March 7, 2008

UNDE EVP REPORT

UMCC HUMAN RESOURCES SUB-COMMITTEE

Acceptance of Previous Minutes and Agenda/Acceptation du compte rendu de la dernière réunion et de l’ordre du jour.  The agenda was accepted as amended.  The minutes of the October 16, 2007 and December 6, 2007 meetings were accepted as amended.

Old Business:

Review of the Terms of Reference/ Revue du Mandat.  The Bargaining Agent representatives presented their additional proposed amendments and additions to the UMCC HR Sub-Committee Terms of Reference.  The proposed final version will be presented at the next meeting.

New Business:

Labour Relations Course for Managers and Supervisors/Cours sur les relations de travail destine aux gestionnaires et aux superviseurs.  Mr Hill, Acting DLRPP/DPPRT, stated that the Labour Relations Course for Managers is not new; that the course had just been temporarily on hold.  The training includes discussions on Management Roles and Responsibilities, ADR, The Role of the Union, Collective Agreements and Strikes.  UNDE EVP stated that several UNDE representatives have participated on panel discussions and/or made presentations to these courses in the past and that there is value to both the unions and management in the bargaining agent representatives’ participation and input. Click her for presentation in PDF.

Co-Development.  Brother Lorne explained that he and Brother Perry Schippers, PIPSC, have participated on a joint working group to develop power point presentations, guidelines and “Q&As” to help in promoting the co-development process.  He reminded the committee members that co-development is not co-management.

Round table / Table ronde:

IBEW/FIOE:  Brother Lachance expressed concern that a vacant GT 8 position has not been staffed and that the functions are being performed by a military person.  It was decided to discuss the issue off-side for additional information.
UNDE EVP asked about the new grievance numbering system stating that UNDE had received a response to their question.  However, the other bargaining agent representatives might not be aware of the change.  Mr Hill, Acting DLRPP/DPPRT, stated that the change in the numbering process is a result of the implementation of HRMS 8.9 (PeopleSoft) and that the program will release a sequential 10-digit number and that the program will now allow for tracking a grievance using the grievor’s name.
PIPSC:  Brother Perry questioned DND’s use of other government departments’ prequalified pools (PQPs), stating that some employees have been disqualified in DND staffing processes and then these same people have qualified in other departments’ PQPs for a like position and have obtained employment in DND.
 Brother Perry questioned the use of CS WDs stating that he has been advised that the WDs created for NCR CS positions cannot be used outside of the NCR?  HR confirmed this practice citing the “reporting chain” as the rationale as to why a WD from the NCR cannot be used in the field.  UNDE EVP reminded the committee members that an employee should be paid for what they do and not who they report to and that just because someone in the NCR reports to a Colonel and the same function in the field reports to a person of lower rank, does not necessarily negate the position’s responsibilities.
Brother Perry also asked for a status report on the military/civilian equivalencies in ADM Mat Eng classification.  He was advised that it should be complete in June.
Brother Perry stated that many of the members find these activities and lack of progress very discouraging and question if DND is the preferred employer?
DGCESP/DGSPEC:  Ms St-Jean stated that there was a 64% response to the recently conducted Self-Identification Survey and that the Department feels that they have now captured 94% of the overall employees.
Ms St-Jean provided the following appointment statistics for the period 1 April 2006 – 31 December 2007:

Medical Priorities:  Total number of appointments of CF members medically released during the period 31 December 2005 – 31 December 2007 was 246.

Number of medical/disabled priorities currently in the system (as of 15 January 2008): 
206 CF members
4 civilian employees (a decrease of 2 since the December 2007 meeting).

Staffing activity by region, the following was provided (in order of highest activity):

External Advertised          External Non-Advertised           Internal Advertised
Atlantic                               Prairies                                          NCR
Prairies                               NCR                                              Prairies
Ontario                               Ontario                                          Atlantic
(no change from December 2007)

Statistics were also provided on former-CF members’ term and indeterminate appointments.
UNDE EVP thanked Ms St-Jean for the term versus indeterminate statistics.  However, UNDE EVP further explained that the previous request had been made in order to make a comparison of military term and indeterminate appointments versus civilian term and indeterminate appointments.  The requested information will be provided next meeting.

 Also on staffing issues, UNDE EVP stated that UNDE has seen an increase of grievances for rejection on probation for persons appointed from both advertised and non-advertised processes and questioned if this is monitored.  It is particularly disturbing when situations arise whereby one manager hires someone using a non-advertised process and the subsequent manager does not find the employee suitable and rejects them on probation.

 UNDE EVP also raised a concern in regards to a recent hiring process in which a CR 4 was appointment at a higher than entry level of salary [allegedly at the maximum] and that the TB policy “Pay Above the Minimum on Appointment from Outside the Public Service” was identified as the substantiation.  Although not illegal, UNDE EVP stated that the intent of the policy is “… to recruit and retain the best qualified candidates.”  And that when discussed in other forums, it was explained that the TB policy and practice was usually invoked when hiring in the professional trades, ie doctors, dentists.  UNDE EVP stated that using this practice as it has been recently alleged is not beneficial to the morale of the workplace.

http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/TBM_11A/1-2-1_e.asp

Ms St-Jean stated that the authority to use the policy is delegated to the deputy head and that, as identified in the policy, there must be justification.  It was agreed that the use of the policy should be the exception and not the norm.  UNDE EVP asked if DND monitors these practices?  The response was that situations such as this one might be caught in the monitoring and might not because the monitoring is done by sampling.

Next Meeting – June 5, 2008

In Solidarity,
Mary L. Chamberlain
UNDE EVP