President's Report - Executive Council

UTE 2023 TRIENNIAL CONVENTION:

The Nineteenth Triennial Convention of the Union of Taxation Employees was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, from August 16 to 19, 2023. At the outset, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the members of the Host Committee and to the Regional Vice-President for the Prairies Region, Brother Gary Esslinger, for all their hard work and for their very warm welcome.

Despite a few hiccups, overall the Convention was a resounding success. The issues addressed fuelled interesting and meaningful discussions and debates. We adopted the budget for the next three (3) years, and also dealt with the vast majority of resolutions with a recommendation of concurrence.

During one of the lunch breaks during Convention, participants went to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to show solidarity with our Indigenous members and First Nations communities in Manitoba and elsewhere in Canada.  We organized a demonstration in support of the families of three missing Indigenous women whose remains are presumed to be in the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg. The Union of Taxation Employees strongly condemns the inaction of various levels of government on this issue, and we call on them to act immediately and show compassion for the families of the missing women. They deserve to be respected and to be able to grieve with dignity and respect.

On the last day of Convention, I had the tremendous honour of being re-elected as National President of our great union. I look forward to continuing to work with my fellow Executive Council officers and Locals in the best interests of our members, and to fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of my position. I want to assure you that I will do everything in my power to perform my duties well and continue to earn your trust.

I would also like to congratulate all those who were elected or re-elected to the other executive positions of our union at Convention, and I wish each and every one of you every success during your term of office and assure you of my full cooperation and support in helping you accomplish your work and your goals. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the Executive Council officers who are not returning to their positions following Convention. Thank you for all your hard work, dedication and commitment to our members.

I would also like to thank once again all the staff at the National Office. Conventions require extraordinary work and effort, both before and during the event. Each staff member rose to the challenge and did everything that was asked of them, whether it was administrative support, technical support, direct participation in committee work, communications or finance. They have all answered the call and provided quality service.

Finally, I must thank Brother Shane O'Brien. He is retiring after a long and illustrious career. Without his dedication and leadership, our Convention would not have been such a success.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

On June 16, we announced the results of the ratification vote, with 88% of our members voting in favour of ratification. The following week, the tentative agreement between PSAC/UTE and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was approved by the Governor in Council and the Governor General of Canada. Finally, on June 27, we signed the new four (4)-year collective agreement at the CRA Commissioner's office. The new contract will expire on October 31, 2025.

We were pleased to learn that for the vast majority of our members, the CRA applied the new rates of pay to the August 2 payroll. Subsequently, the Agency paid retroactive wages with the August 30 payroll for the period from the expiry date of the previous contract to the date on which the Agency applied the new rates of pay, i.e. August 2.

With regard to the $2,500.00 pensionable lump-sum payment for members who were in our bargaining unit on the June 27 signing date of the collective agreement, we continue to follow up with the Agency, but no payment date has yet been confirmed.

Once again, many thanks to our members for their unwavering support for their negotiating team and for their incredible solidarity and bravery. Our members were simply exemplary. We couldn't have asked for better.

The same goes for our Locals and Executive Council officers. Everyone worked tirelessly. Many didn't get much sleep before and during the strike. You organized numerous activities, helped PSAC representatives on the picket lines, comforted our members and answered their many questions and concerns. Many of you also gave media interviews.

You have done a remarkable job, for which I am eternally grateful. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

MEDIA INTERVIEWS:

I gave an interview to CBC in early August and another interview to the Ottawa Citizen. I also gave multiple interviews to Winnipeg media on Thursday, August 17, during our demonstration in support of the families of the three missing Indigenous women whose remains are presumed to be in the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS (AGMs):

The next wave of Annual General Meetings (AGMs) will get underway this fall and run until late spring 2024. Once again, it's up to the Locals to decide how the next AGMs will be held: face-to-face, virtual or hybrid.

I can assure you, however, that no matter how our AGMs are held, I will spare no effort to attend as many as possible. There is nothing more beneficial for a National President than to hear directly from members and to gather their views on the various issues affecting them. And I know I can count on the support of the First and Second National Vice-Presidents to attend AGMs too. It's very important for the National Office to be represented at local AGMs. I ask Locals in the same region to coordinate their AGMs with their Regional Vice-President to optimize the use of national officers and National Office resources if the meetings are held in person.

MEETINGS WITH THE CRA CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER:

I continue to have frequent discussions with the Agency's Chief Human Resources Officer about important issues and current matters, such as :

• Establishment of the Joint Consultation Committee on the Letter of Agreement concerning the Virtual Work Arrangements;
• Employer practices and policies;
• Major issues requiring UTE National intervention.

MEETINGS WITH THE CRA COMMISSIONER:

Following the tentative agreement reached between the parties during the latest negotiations, and the subsequent unveiling of the result of the ratification vote concerning the new contract, I met with the Agency Commissioner to discuss the following topics:

• The non-renewal or premature termination of the contracts of several of our members working in Call Centers prior to the signing of the new collective agreement;
• Letter of Agreement concerning the Virtual Work Arrangements;
• Date of signature of the new collective agreement.

STAFFING AT THE NATIONAL OFFICE:

As mentioned in my last report, we relaunched the selection process for the administrative support position and offered permanent employment to the two successful candidates. The two selected individuals, Alexandra Assad and Magalie Jean-Louis, have been working for the National Office since the beginning of July.

In addition, following the hiring of Kristina Cooke as Labour Relations Officer, we conducted a workload analysis to determine whether or not we should increase the number of Labour Relations Officers to five (5). Following this analysis, I decided to make an offer of employment to Brother Henri Vodon, who was the next candidate on our list of qualified candidates still valid for the position. He has been working at the National Office since August 28.

As mentioned in my President's Follow-Up Items Report, we also made two temporary appointments of four (4) months each to two of our members in order to address the problem of managing the very high and unusual workload of membership applications received via the electronic form.

We also posted a selection process for the position of Senior Labour Relations Officer (SLRO) to fill the upcoming departure of our colleague Shane O'Brien. Unfortunately, none of the applicants met the selection criteria specified in the job posting. We therefore decided to re-post the selection process, albeit with one important change to the job description. We decided to remove the management and human resources responsibilities of the position. Indeed, the high requirements and number of complex tasks associated with Brother O'Brien's position make it very difficult to recruit a candidate who meets all the selection criteria. We are confident that this change will result in interesting and qualified candidates applying for this revised position. That said, we are also looking into the possibility of using a professional recruitment firm to help us fill this critical position for our organization.

Finally, we will also be publishing a staffing process in the near future to recruit a Communications and Media Relations Officer.

Respectfully submitted,

Marc Brière
National President 

WEB/COMMUNICATIONS:

Our website is working well.  Our new website went live on June 20th and the feedback so far has been positive.  During Convention we wrote and posted daily updates.  We also took pictures and posted those on the web. 
As part of the Communications Committee, we also produced the October newsletter.

INFORMATION/TECHNOLOGY

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

Donations/Sponsorships

As of September 1, 2023

Non-UTE Union Events

As of September 1, 2023

GRIEVANCE REPORT

JUNE 1st to AUGUST 31ST, 2023

During Q2, forty-four (44) new grievances were received in the National office. Thirty-three (33) grievances were presented. Fifty-six (56) final level replies were received from CRA, forty-eight (48) were denied, one (1) was partially allowed, eight (8) were withdrawn, four (4) were settled and twenty-seven (27) were closed.

1. Three grievances awaiting implementation of the provisions of a settlement agreement.
2. Grievance held in abeyance pending claim for damages arising from Phoenix pay issues.
3. Grievance was previously held in abeyance at the request of the grievor but will be proceeding to a hearing in the near future.
4. Reply held in abeyance with the agreement of the grievor pending replies to 2 related grievances where the grievor represent himself. Follow-ups have been made with the grievor, for us to proceed but grievor has yet to present these grievances.
5. Awaiting implementation of a MoS that will resolve all 6 grievances.  

There are presently one hundred sixty-two (162) grievances in the National Office inventory which have not yet been presented at the Final Level dealing with a variety of issues.

POLICY GRIEVANCES

The Policy grievance dealing with the Employers Return to Work Directive is still pending. We are in discussion with the Alliance concerning the potential withdrawal of this grievance in light of the Letter of Agreement concluded during the last round of bargaining.

CLASSIFICATION GRIEVANCES

There were no new classification grievances filed during this period.

INDEPENDENT THIRD-PARTY REVIEWS (ITPRs) 

There were no new ITPR grievances filed during this period, however one (1) was closed.

CRA POLICY GRIEVANCES

There were no new CRA policy grievances filed during this period.

National President
ACTIVITY REPORT – SEPTEMBER 2023
MARC BRIÈRE

Acronyms

AC – Assistant Commissioner
AGM – Annual General Meeting
CBC – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 
CRA – Canada Revenue Agency
HRB – Human Resources Branch
NCR – National Capital Region
NBoD – National Board of Directors
NCR – National Capital Region
NUMCC – National Union Management Consultation Committee
PSAC – Public Service Alliance of Canada
UTE – Union of Taxation employees

Respectfully submitted,

Marc Brière
National President

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