National Executive Meeting - December 2007 - Annex 11

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ADVISOR REPORT

An Employment Equity Workshop was held in the Fall.  For some coordinators it was a refresher of sorts and for others it was all new information.  Most attendees thought that the information obtained from all of the invited speakers was helpful.  The workshop facilitated by Lisa Addario was an EE 101 and served as an excellent start for the workshop.  DDWB sent a team of speakers who supplied information on all aspects of the services provided by DDWB.

I received six reports from coordinators, (the most I have ever had).

CSE Coordinator Brother Alen Joncas provided information about the CSE Self ID campaign.  He reports that the rate of return has improved but that the results have not been tabulated.  He personally participated in the Self ID Kick- Off Campaign.  During the campaign an EE overview and diversity sessions were provided   A new Committee entitled Advisory Committee on Diversity and Employment Equity was formed and its membership includes HR, Union and Counselling and Advisory personnel.  Plans are underway for diversity sessions over the holiday season.

Alberta and the North Coordinator Sister Charlene Veale reports that she attended her first LMRC as the EE Coordinator.  She questioned the low rate of return for the workplace census questionnaires. She also discussed the process of the LFWA EE calculator. Discussion about trade apprentices and questioned if EE candidates will be considered.

Ontario Coordinator Brother Roger Dodier reported that he attended the OFL EE Conference in Toronto; he had previously presented a written report and would recommend the conference to anyone who is interested in EE.  He has not made any progress with being able to attend Kingston’s LMCC as EE Coordinator nor has he been able to access any meetings with HR and Mgt reference EE.  I will liaise with Sister Nadeau to discuss further.  Brother Dodier attended AGM’s with the Ontario VP and the UNDE National President.  He used the power point presentation that was created at the workshop on one occasion and in other AGM’s used a simpler version. No specific concerns were brought to his notice during these visits.

Nova Scotia’s Coordinator Sister Doreen Brown attended the Greenwood AGM and the NS Regional Conference at Oak Island Inn.  Sister Doreen attended the Breaking the Barriers workshop in Halifax.  The workshop highlighted workplace barriers for racialized workers.  Notes from the workshop are forthcoming.  Sister Doreen is planning a meeting with the Marlant EE Mgr to discuss EE issues with regard to recruitment and promotion.

NCR Coordinator Sister Pat McGrath reports being very busy with many Persons with Disabilities associated activities.  She sits on several committees and writes a regular column for a disability focused community paper.  She has offered to discuss EE with Locals in the NCR but has not yet been scheduled.

Quebec’s Coordinator Sister Cathy Dallaire will be invited to the Quebec Regional Conference in the Spring where she will be provided an opportunity to explain her role in the Region.  Sister Daillaire contacted all of the Locals in the Region after the workshop and explained her role by e-mail and offered to answer any questions that they might have.  She has not been involved in any meetings or discussions with Mgt or HR concerning EE/HR issues.

A Logo Contest was devised at the workshop and several entries were submitted.  The EE Coordinators were supposed to select the logo however since one entry was submitted by a coordinator the National Executive will now need to select the successful entry.

A draft TOR for Coordinators was formulated at the workshop and is being submitted as part of this report for consideration by the National Executive.
           
The Coordinators developed a PowerPoint presentation which could be used in whole or in part in any presentations that they may have to make.  It is a tool which provides basic information.  They agreed that the message they wanted to focus on during their AGM visits was the DRAFT of their TOR.  They wanted the membership to understand their role in the Regions.  From feedback that I have received I don’t think that goal was accomplished.

I have formally been asked by LFAA and LFDTS to comment on their EE plan.  LFDTS responded to my detailed comments saying basically that they really only sent
the plan to me  out of courtesy, as far as they are concerned only Level 1 has to request union consultation and collaboration.  Which bring me full circle because Level 1 says that by the time the plan reaches them there is no time left for input and that all they do is roll up the info and that they actually make no concrete changes , that they accept what is rolled up without much question.

One other conundrum that I have encountered is that DDWB says that they only monitor processes and that they do not have any actual impact on policy.  DGLRC is the place to go to get changes to the current process.  Mary will have to address this at the HR UMCC because at the moment I don’t see any UNDE/UEDN consultation and collaboration on the EE portion of the EE plan as dictated by the EE Legislation.  This needs to be on record because I am certain that I am now considered to be a broken record with my constant repeating of this statement, I know that DDWB is really tired of hearing this statement. PSAC encourages Components to have their Locals involved in the EE portion of the HR plan at the unit and Base levels.  There is always confusion from this level because they are not required to actually create an EE plan but they are required to submit EE requirements to the Command level. It is very advantageous for Unions to be involved in consultation and collaboration regarding the EE portion of the HR plan.

A reminder that recruitment is only one part of the EE plan, promotion and retention are the parts that are most often overlooked.

There still does not seem to be any questions, concerns, issues coming to my attention, either as information or resolution, regarding human rights and employment equity issues.  In a Component as large and diverse as UNDE/UEDN is, I would expect to be dealing with issues on a weekly basis.  I am still concerned that the correct avenues that would bring issues to the forefront have not yet been devised by UNDE/UEDN. In spite of many positive efforts by the National Executive and the current Coordinators I do not think that HR/EE in UNDE/UEDN has the visibility that it requires in this day and age.

I would still like to introduce an interactive blog type site for EE and HR issues for UNDE members. Those sites are gaining a lot of interest.  I will discuss further with Linda Graham and Drew Smeaton.

I am trying to schedule an EE training which is being developed by JLP.  I have requested Mark Pacek to allow the UNDE Coordinators to be a part of the pilot project for the course that they are developing.  PSAC had suggested that an EE Lobbying course would be beneficial for the Coordinators but have now suggested this new JLP EE course. It may be completed by February.

I have attended the PSAC Access Conference and the National Women’s Conference as a guest.  There is one more Conference and I will prepare an Executive Summary type of report about all three Conferences after the next Conference has finished.

Brenda Moore
EE Advisor to the National Executive