20 September 2007

Land Forces Central Area LMRC - Report

The UNDE/LFCA LMRC was held in Toronto on 20 September 2007. Col Erickson opened the meeting and as there were new players at the table, proceeded around the table with introductions of the Committee.

The previous minutes were reviewed and with one change to para 3b of the previous minutes (re: IM/IT in that the Air Force has not participated in the program, which Col Erickson confirmed that was the case) they were accepted.

Highlights:

ASR Update: Major Chow informed the committee that there still wasn’t much to report. There have still been some difficulties with staffing of some VHE positions in Petawawa and Northern Ontario. Col Erickson indicated that he would follow up and report back for the next meeting.

LFCA EE. The Area EE Officer, Capt Patterson-Hock, provided an update on EE activities. She confirmed that the Area EE Plan has been signed and distributed to the Area and Union in September 07. She stated that one of the main tasks in the Plan was to ensure the completion of the new Civ Self ID Forms. Employees would be provided the opportunity to complete the form during 10-28 Sep 07 during the Civ Self ID Blitz. The forms were distributed directly from ADM HR Civ and also posters would be put up. The deadline for submissions is 19 Oct 07. She further indicated that she has prepared the EE portion of the Area HR Plan and has included the EE report from last March as well as the civilian hiring goals that were referred to in the Area EE plan Appendix.

Update on IM/IT Issues: Col Erickson informed the committee that the signed instruction has been sent to the Level 1 and in LFCA forwarded to the CO of the Sign Sqn. The Sig Sqn is tasked to do a Troop Task Analysis. He further stated that there are three phases for the process 1) Consolidation; 2) Transfer; and 3) Evaluation. He indicated that ADM (IM) would like to complete the transfer by 1 Apr 08, however, this deadline will not likely be able to be met. He also informed that the Unions have been briefed each step of the way, and that the impact at this stage would only be the transfer of management from the Army to ADM(IM). Both Col Erickson and I expressed concerns about the potential impacts on the members for the next phase. Col Erickson will follow up on this issue and provide further information for the next meeting.

Update on Classification Audit/Monitoring Report: The Director D/CHRCS (Ontario), Merv Lesch, provided an update to the committee on this issue. He confirmed that recent updates have been provided to all Base Commanders and COs in the locations where positions are affected and Senior Management Groups. He stated that DCCO is still committed to monitoring other regions, however the timelines may be deferred.

In respect to the results of the 152 positions that were reviewed in Ontario 81 classification decisions were confirmed. For the remainder of the positions, he indication that there was a need to require further analysis to identify any potential impacts in Ontario Region or other Regions. He further stated that some files won’t be finalized until this impact analysis is completed. Mr Comrie presented the Ontario Action Plan which identifies key actions and estimated timelines. A copy is attached. He further stated that 42 positions are to be down-graded; however, he also stated that there may be other positions that are impacted. In addition there are 17 positions that will require additional work. The following site was provided by Mr Comrie for Q&A on the DCCO website: http://hr.ottawa-hull.mil.ca/hrciv/dgcesp/dcco/en/home_e.asp

Brother Santerre questioned the amount of time classification grievances already take to respond to, as he anticipates an increase in the number of grievances as a result of this exercise. He wanted to know how long will they take to be responded to. Mr Lesch indicated that DCCO is responsible for classification grievances and that this issue had been discussed. He stated that it was his understanding that DCCO was developing a strategy to reduce the turn around time. He will provide a further update at the next meeting.

I expressed concerns in reference to the initial meetings that took place in that some meetings did not include the Union reps, and this had caused a lot of confusion for the members. As a result of this, it was requested that Union Reps be present and invited to attend the upcoming meetings between management and the members. This is to protect the member’s rights and the grievance process as it impacts the members. It was agreed that managers & members would be encouraged to have union representation present during these meetings.

HR Services: Distribution HR Support: (Note: It became very evident during a recent visit to Locals in Sault Ste-Marie/North Bay that this issue on HR support needed to be addressed) I, again raised these concerns to the committee, because not all Bases have a Service Centre on site. It was requested that an HR visit schedule be put in place and be communicated in advance. Mr Lesch indicated that this matter had been discussed at a recent HR Management meeting and that there is a commitment to develop a standing commitment to have HROs visit the remote sites. Dates may have to be adjusted based on specific needs at the time; however, HR staff will remain accessible via e-mail and phone.

Parking: Col Erickson informed the committee that he has received no further information on this issue, however there are continuing discussions on how, when and what to implement should it be necessary. He confirmed that the DAOD was out but no decisions have been made. He further stated that the Area Commander is concerned about this issue and is watching it closely. This issue has been placed on the agenda for the next meeting.

Briefing on the Implementation of HRMS 8.9 and Leave Self Serve: Mr Lesch informed the committee that the HRMS 8.9 system is government-wide and will be the primary source of HR information and includes a self serve function that would enable staff to access their own leave and personal information. There will be a significant impact on HR service providers including the areas of labour relations, compensation, leave management, staffing and classification. I expressed concerns in respect to those members who do not have computer access and the amount of time that managers will provide the members in those areas to access the system.

Mr Lesch stated that for leave the new electronic version “Leave self-serve” will be implemented for those employees that have access to a computer and for those that don’t they will continue to use the current paper system. (The presentation is attached)

Calian Contract for Driver Training: I raised the question and concerns as to why there was a contract tendered to Calian for Driver Wheeled Training across Canada. I stated that there civilian members available within the Public Service, that could fill these positions, and I questioned why they didn’t fill these positions from within. Col Erickson suggested that as the Calian Contract was not an LFCA contract, that the Union should raise this at the National Level. He further commented that sometimes if the job lasts for a transitory time or within project time, managers may not hire indeterminately and instead will hire contractors to meet surge capacity.

I further indicated that this issue would be raised at the National Level. Further that the Union would like to see these services brought back within the Public Service and suggested that there could acting assignments for MDO instructors. Col Erickson stated that there might be backfill issues involved.

During the round table, the PIPSC Rep Brother Santerre, commented that in 2 ASG Sig Sqn some civilians were asked to deploy into military positions where the military members were to be trained for Force Generation, and wanted to know hoe many more positions would be affected by Force Generation in Petawawa. Col Erickson stated that he didn’t know of any plans at this time.

Brother Santerre further raised the concern about what the impacts would be when IT/IM transfers take effect. Col Erickson indicated that the impacts are not fully known at this current time, however, he will follow up on this issue.

I requested an update on the ESAs in the Region. Gail Fox, AHRBM, confirmed that the Area ESA submissions have been sent to the L1 as required and that in her opinion the ESA process went well in the Area. I commented that the exercise went well in most areas.

The next meeting is scheduled for the 14 January 2008.

Debra Nadeau
UNDE VP Ontario