minister Lebouthillier and the campaign is in full swing.

On May 2, following the resignation of the Honourable Jane Philpott, President of the Treasury Board, I wrote a letter to her successor, the Honourable Joyce Murray, asking her to give the CRA a clear mandate to negotiate and to order the employer's negotiating team to return to the bargaining table in order to negotiate a fair and reasonable collective agreement.  To date, I have still not received a reply to my letter.

PHOENIX (PSAC REJECTION OF THE GOVERNMENT'S COMPENSATION OFFER):

The PSAC and other federal public service employee bargaining agents have been negotiating with the federal government for more than two years to obtain fair and equitable compensation for all public servants who are paid by the Phoenix payroll system and who have suffered harm as a result of the system's failures.

In plain language, the negotiations were, and still are, aimed at obtaining compensation for all federal public servants paid by the Phoenix system (general compensation) for all the inconveniences they have suffered in addition to more substantial compensation for those who have suffered significant direct impacts.

On May 2, the PSAC National Board of Directors (NBoD) met again to discuss this issue. Despite intense negotiations in recent months, unfortunately we have not yet reached an agreement with the government. At that meeting, the NBoD unanimously rejected the government's latest offer as insufficient. Indeed, the general allowance offered ends in 2019-2020, while the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) of the federal government has confirmed that problems with the Phoenix system will continue until at least 2022-2023. This is only one of the reasons why this offer was rejected.

It was then learned that the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) and other unions had decided to accept the offer in question.

Following these events, we released a video on May 17, in which I denounce the government's derisory offer and the reasons why the PSAC rejected it, as well as the decision of other unions and associations to accept this offer while insisting on a commitment from the government that if another bargaining agent, such as the PSAC, obtains additional compensation for its members outside the agreement they have agreed to sign, all these unions and associations will obtain the same compensation for their members.

AGMs AND VISITS OF CRA OFFICES:

During this period, I met our members by visiting several CRA offices and also attended a large number of Annual General Meetings (AGMs). The possible return of service counters to the CRA, problems related to Phoenix, the upcoming federal elections in October 2019 and, of course, the situation regarding our negotiations were the main topics of conversation with members. Another important subject, namely the proposal made by the Conservative Party of Canada and the Bloc Québécois to set up a Single Income-Tax Return in Quebec and to entrust its administration to the Government of Quebec, also received attention, particularly during meetings held in the Montreal and Quebec regions.

MEETING WITH THE CRA:

On May 13, I had a meeting with the CRA Commissioner on the following topics:

  • The CRA Staffing Redesign Project
  • The Union-Management Approach (UMA)

With respect to the staffing redesign project, our Senior Labour Relations Officer, Brother Shane O'Brien, was present at the meeting as he participated on the committee reviewing the Agency's staffing program. We conveyed to the Commissioner our deep disappointment that despite the fact that the joint committee (union/management) was unanimously in agreement with some of the recommendations submitted to the Agency's Management Committee (AMC), the latter nevertheless rejected them.

With regard to the UMA, I denounced the fact that in the joint committees, management continues to inform us instead of consulting us.

MEETING WITH THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL REVENUE:

On May 27, I met with the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, to present our business case concerning the return of service counters to the CRA. The meeting went very well and I am optimistic that the Agency will once again offer this personalized service on which so many Canadians depend on in the not too distant future. This would be a perfect complement to the CRA's current client service offering.

POLITICAL ACTION:

On March 19, I joined hundreds of members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) at a major demonstration outside the CRA Tax Services Office in downtown Montreal to mark the 3rd anniversary of the launch of the Phoenix payroll system to express our growing frustration with this completely unacceptable situation. The event was a great success.

WEB/COMMUNICATIONS:

Our website is working well and updates are occurring in a timely fashion.  We created new videos including a bargaining update, the recent update on Phoenix compensation and one on mobilization actions.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:

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

DONATIONS / SPONSORSHIPS:

Donations/Sponsorships
As of May 24, 2019

RECIPIENT/BÉNÉFICIAIRE

CITY/VILLE

AMOUNT

APPROVED BY

   

MONTANT

APPROUVÉ PAR

BUDGET

 

18,000.00

 

Ottawa Professional Fire Fighters’ Assoc

Ottawa

282.50

Marc/Doug

Lindsay MacLellan

Stratford PE

200.00

Marc/Doug

National Wall of Rememberance Assoc

Kingston ON

450.87

Marc/Doug

ANAVETS Magazine

Kingston ON

337.87

Marc/Doug

CFFF Annual Review

Ottawa

337.87

Marc/Doug

Nicholas Thompson

Toronto

500.00

Marc/Doug

Evangeline Figure Skating Club

Miscouche PE

400.00

Marc/Doug

Ben Anthony

Traverse PE

300.00

Marc/Doug

MADD

Ottawa

428.27

Marc/Doug

Tracy Lanteigne

Bathurst NB

50.00

Marc/Doug

Phillipe Neveu

Bathurst NB

100.00

Marc/Doug

Mona Richard

Bathurst NB

200.00

Marc/Doug

Melanie Charlong

Bathurst NB

50.00

Marc/Doug

Ecole Carrefour Edutiant – volleyball

Bathurst NB

100.00

Marc/Doug

Linda Roy

Bathurst NB

200.00

Marc/Doug

Denis Boudreau

Bathurst NB

50.00

Marc/Doug

Kristine Leclerc

Ascot Corner QC

500.00

Marc/Doug

Viktor Bender

Brossard QC

125.00

Marc/Doug

Raffi Sahakian

St-Hubert QC

245.00

Marc/Doug

Justin Leinhos

Chambly QC

350.00

Marc/Doug

Youth Centres Canada

Ottawa

337.87

Marc/Doug

Cassandra Shephard

Winnipeg MB

500.00

Marc/Doug

Ancoura

Ottawa

100.00

Protocol

Canadian Cancer Society

Ottawa

100.00

Protocol

Kidney Foundation of Canada

Ottawa

100.00

Protocol

SPCA of Prince George

Prince George BC

100.00

Protocol

Total spent / Total dépensé

 

6,445.25

 

Balance – UTE / Solde SEI

 

11,554.75

 

Presidents’ Use / A l’usage du président

 

2,000.00

 

The Mission – Help with Christmas dinners

Ottawa

   

The Ottawa Food Bank – In lieu of Christmas cards

Ottawa

   

The Snowsuit Fund of Ottawa

Ottawa

   

Moisson Outaouais

Gatineau QC

   

Total spent / Total dépensé

 

0.00

 

Balance – President / Solde – Président

 

2,000.00

 

Total Balance – Donations – UTE and President /

     

Solde total – Dons – SEI et Président

 

13,554.75

 

Extraordinary Donations from Surplus /

     

Dons Extraordinaires provenant du surplus

 

5,000.00

 

Total spent from surplus / Total dépensé du surplus

 

0.00

 

NON-UTE UNION EVENTS :

Non-UTE Union Events
As of May 24, 2019

RECIPIENT

REASON

AMOUNT

BÉNÉFICIAIRE

RAISON

MONTANT

 

BUDGET – 2019

     

20,000.00

 

2018 Carry Over / Report de 2018

     

16,927.58

 

TOTAL BUDGET – 2018

     

36,927.58

Kristen Strachey

AFL/CLC Winter School

Jan 13-18/19

   

1,876.00

Zita Lambert

AFL/CLC Winter School

Feb 10-15/19

   

1,376.32

Lea Serron

AFL/CLC Winter School

Feb 10-15/19

   

1,130.63

Valerie Illingworth

SFL-CLC Spring School Program

May 6-10/19

   

1,754.97

 

TOTAL SPENT / DÉPENSES

 

6,137.92

 

BUDGET AVAILABLE / DISPONIBLE

     

30,789.66

Approved – No Claim Received

 

Location

Advance

Approved

Approuvé – Aucune eclamation reçue

 

Location

Avance

Approuvé

Raffi Sahakian

Conférence Régionale AFPC

Nov 4-6/16

Estérel

 

188.00

Saïda Alibhay

Conférence Régionale AFPC

Nov 4-6/16

Estérel

 

188.00

Martine Decelles

FTQ-camp des jeunes

Sep 19-21

Quebec

 

734.00

Raffi Sahakian

FTQ-camp des jeunes

Sep 19-21

Quebec

 

734.00

Esther St. Louis

FTQ-camp des jeunes

Sep 19-21

Quebec

 

744.50

Pamela Salem

FTQ-camp des jeunes

Sep 19-21

Quebec

 

678.37

Nadia Gharmoul

Conf régionale des femmes 2019

26-28 Apr, 2019

Qc

 

140.00

 

NET BUDGET AVAILABLE / DISPONIBLE

   

27,382.79

GRIEVANCES:

GRIEVANCE REPORT
APRIL 1ST TO MAY 30TH, 2019

You will notice that we have somewhat changed the format of our grievance report as reflected below. We have done so as we have changed our system for grievance tracking from an Access based system to a Microsoft based system called Power BI. This new system provides for greater accuracy and easier administration with respect to recording, updating and tracking of grievances and also provides for greater statistical accuracy for our reports.

In transitioning to this new system, we have decided for ease of reporting to compress statistical information for a number of years. In fact, as we have no grievances outstanding in any category for the period February 1994 to November 2012, we have reported this information on one line. We have also for purposes of this report, reported data for the years 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 on a calendar year basis as other than grievances at adjudication, we have a minimal number of grievances in the outstanding and waiting reply categories. Commencing in 2018, we have resumed reporting grievance information quarterly, similar to what we have done in our previous reporting system.

In our previous reports, we reported in narrative format on grievances received by quarter. We will no longer provide this narrative as the grievance received by quarter are evident in the chart below.

Finally, you will note that this report covers a short time span in order to transition between new grievance tracking system and in order to ensure that Executive Council is provided with the grievance report for this meeting. Future reports will return to the full reporting periods.

During this period, twelve (12) grievances were presented and no replies were received from CRA. Furthermore, no grievances were withdrawn.

OPENED INVENTORY

REC’D

NOT PRESENTED

AWAITINGREPLY

ADJ.

Feb /1994 – Dec /2012

5073

0

0

27

Jan /2013 – Dec /2015

640

1[1]

1

283

Jan /2016 – Dec /2016

483

2[2]

0

75

Jan /2017– Dec /2017

362

0

0

177

Jan /2018 – Mar /2018

62

32[3]

1

10

Apr /2018 – June /2018

44

1

7

13

July /2018 – Aug /2018

10

4[4], [5]

3

8

Sept /2018 – Dec /2018

83

6

37

5

Jan /2019 – Mar /2019

23

136

19

0

Apr 1/2019 – May 30/2019

9

9

9

0

TOTAL

6789

68

77

598

  1. Grievance in abeyance pending HRT and WSIAB complaints. The complaints are still active and outside legal counsel has carriage of the file. The complaints are currently held in abeyance.
  2. Grievance held in abeyance at grievors request pending receipt of information requested from ATIP. Grievor has recently received information and is in the process of proving it to our office.
  3. In abeyance pending the adjudication decision on termination
  4. Settlement pending – awaiting employer to implement the terms of the settlement.
  5. Held in abeyance until review of allegation has been completed by center for discrimination and harassment
  6. Pending disposition of a test case

There are presently sixty-eight (68) 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 two (2) new grievances filed during this period. The first dealt with Hours of Work and Shifts Scheduling, and the second dealt with Posting of Bargaining Updates on Bulletin boards on the Employers Premises.  Relatedly, we filed an unfair labour practice complaint concurrently on the Bulletin Board Issue.

CLASSIFICATION GRIEVANCES

There were no new classification grievances filed during this period and there are no classification grievances outstanding.

INDEPENDENT THIRD-PARTY REVIEWS (ITPRs)

There were four (4) new ITPRs received in the National Office this quarter. Two (2) ITPRs were subsequently withdrawn by UTE. The remaining two are currently in the exchange of information stage. Five of twelve ITPRs received in the previous quarter were settled and the requestors have been provided job offers. The remaining seven are scheduled for hearing in July 2019.

CRA POLICY GRIEVANCES

There were no new CRA Policy Grievances received in this quarter. 


PRESIDENT’S ITINERARY

DATE        ACTIVITY                                       PLACE

MARCH

12               NBoD Conference Call – Affinity Program                                    Trois-Rivieres
12               Site visit of Trois-Rivières TSO and AGM – Local 10027             Trois-Rivieres
13               Site visit of Shawinigan NVCC and AGM – Local 10005              Shawinigan
15               Hand-delivering petitions to the CRA Commissioner                    Ottawa
15               Meeting with the CRA Commissioner – Counter Services           Ottawa
19               Rally – Montreal TSO                                                                   Montreal
20               Site visit of Quebec TSO and AGM – Local 10006                      Quebec
21               Site visit of Jonquiere TC and AGM – Local 10004                     Jonquiere
26-27         Executive Council Meeting                                                            Ottawa
28-30         Presidents’ Conference                                                                 Ottawa
31               AGM Edmonton – Local 30025                                                    Edmonton

APRIL

1                 Site visit of the Edmonton CRA Office                                                 Edmonton
5                 NSCC Meeting                                                                                     Ottawa
10               Site visit of Toronto Centre TSO and AGM – Local 00013                   Toronto
12               Greeting the participants to the UTE National Course                          Ottawa
12               Conference call: Office of the Minister of National Revenue                Ottawa
15               Conference call:  Assistant Commissioner HRB                                   Ottawa
16               Site visit of Monteregie South Shore TSO and AGM –Local 10017      Brossard
18               AGM Ottawa Centre – Local 70004                                                       Ottawa
25               NBoD Conference Call – Treasury Board bargaining and Phoenix damages
                                                                                                                                  Ottawa
26               Conference Call with Executive Committee – CLC Scholarship            Ottawa
26               Meeting with PSAC Human Resources                                                  Ottawa
30               Site visit of Rouyn-Noranda TSO and AGM – Local 10009                    Rouyn-Noranda

MAY

2                 Special NBoD meeting                                                                           Ottawa
3                 AGM Ottawa Technology Center – Local 70030                                    Ottawa
8                 Meeting with a lawyer                                                                             Ottawa
10               NSCC Meeting                                                                                        Ottawa
13               Meeting with CRA Commissioner – Staffing Redesign and UMA           Ottawa
14               Conference Call – Equal Opportunities Committee                                Ottawa
15               Site visit of Laval TSO and AGM – Local 10028                                     Laval
22               Site visit of Sherbrooke TSO and AGM – Local 10007                           Sherbrooke

Acronyms

AGM – Annual General Meeting
CLC – Canadian Labour Congress
HRB – Human Resources Branch
NBoD – National Board of Directors
NSCC – PSAC National Strategy Coordinating Committee
NVCC – National Verification and Collections Centre
TC – Tax Center
TSO – Tax Services Office
UMA – Union Management Approach


MEMBERSHIP:

APRIL 2019 /AVRIL  2019

 

FULL

RAND

SUSPENDED

TOTAL

     

SUSPENDUS

 

ATLANTIC REGION / RÉGION DE L’ATLANTIQUE

       

Saint John (60005)

326

0

 

326

Bathurst (60006)

89

   

89

Moncton (60008)

94

1

 

95

Halifax (80003)

246

35

 

281

Sydney (80004)

102

5

 

107

St. John’s T.C. / C.F. de St. John’s (90000)

744

4

 

748

St. John’s T.S.O. / St. John’s B.S.F. (90001)

346

74

 

420

Charlottetown (90002)

147

4

 

151

Summerside (90006)

1050

4

2

1056

 

3144

127

2

3273

QUEBEC REGION / RÉGION DE QUÉBEC

       

Jonquière (10004)

680

27

 

707

Shawinigan South / Shawinigan-Sud (10005)

1120

2

 

1122

Québec (10006)

286

1

 

287

Trois-Rivières (10027)

25

1

 

26

Chicoutimi (10110)

77

   

77

 

2188

31

 

2219

MONTREAL REGION / RÉGION DE MONTRÉAL

       

Sherbrooke (10007)

72

1

 

73

Montréal (10008)

759

17

 

776

Rouyn-Noranda (10009)

28

2

 

30

Montérégie South Shore / Montérégie Rive Sud (10017)

132

1

 

133

Laval (10028)

200

5

 

205

Outaouais (70035)

45

2

 

47

 

1236

28

0

1264

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION / RÉGION DE LA CAPITALE NATIONALE

       

Ottawa Headquarters / Administration centrale d’Ottawa (70000)

1148

26

9

1183

Ottawa East / Ottawa-Est (70001)

470

57

6

533

Ottawa Centre / Ottawa Centre (70004)

673

104

11

788

Ottawa I.T.S.O. / B.I.S.F. d’Ottawa (70009)

187

13

1

201

Ottawa T.S.O. / B.S.F. d’Ottawa (70010)

395

32

1

428

Ottawa Connaught Bldg. / Édifice Connaught (70021)

228

27

2

257

Ottawa Albert St. / rue Albert (70022)

311

49

1

361

Ottawa Technology Centre / Centre de technologie d’Ottawa (70030)

817

131

1

949

 

4229

439

32

4700

NORTHERN & EASTERN ONTARIO REGION / RÉGION DU NORD ET DU SUD DE L’ONTARIO

     

Peterborough (00008)

70

   

70

Kingston (00011)

80

   

80

Belleville (00012)

145

6

 

151

Thunder Bay (00020)

80

 

 

80

Sudbury T.C. / C.F. de Sudbury (00042)

2240

113

 

2353

 

2615

119

 

2734

SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO REGION / RÉGION DU SUD-OUEST DE L’ONTARIO

       

Hamilton (00014)

914

18

1

933

Kitchener (00015)

306

1

 

307

St. Catharines (00016)

210

4

 

214

London (00017)

267

2

 

269

Windsor (00018)

164

   

164

 

1861

25

1

1887

GREATER TORONTO REGION / RÉGION DU GRAND TORONTO

       

Toronto East / Toronto-Est (00001)

579

19

 

598

Toronto Centre / Toronto Centre (00013)

460

26

 

486

Toronto North / Toronto-Nord (00048)

671

30

4

705

Toronto West / Toronto-Ouest (00051)

452

3

 

455

Barrie (00052)

103

1

 

104

 

2265

79

4

2348

PRAIRIE REGION / RÉGION DES PRAIRIES

       

Regina (40022)

153

 

1

154

Winnipeg (50021)

384

23

 

407

Winnipeg T.C. / C.F. de Winnipeg (50031)

2244

85

 

2329

Winnipeg C.C.S.C. / C.A.S.R. de Winnipeg (50032)

164

4

 

168

 

2945

112

1

3058

ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION / RÉGION DES MONTAGNE ROCHEUSES

       

Calgary Call Centre / Centre d’appels de Calgary (30022)

392

4

 

396

Calgary (30024)

382

28

2

412

Edmonton (30025)

633

97

4

734

Lethbridge (30027)

22

   

22

Saskatoon (40023)

229

4

 

233

 

1658

133

6

1797

PACIFIC REGION / RÉGION DU PACIFIQUE

       

Prince George (20002)

88

12

 

100

Kelowna (20003)

53

   

53

Fraser Valley T.S.O. / B.S.F. de Fraser Valley (20007)

517

8

 

525

Penticton (20026)

241

   

241

Vancouver (20027)

617

18

1

636

Victoria (20028)

264

20

 

284

Surrey T.C. / C.F. de Surrey (20029)

727

265

 

992

Pacific Region Call Centre / Centre d’appels de la région du Pacifique (20050)

510

12

 

522

 

3017

335

1

3353

Unallotted

619

1180

2

1801

 

25777

2608

49

28434

 

Respectfully submitted,

Marc Brière

National President