3 June 2008

Land Forces Central Area LMRC - Report

The LFCA LMRC was held in Toronto on 03 June 2008.  
 
The previous minutes were reviewed and with no changes the minutes were accepted.
 
Highlights:

LFCA EE .    As the EE Rep Capt Patterson-Hock was absent for this meeting the HRBM Gail Fox presented the report on her behalf.   She informed the committee that the updated L2/Area representation data reports have not been received as yet, but are expected to be received shortly.   She also indicated that due to expected turnovers and scheduling conflicts, the next Area EE Working Group wouldn’t be scheduled until the Fall.  Dates and locations TBD.

There was an Army EE WG  held in Ottawa 15-17 April 08 and the J1 EE attended.  Maria Orfano, the Corporate Diversity Manager from the Directorate of Diversity and Well-Being (DDWD) made a presentation.  The presentation included that the results from the Diversity Climate Survey which was administered in Dec 06, showed that the diversity climate with DND was rated “about average” to “good” by most respondents and that attitudes towards EE and Diversity are moderately favourable.  An analysis report will be finalized and made available on the intranet, date to be determined.  A comprehensive Employment Systems Review (ESR) of DND’s civilian workforce will be conducted in the Fall of 08 with the report expected to be submitted before the end of fiscal year.  The ESR recommendations will form the basis of the next Corporate Civilian EE Action Plan.

Update on IM/IT Issues:   Col Erickson informed the committee that the project has kicked off again, and that the Army has reinitiated the project of rationalization in order to be able to transfer mil positions to the field force.  The Army has developed a multi-phased plan in conjunction with the ADM(IM):  Phase 1 is info collection; Phase 2 is the discovery phase and in this phase, regular mil positions will be moved to field force and replaced by contractors and or civilians; and Phase 3 will be consolidation of IM/IT leadership in the federal public service.  Specific timelines for these phases are not known.  Col Fawcett (COS),  indicated that the objective of the initiative is to remove the mil force from the equation. 

Brother Santerre enquired as to what will happen in the future as the funding was only for 2 years.  Col Erickson stated that the Army will look at this closely.  Col Fawcett indicated that the Army has only agreed to Phase 1 of this project and is aware that there are challenges such as funding and assets to be relied on for domestic operations.  Brother Santerre stated that it would be nice to have these concerns addressed and would like to know if the mil will come back. Col Erickson indicated that these type of issues will be discussed in Phases 2 & 3 and that Maj Greengrass has been assigned as the lead to this project. 

This issue will remain as a standing item on the LMRC and further updates will follow.

Update on Classification Audit/Monitoring Report:   Ms Lean indicated that there have been various pressures on the Classification Monitoring Exercise.  Another contractor has been hired to focus on this project; however, he is also involved in a regional study on WASPO positions.  Mr. Comrie, Regional SME Classification, is on sick leave for 6 months.  No back-up plan is in place yet, therefore, the main challenge in classification is sufficient resources working in the subject area.  She further stated that the exercise is at various stages: for example, some positions are with management to update work descriptions and some positions are waiting for EPAS from DCCO to be issued.

I enquired about when would this exercise be completed and was informed that Ms Lean would follow up on these issues and provide an additional update at the next meeting

Update on Bilingual Positions in the Area:    The question reference bilingual units with LFCA had come up during the last meeting, and Col Erickson provided an update on this issue.  He indicated that there are no bilingual units within LFCA but there are various bilingual positions in the units.  A chart that lists bilingual positions in the Area will be attached to the Minutes.  He also indicated that it may be appropriate to conduct an evaluation in the Fall 08 to determine if there is a need for additional positions to be designated bilingual. 

LCol Bérard, the J1, stated that it is not necessary for the position to be identified bilingual as long as there is someone who can provide the bilingual service in the unit.

Use of GCT 2 in Competitions:  Brother Santerre questioned the use of  GCT 2 in competitions.  He indicated that medical problems may affect the results of the test and the employee may not be aware of the medical condition; in addition, the employee may not be properly accommodated in taking the test.  If one fails this test, the individual will be eliminated from the competition process if it is used as a screening tool.  Brother Santerre further questioned why managers are using this tool if candidates are being eliminated from the process as a result.  He stated that this issue has also been brought up at Local LMRCs. 

Col Erickson acknowledged Brother Santerre’s concern; however, he indicated that the intent is to find the best person for the job.   Ms Lean indicated that this is not a mandatory test; however, it is a tool that management can use.  This tool helps to eliminate bias and is only to be used for officer level positions. 

Col Erickson requested to have further information on the usage of this test in the Area such as the number of staffing processes that used this tool and the pass/fail rates for the next meeting. 

SWE Cap:  Col Erickson informed the committee that he attended a meeting in Ottawa in mid May 2008 as the Area’s management representative, along with the AHRBM Gail Fox.   The meeting was held with ADM (HR-Civ) personnel, Level 1 and 2 HRBMs and senior management reps in LFC to discuss the Strategic Intake Plans (SIPs) for FY 08/09 and the capacity of the Service Centres to meet forecasted staffing/classification requirements.  To facilitate staffing/classification, management at the meeting committed to the use of collective staffing processes (pools) and general work descriptions (GWDs), where appropriate.  On the second day, Level 1 and 2 HRBMs and senior management reps in LFC met to follow-up on the previous day’s discussion.  At the meetings, participants were advised that the Army is expecting to receive an additional $19M in SWE for FY 08-09.   He also indicated that the Area is still unsure how much funding it will be getting; and therefore couldn’t address the SWE gap at the moment.  He stated the support for CSOR is also unknown; however, the Area will certainly get some relief in the short term.
  
I enquired if positions that provide essential services, such as additional Fire Fighters, are factoring in or being considered when doing the analysis and setting their priorities.    Col Erickson stated that priorities include Soldier Care and legislative requirements (safety and health).

Rumours with respect to Supply Chain:   I informed the committee that the rumour was out there and had come up a few months ago, indicating that the Supply Chain Project would be re-initiated.  Col Erickson indicated that he would follow up on this issue with the Director of the Supply Chain and follow up at the next meeting.

Rumorus with Respect to Civilian Job Cuts:  I raised the concern with the committee that there has been rumours of 5000 civilian cuts and wanted to know if management had heard anything in this matter.  Brother Santerre indicated that it may have arisen as a result of the IM/IT Project or the Supply Chain Project.  Col Erickson stated that he had not heard of this and questioned how the number had been arrived at as it represents about 25% of the civilian workforce in the Department.  

Update on Regional CHRPCC Meeting:  Ms Lean stated that CHRPCC is a Committee of senior management and HR personnel to address HR issues.  Col Erickson requested an update on the Classification Monitoring Exercise and classification issues such as the generic work descriptions, shorter version of work descriptions and removal of work percentages discussed at CHRPCC.  Ms Lean will follow up and provide an update.  This was brought forth by the union during the last meeting because of the concerns with the shorter version of WDs and the removal of the percentages.

Ms Lean provided some additional points to the Committee:

Level 1 HR Plan will be Annexed to the L1 Business Plan.
There is a growth of 233 positions in Ontario.
Only 40% of employees use the HRMS Version 8.9 Leave Self Service and Leave without Pay (LWOP) requests are still to be on paper format.

Update on HRO Visits to Remote Sites:  I enquired about whether a schedule has been set for HROs visiting the Remote Sites.  Ms Lean stated that for London the HRO is schedule to visit every 2 weeks, and for North Bay Sault Ste-Marie, regular visits are established, as required.

During the round table Col Erickson informed the committee that 2 ASG will commit to the use of Collective Staffing processes and common merit statements where appropriate, in order to expedite staffing.  He will advise the Cos in 2 ASG accordingly. 
Brother Santerre raised a concern on why employees in Kingston are to deal with HR in Petawawa and if this will be an ongoing situation.  We were informed that this may only be a transitional case as one of the HROs in Kingston will be transferred to Petawawa, or that it may be a case of linked process and the point of contact is Petawawa.  Ms Lean look into it and provide an update at the next meeting. 

I also raised the issue with respect to 2 Svc Bn whereby a union member has been requested to submit leave passes for union business, within their HQ area.  I had hoped that it would be resolved locally, however it hasn’t and it is my understanding a complaint has allegedly been filed.  Ms Lean will follow-up on this and provide an update at the next meeting.
 
Col Erickson then informed the committee that this was his last meeting and thanked myself and the entire committee for our support and participation in the ALMRC.  On behalf of the committee as co-chair I also thanked Col Erickson for all his support and co-chairing the meetings over the last 2 years.

The next meeting is scheduled for sometime in September, date to be determined..

Fraternally,

Submitted electronically,

Debra Nadeau
UNDE VP Ontario