Pamela Abbott
The committee has not met since the last executive council meeting. A meeting is scheduled with the committee and the employer on September 24, 2012.
On June 27th 2012, the CRA announced 18 cost cutting initiatives that will work towards finding the budgetary savings required from the March 29, 2012 Federal Budget. 671 UTE members out of a total of 1289 employees were declared affected as per the Workforce Adjustment Appendix (WFAA) as a result of these initiatives. Budget impact analysis is being worked on in all Regions to minimize impacts of layoffs. In other words, we are not expecting 1289 people to be laid off. Will there be some layoffs, possibly. The objective is to find other positions in their office, relocation in other offices, and in some cases, some will be fortunate enough to remain in their current position.
To date, all offices have established Local Joint WFA Committees to ensure all members affected are treated equitably and given every reasonable opportunity to stay employed in the CRA. This is the main objective of the WFAA, keeping members employed. It is only as a last resort that persons should be laid-off.
It is very important that all local unions monitor staffing actions at the local level to ensure that an affected member is not losing out on an opportunity for a job placement if they are qualified.
We recognize that this is a difficult time for most, as it is the largest impact this agency has seen in over two decades. It is also not going to be the last. Yes we as the union will use every political action that we can to fight this Government on cuts to services and programs, but we also have to ensure that the members have all the necessary tools readily available to them to help them through these difficult times.
On July 12, 2012, an Ad Hoc WFA meeting was held with the employer at their request. Bob Campbell, Annette Melanson, Kent MacDonald, and I were at this meeting. Items for discussion were BC PSTAR, Alternation, Retention, Preferred Status, Second Language Evaluation and Local WFA Committees. Feedback was provided back to the employer and areas that we disagreed and we are waiting to hear back from the employer.
Respectfully submitted,
Pamela Abbott
Chair of the Committee