MEETING BETWEEN THE CANADA REVENUE AGENCY (CRA) AND
THE UNION OF TAXATION EMPLOYEES (UTE)
Opening Remarks
The Commissioner welcomed the participants and emphasized the importance of discussions during these official meetings, as well as those that take place in between. Union-Management collaboration is very important as it is an opportunity for both sides to work constructively on matters directly impacting employees and UTE members, resulting in excellent service to Canadians.
The Commissioner highlighted a few senior management changes. Geoff Trueman, Assistant Commissioner of the Legislative, Policy and Regulations Branch (AC, LPRAB), will be retiring in September and will serve as special advisor to the Commissioner and will assist Soren Halverson during the transition as his successor. Dave Conabree has been appointed as Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Human Resources Branch (DAC, HRB). He also congratulated and wished Philippe Blanchette best of luck on his appointment as Chief Human Resources Officer and Assistant Director, People, Culture and Workplace at the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
The Commissioner started the session with a statement on the recent negotiations. UTE members are at the stage of voting on the new contract and the results of the ratification vote will be known on June 16, 2023. While acknowledging that negotiations have been difficult, he also recognized the hard work and spirit of collaboration from the parties at the bargaining table. He said he was hoping for a good voting turnout resulting in a favourable outcome to help finalize the deal in a timely manner. As the parties are now turning the page, there is an opportunity to look back at the past negotiations and reflect on what went well and what can be done differently in the future.
On the matter of the Journey to Hybrid, the Commissioner noted that the Agency made good progress despite the unexpected turn of events and accelerated timeline as a result of the announcement made by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) in December 2022. While recognizing that the return-to-office mandate was not unanimously accepted by everyone, he noted that the Agency was successful in its implementation of the TBS mandate by providing employees with a work environment that fosters collaboration. Ongoing conversations will continue to take place and feedback will help us find the perfect balance as we move forward in the journey to hybrid. He added that more in-person engagement in the office will be very beneficial for the Agency.
The Commissioner pointed out that celebrations were taking place in recognition of the National Public Service Week (NPSW) and that it is a great opportunity to celebrate the good work employees and UTE members do all year long. He noted that the past year has been particularly busy even though people may think otherwise now that the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us. The period that followed the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was both challenging and exciting with the administration and delivery of COVID-19–related benefits. The Agency has now entered into the compliance phase, which may not be as exciting as the previous phase, but it is equally important.
The Commissioner indicated that the Public Service Employee Service (PSES) was one of the topics on the agenda of the meeting, and he was looking forward to this update as the results had just been released. The Agency obtained good results again this year, but it is also an opportunity to identify areas of improvement.
The Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) National President welcomed the participants to the meeting. He spoke about the importance of informal meetings that take place during the year and recognized that they were just as important as the formal union-management meetings. He added that there are topics Management and the union disagree on, but it is important to discuss these issues during formal meetings, as employees and UTE members want to know where both parties stand on these subjects. He mentioned that there was some tension over the last few months, and the situation rapidly shifted in December 2022 when the TBS announcement regarding the return to on-site office presence came out. He felt frustrated by how the TBS imposed its direction and decisions on the CRA when it came to mandatory vaccination, negotiations, and the return-to-office mandate. He further expressed his dissatisfaction with the TBS interfering and pressuring the CRA to take decisions that align with the rest of the core public service. He emphasized that it is time for the CRA to put its foot down and recognize that it has a distinct status as a separate employer. One of the points the UTE National President wants to discuss is the incoherence in the fact that the CRA is somewhat at the mercy of the TBS when it needs a mandate to negotiate but not in the implementation of its policies. There are some hard feelings within the UTE ranks about the way the last negotiations were handled and also about the first work disruption that took place in nineteen years. The results of the ratification vote will be released on the afternoon of June 16. He added that he was looking forward to having both good and possibly difficult discussions at this forum, as difficult discussions are sometimes required.
1. Journey to Hybrid and Rollout of On-Site Office Presence (ROOP)
The UTE First National Vice-President sought clarifications with respect to the individual requests to work from home that should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis in the event that the collective agreement is ratified. Although the collective agreement is not ratified yet, the UTE First National Vice-President wanted to know if discussions have been held on the employer side regarding the establishment of the committee once the contract is ratified.
The Assistant Commissioner, Human Resources Branch (AC, HRB), clarified that the direction given by the TBS in December 2022 remains in effect. The two to three days a week mandatory on-site office presence or the 40% to 60% requirement as part of the employees’ monthly schedule continues to be in place as part of the CRA’s approach. When reviewing the letter of understanding that was developed in collaboration with the UTE, she noted that there are three elements that the parties committed to working on:
- Implementing a shared understanding on virtual work arrangements;
- Setting up a CRA panel on virtual work agreements with representation on the management and union sides;
- Setting up a joint consultation forum on CRA’s directive on the virtual work agreements.
She indicated that there has been a lot of good work done collectively in collaboration with the Journey to Hybrid team in terms of consultation, and they plan on continuing to work in partnership with the unions on the implementation of these three elements.
The UTE First National Vice-President responded that he would like some clarity with respect to the on-site percentages shared by the AC, HRB. Although he was not part of the discussions at the collective bargaining table, the understanding was that it was agreed during the negotiations that the on-site office presence requirement would be 40% and not 40% to 60%, as mentioned before.
The Commissioner clarified that the TBS mandate as it was laid out in December 2022 is still in place, and the Agency is now on track and comfortable with the 40% requirement. Following the ratification of the collective agreement, there will be consultations on how the Agency can best make it work for employees, possibly showing some flexibility in certain areas by looking at individual cases. The Agency is not looking at increasing it to 60% or higher and is focused on the position it has taken.
The Director General, Journey to Hybrid (DG, JTH), was pleased to share that, for the most part, the initial return to on-site presence for all employees was very successful. While recognizing that some minor issues were experienced in the beginning, most cases were rapidly resolved at the local level. Overall, employee feedback has been mostly positive in all branches and regions. Welcome week activities were very well received by employees as they returned on-site or came on-site for the first time, as a significant number of employees were hired after the COVID-19 pandemic. The DG, JTH, indicated that the on-site presence roll-out and several welcome week activities were paused during the labour disruption, but they have since resumed, and the adjustment phase is expected to stabilize in the coming weeks. She added that one of the main reasons for the successful rollout of the mandate of coming into the office is attributable to the hierarchical approach adopted by the Agency. This approach was beneficial as it showed leadership and was appreciated by employees who were welcomed by their management and were able to assist them in their own transition to on-site presence. Employees also enjoyed reconnecting in person with colleagues, which is something that had been missing these past few years. The JTH Program Management Office (JTH PMO) team, in collaboration with colleagues in the HRB and Information and Technology Branch (ITB), have been developing a methodology that is aggregated at the enterprise level, which uses IP address mapping to identify the number of employees onsite. This methodology will also be used for further investment decision-making with regard to IT and real property. She expressed that the chosen method is accurate as it automates data collection and reports data at an enterprise level, thereby protecting the privacy of all employees. It should be noted that the Agency is opting to measure the on-site presence rather than measuring compliance with the TBS mandate. Also of note, the CRA’s definition of on-site presence is quite broad compared to other government departments and includes working from approved non-CRA locations for activities such as field work, outreach activities, some training and conference attendance, which will count towards that 40% on-site presence requirement. Accordingly, when doing the measurement of on-site presence, we will most likely notice that more employees are compliant than what the on-site presence data might show. The responsibility for verifying compliance at the employee level continues to rest with individual managers. There will be HR processes in place to support managers in addressing non-compliance as it would be for any policy.
The JTH PMO is preparing an Employee Pulse Survey that is set to be launched in the fall. The purpose of this survey is to get direct employee feedback on their experience regarding the implementation of the rollout of on-site presence, with a focus on employee mental health and well-being, communication across the Agency, as well as overall worksite experience.
The Agency has approved limited group and individual exceptions and extensions to the requirement for on-site presence, which were granted on a temporary basis. Information about exceptions and extensions has been communicated to all employees, impacted or not, and information is available on the InfoZone page. Some group exceptions will expire at the end of June, and preparations are underway to ensure a smooth integration and adoption of the hybrid model for employees in those groups.
The PMO will continue to lead the Agency through the first year of this Journey to Hybrid and recalibrate as needed based on lessons learned. Some of that will include:
- Understanding the impacts of the negotiated settlement on telework negotiated with the PSAC-UTE;
- Launching the Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) of the CRA hybrid model of work; and
- Developing the CRA’s costed implementation plan for the CRA hybrid model of work that identifies the activities and costs related to achieving the Agency’s Journey to Hybrid longer-term vision.
The UTE National President recognized the great collaboration between the union and management on Journey to Hybrid. He expressed that the situation took a different turn in December after the TBS announcement, but he reiterated the union’s appreciation for the collaborative work with the JTH team.
The Commissioner agreed that a lot of good work has been accomplished with respect to Journey to Hybrid and recognized the hard work from the ITB and Real Property teams during the preparation of the ROOP.
2. Virtual Work Arrangement Agreements
The UTE National President reiterated UTE’s disapproval of the 40% to 60% ROOP requirement. While some people were pleased with the ROOP mandate, others were extremely dissatisfied with the December announcement from the TBS. He stated that the UTE National Office has a collective agreement that includes an article on telework, which states that, at the request of the employer or the employee, an employee may have to report to the office. A significant proportion of the CRA population has seen an increased improvement in their work-life balance after they were sent home due to the pandemic outbreak, and it is one of the main reasons why telework is the number one priority in the ranks of the UTE membership. While he understands the employer’s position regarding the ROOP, he is strongly opposed to any percentage of mandatory on-site presence that will be imposed on employees.
The UTE Second National Vice-President stated that there were two main reasons behind the UTE strike: the cost of living and telework. It is understood that the union has no authority to tell the employer what directive to make, but the Agency made a commitment to go through the directive with the union, as underlined in the letter of agreement. The terms in the letter of agreement clearly indicate that requests to work from home are to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. It is somewhat difficult for the union to understand management’s decision to implement a policy that is a blanket approach while at the same time also claiming that they have agreed to do a case-by-case analysis. He reminded management that the letter of understanding agreed to by the parties does not negate the grievance process. The creation of a joint committee may prove to be problematic, as it is his opinion that the employer may simply argue that “it is the employer’s position.” He emphasized that this will be a defining issue.
The UTE National President added that many members do not agree with the arbitrary percentage outlined in the CRA’s hybrid model, as they are concerned about work-life balance. He indicated that it was poorly handled by the TBS and was imposed on the public service only to satisfy a number of lobbying groups, noting the Chambers of Commerce as one example. While recognizing that not all positions are suitable for telework, there are several CRA positions where employees can perform their duties remotely, and this was confirmed during the pandemic when most employees were sent home. The cost of living for employees in major centres such as Vancouver, Toronto, and even Ottawa is very high, and this is a factor that should be taken into consideration. The union believes that management is missing the boat by not listening to their employees. Some employees prefer to work from the office, but if an employee is more productive and happier working from home, management should grant such requests following the case-by-case review. He reiterated his willingness to engage in discussions and consultations to look at employees’ productivity both in the office and from home. Employees’ happiness and respecting their input should be prioritized. Unless the employer has an issue with an employee’s productivity, they should review all requests based on their own merits and not unilaterally impose a minimum attendance requirement, which is what the letter of agreement is about. He reiterated his displeasure with the TBS and added that, as a separate employer, the CRA’s policies should not be dictated by them, as it appears that they do not have employees’ best interests at heart. He ended by saying that UTE and CRA did not have the discussion to review the policy, so in his opinion, it is premature to conclude that a final determination has been made because the TBS decided on the 40% attendance requirement.
The Commissioner recognized that CRA employees did tremendous work during the pandemic. There have been discussions with colleagues in other jurisdictions and commissioners in other countries about full-time virtual work, and it appears that they share the same concerns. Building a strong institution, building a strong team, and mentoring new employees who joined the Agency during or after the pandemic are some elements that would be impacted in the long term. Notwithstanding all the great work done during the pandemic, the CRA is now heading in the same direction as the TBS. He reminded everyone that when the mandate was adopted in December 2022, it would have been inconceivable for the CRA to deviate from the position taken by the TBS given the size of the Agency. Taking into consideration the letter of agreement adopted by TBS, he believes that the case-by-case analysis of particular situations should be a priority over full-time telework situations.
The AC, HRB, indicated that everyone is in the same boat with regards to establishing a new hybrid work model for their respective organizations and comparing what others do. The data gathered by the PSES at the end of May provided valuable insights on that matter. Early indications show that there are benefits to increased in-person presence in the organization in strengthening collaboration and relationships. She acknowledged that the tentative agreement between the CRA and the UTE includes the letter of agreement and that the policy will be revised and amended accordingly following the ratification and final signing of the collective agreement.
The AC, HRB, provided an update on the revised tool — the Work Arrangement Agreements (WAA) — which is a new version of the Virtual Work Arrangement Agreements (VWAA) currently in place. The WAA for all employees will provide more comprehensive data on the CRA workforce and allow for more efficient planning of building occupancy, health and safety, collaboration, and people management, founded on flexibility without loss of productivity. The implementation of the WAAs will be required for all levels of employees, no matter what the work arrangement is. The HRB and ITB worked together on enhancements to the current VWAA system, which will support the move to WAAs for all employees. These enhancements were tested in a Quebec Region pilot project, and the feedback was positive. The enhanced system will provide the CRA with access to more reliable data on anticipated work locations of employees, which will help define the CRA’s office space needs, allowing for enhanced real property planning and potential optimization of space allocation.
The main features of the enhanced WAA system will include:
- The ability to capture four work arrangement types, including a WAA for employees working 100% in-office;
- A schedule component to capture the planned weekly work location schedule for employees; and
- The ability to record group and individual exceptions and extensions to the ROOP and to route approval to the appropriate delegated authority for individual exceptions.
A staggered rollout of the enhanced system is planned over the summer months. Next steps will consist of reviewing various policy instruments to ensure they are reflective of the hybrid work model.
The Deputy Commissioner said that it is a very passionate topic for everybody and, ultimately, everyone wants the same thing — finding what is best for CRA employees. She believes the letter of agreement that originated from the recent negotiations is a good starting point and will be followed by the required consultations. She highlighted the importance of recognizing that there were some employees during the pandemic who were not given a choice and continued to report to a CRA office five days a week. As a result, the Journey to Hybrid initiative should be administered with principles of equity and fairness for employees who were not given the choice.
The UTE National President indicated that, similar to what has been done in terms of union-management collaboration with the Journey to Hybrid team, it is the union’s duty to collaborate with the employer for the well-being of employees. As an example, when negotiations came to a halt, the UTE continued to collaborate with the employer regarding the ROOP. This, however, should not be perceived as an acceptance of the mandate by the union. He added that they are strongly opposed to the 40% mandatory on-site presence for employees whose positions offer some flexibility. In his opinion, it seems irrelevant to sit and review the policy with the employer following the ratification of the collective agreement if the CRA is not willing to budge on the 40% threshold. This could result in the filing of an unfair labour practice.
The Quebec Region Vice-President shared that UTE members voiced concerns regarding collaborative work and attending team meetings on-site. The reality is that employees are not likely to meet their colleagues in person when they work from a CRA worksite. He asked if the pollution associated with the daily commute is necessary when employees will end up attending team meetings on Microsoft Teams with colleagues across the country. It is difficult using Microsoft Teams in CRA worksites due to environmental noise.
The Commissioner agreed that the situation was not perfect but indicated that the letter of agreement was an opportunity for discussion and that something different may emerge from these discussions.
The UTE National President said that if the CRA does not move away from the mandatory requirement outlined in the TBS policy, management will hear employees’ reactions and should expect numerous grievances.
The Commissioner responded that he wants to hear from employees in a constructive manner as we embark on this journey as it will help identify what kind of modifications we want to see.
The UTE First National Vice-President addressed the AC, HRB, telling her she did not have to look very far for evidence that on-site collaboration is problematic and to discuss this with the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) officers. He explained that when the regional OHS advisors attend a meeting on Microsoft Teams from a CRA worksite, they are often asked by their colleagues to keep the tone down as it is disruptive for people around them. He also asked if the information regarding the new WAA tool had already been shared with the unions.
The Director of the Montreal Tax Services Office (TSO) responded that the new tool originated from the Quebec Region pilot project initiative; the UTE regional vice-presidents in the Quebec Region had already been consulted and briefed on the matter in February 2023.
The UTE First National Vice-President reminded the Montreal TSO Director that even when a pilot is conducted in a region, documents should be shared with the National Executive so they are aware of what is happening.
The Montreal Region Vice-President emphasized that the letter of agreement is what needs to be enforced, as it clearly states that equity should take into account each individual’s situation and not apply a blanket policy on a broad approach.
The Deputy Commissioner said she took note of the Montreal Region Vice-President’s remarks on equity and said that she gives a lot of importance to the employee survey that will be launched in the fall and that it will provide employees an opportunity to share their input on the ROOP.
The Commissioner recognized that the CRA is a separate agency that is subject to some TBS-dictated constraints, but they will approach the exercise keeping in mind what works best for CRA employees.
3. Negotiations
The AC, HRB, opened the topic by saying that she was very pleased that the parties were able to successfully reach a tentative agreement in the interest of CRA employees and Canadians. She added that the new tentative agreement addresses many of the priorities identified by the union, including but not limited to wage increases that close the gap with inflation, new language related to virtual work arrangements, improvements related to hours of work and protections against contracting out, as well as a safer and more inclusive workplace. The letter of non-objection from the TBS confirming that the CRA has negotiated within the approved mandates was received on May 26. The next step is for the CRA to receive approval from the Governor in Council (GIC) before proceeding with the signing of the collective agreement; a date in July was requested to have the CRA’s GIC package reviewed by the TBS Cabinet Committee. The CRA’s GIC submission will be heard at a meeting of the Treasury Board Cabinet Committee after confirmation is received that the tentative agreement is ratified by the UTE membership. The AC, HRB, is hoping that the new collective agreement will be signed by all parties in July. Following the signature of the agreement, the CRA will work collaboratively with all stakeholders on the implementation of the agreement. She emphasized the importance of dialogue and positive union-management relationships in the next steps of the process and reiterated her appreciation for their collaboration.
The UTE Second National Vice-President was surprised to hear from management that the new collective agreement would only be signed and implemented in July 2023. They were under the impression that once the contract was ratified by UTE members on June 16, the CRA’s GIC submission would be submitted to the Cabinet Privy Council for the June 18 meeting. A July date causes a whole new dimension of problems. He indicated that, based on the information provided by the AC, HRB, a significant number of term employees who had their contracts shortened will not be eligible for the $2,500 signature bonus if the process is delayed until July. The ratification vote will end on June 15, 2023, at 8:00 p.m., and there are already approximately 4,000 UTE members who have cast their vote; results should be known fairly quickly as the voting sessions were held virtually. On a positive note, he said the union was pleased to have provided the CRA with more elements for their submission as part of the Top 100 Employer list. He expressed gratitude to the UTE team and members and added that eleven days out on strike was a clear message to the employer that UTE members were fed up. He was disappointed that, despite agreeing that the negotiations process should not be this lengthy, this was unavoidable since an acceptable economic offer was not made until the last minute. While recognizing that some things are beyond the CRA’s control, there were things such as lobbying that could have expedited the process. Regardless of what was said, the number of demands on the table was not the issue. He shared his disappointment regarding the last three days of the strike and the CRA’s lack of transparency about the extent of their mandate to negotiate. He said it was inconceivable that the CRA would keep their employees out on a picket line for longer than needed if they already knew the end result and that they did not have the power to make an offer different than what was offered by the TBS to other public servants represented by the PSAC. He shared that it was a horrible exercise to have been through and it was unnecessary. As mentioned earlier, he expects management to listen to their employees in the future. He hopes the collective agreement is ratified by UTE members, as it is in the best interest of everyone to move forward.
The Commissioner said that nobody wanted a quick resolution more than he did. With respect to the reason why CRA employees stayed on the picket line three extra days compared to other public servants, he indicated that he had no answer to that question, and it was not something he asked for. There were external forces with the PSAC and TBS at play, and if there is one lesson we should learn from this round of negotiations, it is how we can better deal with these external forces in the future and get to a resolution faster. Going forward, he would like some of the issues resolved before the expiry of the contract. He asked if there was potentially a way to settle everything possible before the end of the contract and leave other issues that need to be negotiated at the larger table. He clarified that it was not his intention to see employees go on strike at all.
The UTE Second National Vice-President clarified that he was not referring to the process as a whole, as there is no way around the legislation, but his question focused on the last 48-hour period. During this period, the understanding was that management had a mandate to settle with the UTE. In his opinion, the management side of the negotiation table was repeatedly coming back with inferior offers, including a $1,000 non-pensionable amount. He recognized that some elements were beyond the parties’ control, and there was some progress as it took two years to negotiate this time instead of the four years it took to negotiate the last contract.
The AC, HRB, said she was agreeable to have a look at the negotiation process moving forward with the assistance of both negotiators, as there is always room for improvement. She was disappointed to see employees staying out on the picket line longer than required.
The UTE National President highlighted that there is a disconnect between both sides. There is an impression on the UTE side that, for this round of bargaining, the union was forced to go on strike. During the 2020 round of negotiations, the UTE was close to going on strike. He was annoyed that for the last ten years, negotiations between the union and the employer have been unpleasant experiences. Addressing the Commissioner, the UTE National President said that negotiations are largely impacted by reasons that are systemic, but he would like to see issues that are within the CRA’s power progress faster. He provided the example of hours of work, which is an issue specific to the CRA and could not be resolved after months of negotiations. It was only during the strike that the parties were able to settle on that particular matter. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the employer delaying the process and waiting until the parties met at the Public Interest Commission (PIC) or when employees found themselves on the picket line before tabling a wage offer. The UTE tabled their wage demand several months after other bargaining units did, and their wage increase request was much higher as the rate of inflation was about 7.6% to 8% at that time. In retrospect, he felt that by not making any wage offer, the CRA was able to use public opinion against the UTE regarding its 29.5% wage proposal. The negotiation tactic used by the employer pressured the union and the employees on the picket line, and had the employer had a genuine desire to settle, they would have reached an agreement days before. The system is broken, as it should not take three or four years to sign a contract. There are constraints with the current bargaining process, and the union will pressure for changes, including the elimination of Article 58 of the CRA Act (CRAA). The Prime Minister repeatedly said that the deal had to be reached at the bargaining table, but the UTE National President felt insulted that the CRA’s negotiator did not negotiate in good faith.
The Commissioner identified two separate periods during the strike: the moment the PSAC reached a deal and the following three days CRA employees stayed out on the picket lines. From the employer’s perspective, nobody was playing a game to extend this out. It felt as though both sides were not able to come together to resolve the issues. He understands the UTE National President’s desire to change the legislation and said he would appreciate it to an extent but is also skeptical about it. The TBS is the one that pays the bill, and ultimately it is understandable that they would want to have their say. It was unclear to the Commissioner why the parties were not able to find themselves on the same page, and he was perplexed at the outcome. That being said, there were some CRA-specific issues that needed resolution as well. Post-mortem discussions will take place to identify and assess what lessons can be learned.
The UTE National President agreed with the Commissioner that some things are beyond their control, and the UTE is not sure if it will be successful with its campaign, but there is no harm in trying.
The Commissioner stated that the implementation of a negotiation framework can be very difficult to put in place. There were some moments during the last negotiations when it was difficult to identify who was communicating based on the nature of the issues, as there were many players involved.
4. CVB Staffing Growth Update
The Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Collections and Verification Branch (DAC, CVB), stated that the federal government has invested in strengthening the ability of the CRA to target a full spectrum of compliance work, including initial verification, uncovering aggressive planning schemes, and prosecuting criminal tax evasion. Budget 2021 and Budget 2022 provided additional resources to the CVB; these budgets will ramp up to approximately $60 million in additional resources by 2024–2025 and reach $72 million in additional resources by 2026–2027.
As a result of this announcement, he said that the CVB will be provided with approximately 1,000 additional Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) to increase collection and verification work. Some measures include, but are not limited to, strengthening tax collection, achieving effective business compliance, and the administration of Climate Action Incentive payments. The DAC, CVB, emphasized that future success depends on investments in core programs to transform tax services incrementally towards the integrated and digitally embedded provider the CRA aspires to be.
The DAC, CVB, indicated that this year, the Branch has transitioned away from the administration of COVID-19 benefits, and the top priority is now its core programs. He emphasized that a workplace culture of respect, diversity, inclusion, trust, and empathy is necessary to achieve the organization’s goals.
The UTE National President asked what the breakdown was between determinate and indeterminate contracts that would be offered to the 1,000 FTEs allocated for this project.
The DAC, CVB, responded that the funding allocation was approved but that no decision has been made regarding the employment status of these new employees.
5. Public Service Employee Survey (PSES)
The AC, HRB, was pleased to provide an update on the PSES results, which overall are very positive for the Agency.
The first wave of the 2022–2023 PSES results was published on Wednesday, May 31, and the information was received at the same time as when the results were posted on Canada.ca. The HRB’s intention is to further assess the results in the next few weeks and share with the regions and branches in-depth information on these results. This will help determine the actions required in our continued efforts to be a people-first organization as well as being one of Canada’s top employers.
The CRA’s final response rate was 63.8%, which is significantly higher than the core public service rate of 53.8%. This is a good indicator of how engaged CRA employees are.
The PSES took place between November 2022 and February 2023, which happened to coincide with the announcement of the mandatory return to the office. Employees who had completed the PSES prior to the announcement of December 15 were invited to re-open their questionnaire and complete it again if they wished to do so.
The AC, HRB, indicated that she was very interested in the data and was pleased to see improvements in many areas over the last four years, which is an indication that the CRA is doing a lot of good things. For the first time in its history, the survey included questions about the hybrid workplace, and the data related to that topic was largely positive. The data showed that the majority of employees enjoyed coming to the workplace at least a few times a week. On-site activities that employees appreciated the most were training, participating in team-building activities, and completing onboarding of employees, which were identified as activities best completed in person. It was also observed that employees are very appreciative of the Agency’s efforts to offer a good work-life balance. A large proportion of employees appreciate working for the Agency and, to that extent, 85% of CRA respondents indicated they would recommend the Agency as a workplace. She mentioned that this was a very good result for the Agency’s retention and attraction efforts, as potential future employees may look at this information when searching for a new employer.
When looking at trends in terms of discrimination and harassment, the results are better than those of other organizations. Results also showed improvement at the Agency compared to last year’s results. The survey included a fair number of questions on diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism, but unfortunately, there are not yet enough accumulated years of Employment Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EEDI) responses to establish or see progress in terms of trends in the organization. Overall, most CRA employees believe the Agency implements initiatives that promote anti-racism in the workplace and that they would feel safe to speak about racism in the workplace without fear of reprisal or negative impacts on their careers. However, some CRA employees felt that racism in the CRA has had an adverse or negative impact on their mental health, demonstrating that the Agency still has room to improve in that area.
The AC, HRB, spoke about mental health results and was pleased to report that the majority of CRA employees said their mental health was either good, very good, or excellent, and that they would describe their workplace as being psychologically healthy. However, with respect to mental health awareness in the workplace, results were less favourable than they were in 2020. She clarified that 2020 marked the beginning of the measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. She continued by saying that the proportion of CRA employees who indicated their level of work-related stress was high or very high remains low. Among the most common factors causing work-related stress were heavy workloads, not enough employees to do the work, information overload, and pay or other compensation-related issues.
More in-depth analysis is required, but the AC, HRB, invited participants to pay attention to results pertaining to leadership and the positive changes compared to previous years.
The Commissioner stated that the results were great, but it will be very interesting to have the results compartmentalized at the branch and regional levels. By looking at smaller groupings, it will help to focus on issues that are specific to certain areas. This year the survey was administered by Statistics Canada, and while there have been some issues in the past, he is confident that good and reliable results at the branch and regional levels will be provided. There are areas to work on, but the Commissioner said that he felt good about the results and that he feels optimistic that the CRA will continue to be among Canada’s Top 100 Employers. Part of what makes the CRA a good place to work is the strong and constructive relationships between management and employees and the joint efforts to work together for the best of the work environment.
The UTE National President agreed that the credit can be shared between management and the union, as the union’s interest is to defend its members and their rights.
The UTE First National Vice-President asked the AC, HRB, about statistics on telework and the hybrid workplace, and more specifically about employees coming on-site to attend training and for collaboration. The AC, HRB, did not have these results at hand. The UTE First National Vice-President indicated that he would wait for the release of the more detailed report with information broken down at the regional and local levels.
Closing Remarks
The UTE National President stated that he was happy with the frank and open discussions. In his opinion, a post-mortem discussion on negotiations with the CRA should follow the NUMCC meeting. The UTE’s main focus at this time is the upcoming UTE National Convention being held in August as well as the ratification vote. The participation rate is very high, and should the deal be ratified by UTE members, it will be important to expedite the process with the GIC as fast as possible to ensure that those term employees who had their contracts shortened are entitled to the signature lump-sum top-up payment. He added that he was shocked to find out that the signature could be delayed by a few weeks, as they were led to believe that the meeting with the GIC was scheduled for June 18. Following the ratification of the collective agreement, the UTE National President will schedule regular meetings with the Compensation team, as was done in the past. It was recognized that the updates they received from Compensation during the last round of negotiations were appreciated, and the process went very well as deadlines for payments were respected. Nonetheless, he highlighted that the implementation of Article 62 following the signature of the last collective agreement was not done in a timely manner.
The Commissioner responded that one of the issues the CRA needs to address is to do everything possible to expedite the process to have the deal submitted to the GIC as soon as possible and move quickly from there. He invited the UTE National President to a post-mortem discussion on the negotiations while the issue is still fresh, to discuss how both parties can find solutions regarding the process. Another issue at stake is to start working on the letter of agreement for the Work Arrangement Agreement. He stressed that the CRA has a very good record in the implementation of the collective agreement provisions and compensation-related elements following the signature of a collective agreement. He wished everyone a nice and relaxing summer. He said he is looking forward to the next NUMCC meeting with the UTE, which is scheduled for December 7, 2023, and until then, conversations will continue to take place at informal meetings.
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Bob Hamilton October 27, 2023 |
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Marc Brière December 7, 2023 |