BC/YT Region
Regional Union Management
Consultation Committee (
Record
of Discussions for
Participants
Pat
Grant McGregor Representative,
PIPSC
Dave Stemler Representative,
ACFO
Rod Smelser Representative,
Mandi Schubert Alternate RVP,
NHWU
Diane Mitchell
Management
Bill Ross Regional
Executive Head,
Bob McMorine Director,
People & Culture
Con Leonidas Regional
Manager, People & Culture
Annette Moulay Labour
Relations Consultant, People & Culture
Regrets
Lynn Jackson A/Assistant
Regional Executive Head
Christine Dockman RVP, NHWU
Derek Brackley Representative,
Grant McGregor Representative,
PIPSC
Support to the Committee
Brenda Beatty Regional
Executive Office
Union
Items
1.
Posting
of Accurate Minutes – Mandi Schubert
Christine Dockman, NHWU, requested via
email, that this agenda item be postponed until the next meeting.
Comments/Questions:
§
Bill Ross, Regional Executive Head, asked
what the issue with the minutes is. Committee members have an opportunity to
provide feedback after the Record of Discussions is complete. He offered the
unions the option of taking responsibility for the minutes.
§
Pat Wakefield replied the unions do not
want to take on responsibility for the minutes. The RODs are completed within 3
weeks of the meeting and sent to the co-chairs. Pat gives the union reps., two
weeks to respond for corrections. However, there is flexibility if a member is
away (so that there can be an extension to the two weeks).
2.
ISP
Key Performance Indicators – Mandi Schubert
There is a specific issue with ISP in
Pat Wakefield added that the issue of
equal treatment of all members is one that affects other unions as well. The
union feels that management does not recognize the different levels of work
being performed and does not deal with issues that some of the members may face
which results in less work being done than the average member. It is easier to
just have the faster members take on the extra work than deal with the issues. It’s
management’s responsibility to determine
what each member is doing and why some members are not doing an average amount
of work, and work with those members in such a way that is required to assist
them in meeting the average of all other members in the same work unit. It was
also pointed out that Workload Manager does not provide sufficient information
as it only shows the number of files completed not what the files required to
be completed. For example one member may complete 10 files in a day and another
member only 5 files, however the one who completed the 5 files may have 100 %
quality on very difficult and time consuming issues where the other member who
completed 10 files may have had all 10 that were straight forward or was only
at 70% quality.. The union is asking that Management balance workloads and that
everyone would do their share of the work. It is reasonable to expect a day’s
work for a day’s pay. The union is responsible for representing all members.
Management has to recognize that this is an issue and work with the local
unions.
Management replied that this is a challenging
issue for both parties and proposed a joint working group review it. The
working group could discuss balanced workload and the respective
responsibilities of both managers and staff. Clear expectations could be
reviewed in order that all employees, including managers, know what is expected
and contribute to a healthier workplace by doing their fair share.
Bill Ross stated that he is willing to
take this issue on, but wants assurance from the unions that they will support
Management. The union has to be frank with members when they do not pull their
weight. In the past, dealing with performance issues has resulted in
grievances.
NHWU reiterated that this issue has been
brought forward to try and develop solutions, not so much to focus on the
problem.
Comments/Questions:
§
CEIU replied that it is the unions’
responsibility to ensure that every employee is treated fairly and that the
process is followed correctly. Management must look at the type of work being
done as well as the numbers (e.g. Insurance – staff picking the easy files
versus “dumping” of difficult files). The electronic tracking systems (CSMS) are
not the only tools that should be relied upon. There have been grievances
because the approach taken by Team Leaders and managers appears as though they
are not consistent and makes it seem like the individuals are being picked on.
Bob McMorine, Director, People and
Culture, replied that it seems like there are two issues: one is specific to
ISP, which Bob and Bill will discuss with Lynn Jackson and Kim Bergh. The other
issue is more global regarding expectations. A working group could discuss this
in greater detail.
§
ACFO enquired about performance appraisals?
Are they being followed up? Is there a process to improve the performance
appraisal process?
Management replied that performance
appraisals are connected to an employee’s evaluation. Nobody outside the team
leader or SDM follows up. The evaluation is between an employee and their team
leader or SDM.
§
CEIU reiterated that management needs to
deal with these issues as they affect everyone in the work place which affects
quality, productivity as well as moral.
3.
Service
The front-end positions of EI and ISP have
been merged, but employees are concerned that there is no job description for
the blended position. Employees also feel that their right to chose has been
taken away, particularly employees that chose to work with seniors. Is there a
process for employees to give input?
Management replied that nationally, the
unions are working with management on the work description and classification
of the front-end position. The design of Service Canada is that there is not
specialization in the Front-Ends (not separate SDA II). OAS/CPP is one of the
many service offerings available. There will be one job description for all
client facing activities, which includes the front ends, call centres, and the
internet. Management does appreciate that staff feel a loss of working with
seniors through OAS/CPP.
Comments/Questions:
§
NHWU asked how many job descriptions there
will be in Service Canada, will others be merged. For example, will CPP Integrity
Officers be combined with other investigators?
Management replied that ultimately OAS/CPP
Integrity will be combined with EI Integrity. This will be a different work
description than the client facing activity. The People and Culture branch at
NHQ is working on how many work descriptions there will be in the organization.
The front-end job description is expected to be completed by May 1st.
§
CEIU asked if training taken place for the
blended position.
Management answered that the SDA II have
been trained and that the SDRs will be almost done by May 1st.
4.
Service
The Multi-Language Extension Services
(MLES) are being offered out of the
Management explained that MLES is being
offered in three languages, Punjabi, Cantonese and Mandarin. Experienced SDRs
were selected to participate on the team based on ability to speak one of the
three languages. There are six staff – three teams of two, plus a Team Leader
and a SDM. Staff volunteered for these positions. This service is being offered
in outreach locations, not in the front end of offices. Clients, whose first
language is not English or French, are being offered service in their own
language. Three of the team came from the OAS/CPP call centre. In the future,
the service may be expanded so additional staff could be needed. At this time,
the service has not been expanded to the call centres.
Comments/Questions:
§
NHWU requested that Christine Dockman
speak to this issue at the next meeting.
§
NHWU questioned if staff were receiving a bilingual
bonus.
Management replied that MLES staff are not
receiving the bilingual bonus, which is legislated for
5.
Grants
and Contributions – Diane Mitchell
Programs staff have concerns about the new
administration rates (flat rates) for contribution agreements. There is an
issue of accountability as sponsors do not report their actual costs and some
costs may not be related to the agreement. As well, non-profit organizations
are concerned about afraid of audits and future claw-backs. Accountability is
also an issue with Community Coordinators approving SDEB, particularly if the
client has an overpayment. In addition, the work is cumbersome (e.g. Schedule D
and notes to file) and very time consuming for Project Officers. There have
been different interpretations of policy by POCs and TL or SDMs and decisions
have been overturned. It makes the department look unprofessional and inept
with our sponsors.
The segregation of duties is also a
concern. When the Project Officers specialize, the work becomes mundane. It is
helpful to look at agreements in a fresh way. There is a concern that the
quality of agreements is suffering because POs do not have enough time and there
are systems issues with CSGC. Project Officers feel that they are not able to
respond to the concerns of sponsors. Segregation may lead to having experts,
but not quality and excellent client service. Staff are also concerned about a
possible LMDA devolution and how the segregation of duties will impacted. Staff
have brought their concerns forward at the local offices, but have not received
a response.
Programs staff feel that Service Canada is
the focus of the department and that Programs is on the “back-burner”. Some
Programs staff have been asked to work at the Front-Ends but have not had
training on passports or Pleasure Craft Licensing.
Management replied that staff from all
areas are asked to help out on the Front-End as needed, but agreed that staff
shouldn’t be asked to deliver services if they have not received training. This
issue will be raised with Directors and Program Services Branch. Programs is just
as much as part of Service Canada as the Front-Ends or Processing. Programs and
Processing are Service Canada.
Comments/Questions:
§
CEIU (Diana) asked if there is a new job
description for the Project Officers.
Management replied that no work is currently
being done on the
The REH met with the Programs Management
group on April 19th and congratulated them on the great job done delivering
programs last year. There is a national blue ribbon panel that has been set up
to look at Grants and Contributions. The department has to look at the way we
deliver programs as the labour market has changed. Not a great deal can be done
immediately to resolve the concerns of the Project Officers.
6.
Hours
of Service Policy – Pat Wakefield
The unions asked if Management had
received feedback on the hours of service policy. It appears that the hours of
service policy was well implemented in the BC/YT region and went more smoothly
than in some other regions.
The REH replied that he had not received
much feedback. A risk assessment will be done in all small sites. The Managers
and Team Leaders are sensitive to staff safety. Management will look at options
and use REH discretion to close small offices if there is only one staff
member. Bill quoted one of the directors who said that sometimes “we need to
close the doors to serve more”. Staff are the most important asset.
CEIU commented that it appears like some
other regions have not considered risk assessment in implementing the Hours of
Service Policy.
7.
Staffing
levels – Pat Wakefield
There is a great deal of staffing
happening in the region, both terms and indeterminate positions.
Management explained that the staffing
review committee meets every two weeks (Mondays). All staffing actions are done
through committee. Directors have been hiring terms as the starting budgets
have been assigned. The budgets are a little less than last year. We are hiring
Program Officers as the region has $300 million in Programs to deliver.
Bob commented that national initiatives
such as the introduction of new technology make predicting staffing levels
difficult. There have been an average of more than thirty staffing actions come
to the review committee every meeting and all have been approved. Indeterminate
appointments are also being made. However, it is important to recognize that we
are not a growing organization.
Comments/Questions:
§
CEIU asked about Integrity staffing,
Management replied that we have staffed up
to our budget. We offered extra work to Call Centre employees (from 20
hours/week to full-time on Integrity). The Integrity targets were met,
including in ISP, which did an amazing job at finding ill-paid benefits.
§
CEIU enquired about staffing levels in
Corporate Services, particularly in offices that no longer have Corporate
Services in the local office as the work is being centralized.
Management advised that we are in the middle
of a process. Corporate Service resources are not the responsibility of the REH
as it is a nationally managed program. There is some CS work that needs to be
done at the local office, so the region working with NHQ to determine what work
needs to be done locally and what can be centralized. We need to have enough
staff for the work that needs to be done in the local office. The
centralization of Processing has been successful.
§
ACFO commented that it does not appear to
be a success from a Finance point of view. The centralization of Corporate
Services such as processing leave forms, exception reporting, and verification
of documents doesn’t seem very efficient as things have been wrongly coded and
CS staff don’t know if things are properly coded. If something is wrong, who
corrects it?
§
CEIU added that if there are many errors,
it defeats the purpose of centralization.
Management asked that examples of errors
be brought to management in order that the REH can follow up.
Bob McMorine noted that Corporate Service
staff are stretched. The region has been operating in the interim model of the
past year. The model is different from those used in the past and there are
growing pains. The question of “Where does that person belong?” is much more
difficult to answer. Human Resources has been centralized for the past year,
Finance and Administration have been gradually changing.
§
ACFO asked about charging different
budgets. For example, if an Insurance or Integrity staff member works at the
Front End that work should be charged to a different budget. As well, legally,
there are still two departments, so it also involves secondment agreements.
Bill Ross replied that the BC/YT region
did 5,000 claims for
§
NHWU stated that ISP staff are concerned
that they do not have the same level of support since Corporate Services roles
are out of ISP. It feels like reduced service.
§
ACFO commented that reporting to NHQ (Finance
and Human Resources) does not have the same job satisfaction.
8.
LMDA/LMPA
in
Pat Wakefield asked for an update on the
LMDA/LMPA in this region
The REH replied that nothing is happening
at this time. The
There is no funding for the LMP agreements
and no new agreements are being negotiated. The region will only be involved if
there is transfer of staff for the LMDA or LMPA.
In the latest issue of Regional Outlook, Bill Ross stated that we will
be delivering Part II benefits for the remainder of the fiscal year. Available
at: (http://webcenter.bc.prv/outlook/outlook2006/yearahead.shtml)
Comments/Questions:
§
CAPE asked how many staff are going to the
province in
Bob McMorine replied that there are
750-800 employees moving to the province.
9.
PSMA
Update – Pat Wakefield
Con Leonidas, Regional Manager, Human
Resources, gave an update on the PSMA. The latest version Delegation Framework
is in draft format. It is expected to be approved by the deputies in the next
few weeks. The Delegation Framework lays out the authority for managers.
Training was initially proposed to be done
by the Canada School of Public Service (a seven day course). An alternative
three day course for Service Canada managers has been proposed, which is still
in the design stage. The course content has not been finalized.
The region has contracted with Kathy Gilbert,
a retired HR consultant, to do training with managers over the summer. The
first course is expected to be completed before the end of June. Service Canada
is still behind other departments, but is catching up. The first priority is
training managers as there is a demand for staffing at all levels, particularly
Team Leaders and SDMs. All directors submitted HR plans at the beginning of
March.
Comments/Questions:
§
NHWU asked if there would be training or
information sessions for employees.
Con Leonidas replied that the first
priority is to get managers trained. There is no plan to train employees. The
focus is on current and future needs assessment. Staff relations at the
national level is consulting with union on the model for the Informal Conflict
Management System (ICMS).
§
CEIU added that the unions input was due
April 21 and was very successful.
Con Leonidas added we have successfully used
mediators in this region for some time.
Bob McMorine said that Service Canada is a
large department, compared with other much smaller departments, so training
employees is a much larger task. Tools are being developed for employees
including Campus Direct – an on-line course. The department website which was
mentioned at the last meeting also has a great deal of useful information. The
real learning will happen as staff actually go through the process.
§
NHWU stated that local process has
changed, but the unions had not been told (e.g. grievance process).
Bob McMorine added that the national
presidents of the unions, including NHWU.
have been involved in the discussions about ICMS and when it is
implemented, a national roll-out of information will be done.
10. “Just Ask Me” training – Rod Smelser
Bob McMorine replied that Crystal Johnson, an HR
consultant, has just completed a report with the roll-up of staff that have
completed the training. The report was sent to members of the Joint Employment
Equity Committee (also attached). The training was voluntary for staff, but participation
was high – 950 participated. All areas in the region have done some, five have
not completed the sessions, but have sessions scheduled. Corporate Services
(including Systems) has had difficulty finding a union co-trainer.
There is a national innovation group that is part of
Systems. They are trained to assess what technology tools staff really need.
Mandi indicated that she was a local content
co-developer with Learning Services and she received no copy of the Roll-up
report. She requested a copy.
Management
Items
1.
Service
Announcements
– Bill Ross
§
The
transference of duties between Jo Ann Hall and Hal Howie has begun.
§
Mardy
Duncan has retired.
§
Al
Morris, Director of Integrity retired 12 April
Service
Unions will be invited to attend the
National Leadership Conference, which will be held in Cornwallis at the
Transport Canada centre. There will also be staff involved as part of the
“story telling” of experiences (e.g. MLES). The RMB was asked to submit ideas
for possible presentations.
Service
The SCMB (National Management Board) will
have their next meeting in
Service
Offerings update
§
Pleasure Craft Licensing was implemented
on April 1st. It went reasonably well apart from a few Systems
issues. Staff did an excellent job of working through the issues.
§
Common Experience Payments – Indian
Residential Schools Resolution Canada (IRSRC) is the organization that does work
for the federal government around physical and sexual abuse suffered at
residential schools. Service Canada has been identified as the processing and
delivery agent for the Common Experience Payments (for all former students of
residential schools). The BC/YT region has submitted a plan to be the
designated national processing centre. This is approximately a two year project.
§
§
Passport expansion has been postponed
until fall. It is very successful in areas where it has been implemented.
Functional
staff meetings
There have been several meetings to look
at specific processes, including processes to expedite Temporary Foreign
Workers.
Organizational
structure
Service Canada is still part of Human
Resources and Social Development. This will not change soon, as it is not one
of the government’s five priorities. The Deputy Ministers have been told to
continue doing what we are doing and do it well, if the department is not one
of the five priorities.
Comments/Questions:
§
ACFO asked if the departments HRSDC and
SDC will be legally merged.
Bob McMorine replied that for now it will stay
the way it is. However, some administrative changes have been made such as
merging databases.
Bill Ross added that the organization is HRSD.
There is a Deputy Minister of HRSD, a Deputy Minister of Labour and a Deputy
Minister of Service Canada.
Nationally, there is a group working on
the front-end job description and an organizational design. The regions are
concerned that an organizational structure be implemented. Our region has been
working with an interim organization structure since April 2005. There are
similarities across the country, so a national organization can be implemented.
Budgets
We have received our starting budgets
(both operating and programs budgets) which are close to last year’s budgets.
Nationally, Finance is looking for savings to reallocate.
REH
meeting with ADM, Operations.
Élisabeth Châtillon, the ADM of Operations
(which includes Processing and the Call Centres) will be in the region, April
20-24. She will visit OAS/CPP processing centre in
2.
Collective Bargaining Update
Bob
McMorine reported that the CS group will go to the conciliation board process
at the end of May. The CS agreement is the last of the old agreements.
The
EC group is the first of new agreements. When the UCS was abandoned, there was
a gradual approach to update some groups (writing and rating job descriptions),
including the EC and SI groups. The EC group will be the first to negotiate an
essential service agreement.
§
ACFO advised that the FI agreement is also
not settled and the CS agreement is not the last of the old agreements.
The FI agreement expired November 2004.
Mandi Schubert
wanted to let people know that Bruce Henry had died recently.
Next meeting date: