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 |
|||
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 |
|||||
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 |
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 |
- 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.
- 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.
- In abeyance pending the adjudication decision on termination
- Settlement pending – awaiting employer to implement the terms of the settlement.
- Held in abeyance until review of allegation has been completed by center for discrimination and harassment
- 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