Report of the President - Executive Council

2021 UTE TRIENNIAL CONVENTION: 

The Union of Taxation Employees’ eighteenth Triennial Convention, originally scheduled to be held in Winnipeg in July 2020, was finally held virtually last July.

Organizing and planning a convention requires considerable work and effort, both before and during the event. For the first time in our history, we had the challenge of holding this great event virtually. Despite the normal concerns people may have had, the convention was a huge success, thanks to our National Office staff who, as always, went above and beyond to put on a great convention by working closely with Encore Canada staff. The topics covered provided for meaningful and high-quality debate and discussion. In addition, I am convinced that all those who wanted to speak were able to do so on the convention platform. We dealt with all resolutions with a recommendation of concurrence and the vast majority of resolutions with a recommendation of non-concurrence. Among other things, we adopted the budget for the next two years.

On the last day of the convention, I had the tremendous honor of being re-elected as National President of our great union. I look forward to continuing to work with you in the best interests of our members and to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of my position and I want to assure you that I will do everything in my power to carry out my duties well and continue to earn your trust.

I would also like to congratulate all those who were elected or re-elected to other leadership positions in our union at the convention and wish each and every one of you the best of success during your term of office and I want to assure you of my full cooperation and support in helping you carry out your work and achieve your goals. I would also like to sincerely thank all the national officers who are not returning to their positions following the convention. Thank you very much for all your hard work, dedication and commitment to the membership.

Finally, I would like to once again thank all of the National Office staff. While it was a very different experience being in virtual mode, and we had to rely heavily on our external service providers (Encore and ELC), we could not have been as successful without their excellent work. Whether it was administrative support, technical support, direct participation in committee work, hosting virtual meetings, information technology, communications or finance, they all stepped up to the plate and provided great service.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

In preparation for the upcoming round of bargaining between UTE/PSAC and CRA for a new contract, our Second National Vice President, Brother Adam Jackson, has prepared a bulletin for our members that we issued on August 5th regarding the official process for collecting bargaining demands.  This bulletin is the official notice to Locals for the submission of bargaining demands.

Locals have until October 1st to submit the ten bargaining demands (in order of priority) that their members feel are most important to them. We will compile all demands received at the National Office. The National Bargaining Committee will then meet to discuss, select and prioritize the demands. The draft package of demands will then be sent to the PSAC. The bargaining team will then be formed and will meet for the first time to review and finalize the package and to establish our final priorities. This final package will contain the formal demands that will be submitted to the Canada Revenue Agency.

In addition, notice to bargain collectively will be served to the Canada Revenue Agency prior to the expiration of the collective agreement as required by law. Our goal is to be able to begin talks with the employer as soon as possible and before the end of 2021 if possible.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS (AGMs):

The next round of Annual General Meetings (AGMs) is scheduled to begin in October of this year and will continue until May 2022. As to whether the next AGMs will be held in person or virtually, I unfortunately do not have a crystal ball and therefore cannot confirm anything on this subject at this time. We will have to continue to be extremely cautious and stay on top of the recommendations and restrictions put in place by local, provincial and national public health authorities in the coming months. It is possible that these public health regulations will again prevent us from holding such face-to-face meetings and conducting our usual visits to CRA offices.

However, I can assure you that regardless of how our AGMs are held, I will make every effort to attend as many meetings as possible. There is nothing more beneficial for a National President than to hear directly from the membership and to get their views on the various issues that affect them. And I know I can count on the support of the First and Second National Vice-Presidents to attend AGMs as well. It is very important for the National Office to be represented at Local AGMs. I ask that Locals in the same region coordinate their AGMs with their Regional Vice President to optimize the use of National Office staff and resources if the meetings are held in person.

MEETINGS WITH THE CRA:

I continue to hold monthly phone conversations with the Chief Human Resources Officer.
I have also had conversations with other Agency senior managers regarding various issues and current topics such as:

• Work schedules at ABSB call centres;

• The CRA’s workplace of the future;

• Discussions on potential return to work in CRA offices;

• 2021 CRA Charitable Campaign;

• Revision of the Pay Equity Act.

STAFFING AT THE NATIONAL OFFICE:

As a follow-up to the selection process that we launched on May 20th to hire an administrative assistant, we reviewed the resumes of the four people who applied. Of these, three candidates met the selection criteria. Unfortunately, after contacting them, the individuals indicated that they had no intention of relocating to the National Capital Region.

We will now post the position to the general public. We expect to post it on the Ziprecruiter website sometime in September.

We will keep you posted as soon as the selection process is complete.

POLITICAL ACTION:

On Saturday, August 28, I participated in a major protest organized by Local 10005 of the NVCC in Shawinigan against the single tax return in Quebec.  

Unfortunately, the issue of the single tax return is once again in the news. UTE has been lobbying the political parties because we still fear that there will be significant job losses for Agency employees working in Quebec.  This fear is supported by various statements including those of the Premier of Quebec who has stated in the past that the creation of a single tax return would certainly cause job losses and that it would not be Revenue Quebec employees who would bear the brunt. 

As a result of this lobbying, the Liberal Party and the NDP have already indicated that they would not support such a bill.  In fact, the issue is not included in their respective election platforms.  On the other hand, the single income tax return is part of the election promises of the Bloc Québécois and the Conservative Party during the current campaign.

The protest was a success, with over 100 members coming to defend the cause, despite a rainy day. In addition to my speech, Patrick Bertrand, President of the Shawinigan Local, Michel Angers, Mayor of Shawinigan, and Minister François-Philippe Champagne took turns addressing the public. I also had the opportunity to meet and speak with a number of the members present.

Finally, I would like to congratulate the Executive of the Shawinigan Local, particularly Patrick Bertrand, Local President, for that great initiative.

NATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY CONFERENCE:

This conference, which was originally scheduled for October 22-24, has been postponed to November 26-28. The postponement of the conference will allow us to hopefully put all the chances on our side to hold this large-scale meeting face-to-face. However, please note that should the COVID-19 pandemic force local, provincial and national public health authorities to impose restrictions preventing us from holding the conference in person, we have already booked Encore Canada to hold the event virtually. If this is the case, the conference will be held November 30 - December 3, 2021.

Respectfully submitted,
Marc Brière
President

WEB/COMMUNICATIONS:

Our website is working well, and updates are occurring in a timely fashion.

During convention, we took screenshots of the proceedings and produced daily summaries.  These were well received by those unable to attend convention.  Following convention, we updated the website to include the new RVPs.

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 August 30, 2021 / Au 30 aout 2021

NON-UTE UNION EVENTS:

Non-UTE Union Events
Événements syndicaux autres que ceux du SEI
As of September 1, 2021 / Au 1 septembre 2021

GRIEVANCES:

GRIEVANCE REPORT
JUNE 1st 2021 to AUGUST 31ST, 2021

During Q2, twenty-eight (28) new grievances were received in the National office. Forty-two (42) grievances were presented. Nineteen (19) final level replies were received from CRA, fourteen (14) were denied, two (2) were partially allowed, one (1) was allowed and one (1) was settled. Twelve (12) grievances were closed; two (2) were not adjudicable, and one (1) was withdrawn.

(1) Grievance in abeyance pending HRT & WSIAB complaints. The complaints are still active and outside legal counsel has carriage of file. The complaints are currently held in abeyance.
(2) Consultation is occurring regularly with respect to these grievances. Sixteen grievances with different remedies are being discussed and relate to a successful statutory freeze complaint.
(3) Previously held in abeyance at grievors request and subsequently presented May 2021.
(4) Reply held in abeyance pending WCB appeal.
(5) Awaiting DHCE investigation and report.
(6) One grievance pending implementation of the terms of a Memorandum of Settlement.
(7) One grievance awaiting final job description and one grievance presented in June 2021, waiting for grievors feedback on revised draft job description.
(8) Pending tax appeal.
(9) Three grievances awaiting ATIP information.
(10) Grievances pending ULP decision.
(11) Two grievances pending implementation of the terms of a Memorandum of Settlement. One grievance held in abeyance at grievor request, one grievance pending ULP decision
(12) Waiting for information from 2 grievors, one grievance being held in abeyance pending conclusion of a Memorandum of Settlement being negotiated at the local level

There are presently one hundred thirty-five (135) grievances in the National Office inventory which have not yet been presented at the Final Level dealing with a variety of issues.

Discussions are ongoing with the employer with respect to the disposition of grievances related to Hours of Work and the Statutory Freeze Decision concerning the same in which we were successful we anticipate the resolution of the grievances in the near future. Sixteen of these grievances ask for specific individual remedies and discussions are ongoing with the employer and the grievers in order to conclude these grievances.

The Senior Labour Relations Officer has contacted the employer’s Director of Labour Relations to discuss and resolve the issue of significant delays in the issuance of final level replies for some grievances. The employer has agreed to speak with their respected officers with a view to giving priority attention to the grievances in question.

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)

One (1) ITPR was withdrawn during this period.

CRA POLICY GRIEVANCES

There were no new CRA Policy Grievances received during this period.

PRESIDENT’S ITINERARY

DATE           ACTIVITY                    PLACE

MAY

26-27             PSAC NBoD meeting                                              Gatineau
26                  Meeting with the CRA – Agency 2030                      Gatineau
27                  Meeting with the CRA – Call Centers Hours of work  Gatineau
27                  Laval Local 10028 AGM                                             Gatineau
28                  Arbitration Hearing: PSAC Pension Plan Contribution Rates         Gatineau
31                  Executive committee meeting                                     Gatineau

JUNE

1                    Executive committee meeting                                     Gatineau
1                    Convention Preparation meeting                                 Gatineau
1                    Anti-black racism training                                            Gatineau
2                    Anti-black racism training                                            Gatineau
7-9                 Executive Council meeting                                          Ottawa
9                    Outaouais Local 70035 AGM                                       Gatineau
10                  Meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB     Gatineau
15                  Performance Management Redesign meeting                Gatineau
15                  Anti-black racism training                                                 Gatineau
16-18             CLC Convention                                                              Gatineau
16                  Regional Caucus PSAC-QC Convention                         Gatineau
17-20             PSAC-QC Triennial Convention                                      Gatineau
21                  Component Presidents’ Meeting                                      Gatineau
22                  Contact centre hours of work matrix - follow up to our meeting         Gatineau
22                  Convention update meeting                                                               Gatineau
22                  Special NBoD Meeting - National Triennial Convention 2022            Gatineau
23                  CRA's Workplace of the Future meeting                                            Gatineau
28                  Pre-Convention meeting with Encore Canada                                   Gatineau
28                  Anti-black racism training                                                                    Gatineau
29                  Phone meeting with the CRA Commissioner                                      Gatineau
29                  Meeting re: agenda items for the June NUMCC                                 Gatineau
30                  National Union Management Consultation Committee Meeting         Gatineau

JULY

5                    Component Presidents’ Meeting                      Gatineau
6                    Bargaining team meeting                                 Gatineau
6                    Special PSAC NBoD meeting                         Gatineau
6                    Pre-Convention meeting with Encore Canada                      Gatineau
7                    Management Team meeting – Pre-Convention                      Gatineau
7                    Meeting with CRA - Contact centre hours of work matrix      Gatineau
7                    Pre-Convention meeting with Encore Canada                      Gatineau
8                    Meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB           Gatineau
8                    Pre-Convention meeting with Encore Canada                      Gatineau
9                    Pre-Convention meeting with Encore Canada                      Gatineau
12                  Pre-Convention meeting w/Encore Canada: quality assurance                      Gatineau
15                  Pre-convention test day – Encore Studio                              Ottawa
16                  Special Executive Council meeting: Regional elections and extraordinary donations                      Gatineau
19                  Meeting regarding the holding of regional elections               Ottawa
19-23             UTE 18th Triennial Convention                                               Ottawa

AUGUST

3                    NBoD Federal Election Oversight Committee                           Gatineau
4                    Meeting: 2021 CRA Charitable Campaign                                Gatineau
11                  Special PSAC NBoD meeting                                                     Gatineau
12                  Meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB                Gatineau
12                  PSAC Social Justice Fund meeting                                           Gatineau
16                  Component Presidents Meeting                                               Gatineau
17                  NBoD conference call                                                             Gatineau
18                  Discussion with CRA on a potential return to Workplace            Gatineau
19                  Special PSAC NBoD meeting                                                     Gatineau
24                  NBoD Federal Election Oversight Committee                           Gatineau

Acronyms

AGM – Annual General Meeting
CLC – Canadian Labour Congress
CRA – Canada Revenue Agency
HRB – Human Resources Branch
NBoD - National Board of Directors
PSAC - Public Service Alliance of Canada
PSAC-QC – Public Service Alliance of Canada-Quebec
NUMCC - National Union Management Consultation Committee
UTE – Union of Taxation Employees

MEMBERSHIP:

Respectfully submitted,

Marc Brière
National President