National Executive Meeting - December 2007 - Annex 7

LFWA REPORT

At our Nov 6, 2007 LFWA ALMRC we discussed a number of issues, and the following are the agenda items. Locals may be able to use this as a guide for agenda items also:

Standing Agenda Item Updates

Personnel Numbers
Health & Safety
Budget
Grievance Report
Public Service Staffing Tribunal Statistics
ASR
ADR
EE
IM/IT Rationalization
EAP

New Business

Monitoring LMRC minutes
ESA Agreements
PSAC Bargaining Update
DCC Costs within LFWA

There was significant discussion around the VCDS’s SWE cap and how it is hindering the organization. Annually the command is in a deficit for SWE dollars as the demands are increasing in the workplaces with fewer military in support jobs. Baseline SWE for LFWA this fiscal year $47M, while they will be overspent by approximately $10M, having to convert O&M funds to SWE and paying the 20% tax – which we are all not sure where it is?

Management identified they would like more SWE and the capability to use SWE where it proves to be the best way to supply the service, but with the SWE cap this is not an option unfortunately.

Our discussion on trying to get an idea as to how the Health & Safety program is working in LFWA, we were told we are still waiting for the CLS report on the LFWA program, when it arrives it will be shared with the bargaining agent reps at the table.

We discussed armouries and our member’s needs in these remote locations. Manitoba and Saskatchewan are supported by Air Command through 17 Wing Winnipeg, while Alberta and BC mainland are supported by Land Forces through LFWA. The Union will do a reach out to the armouries employees and identify who their management contact is at which command etc.

Although the relationship at the LFWA ALMRC is working well we do not know if there are issues from the Local LMRC’s we should be engaged in as we are not seeing a significant amount coming ahead through Local LMRC minutes. We discussed the monitoring of Local LMRC minutes and within UNDE it is also the Regional VP’s responsibility to read the minutes and offer suggestions for support.

It is becoming more apparent that Local / Base LMRC’s have to be discussing the agenda items the National Executive has suggested for the last number of years:

• Local executives have to ask Local managers to report on the financial information, we should be requesting locally on SWE – OandM costs,
• focusing on fewer military in Base support and with the VCDS’s SWE cap, management needs to be identifying new civilian positions and trying to get the SWE
• The annual Base HR plan
• The annual Base Business Plan
• We were to be asking for Civilian – Regular Force and Reserve force numbers by – classification – rank – MOC – location etc.
• Redress procedures types and numbers of grievances locally.
• ADR report on incidents locally how many are mil against mil – mil against Civ or Civ against Civ, and workplace evaluations done by DRC’s,
• Following up on local contracts like local cleaning contract to see if an in-house bid would be more beneficial for the organization.

To that end I urge all locals to ensure these items are discussed at their LMRC’s, and if there are issues locally that cannot be resolved at that level make sure they are in the local LMRC minutes with direction to be moved ahead to the LFWA ALMRC.

Thanks to Sister Kennedy for her support and participation.

Brian Molsberry
VP Man/Sask
UNDE LFWA OPI & Area LMRC Co-Chair