10 July 2007

Land Forces Central Area LMRC - Report

The UNDE/LFCA LMRC was held in Toronto on 10 July 2007. As co-chair for this meeting, I welcomed everyone and as there were new players at the table, proceeded around the table with introductions of the Committee.

The previous minutes were reviewed and accepted.

Highlights:

ASR Update: Major Chow informed the committee that things are on track for ASR and that there wasn’t much to report. He also indicated that even though there has been some difficulty in staffing some civilian positions, some VHE positions are being filled in Petawawa and Northern Ontario.

LFCA EE . The Area EE Officer, Capt Patterson-Hock, provided an update on EE activities. The draft of the Area EE Plan has been distributed to the Area and Unions for comments/ feedback and will be revised, where appropriate. I expressed that there are still concerns about the integration of the Army’s mil/civ EE Plans, and indicated that the Unions concerns would be addressed at the National Level. Capt Patterson-Hock, further informed the committee that the civilian hiring goals, referred to in the Area EE Plan Appendix will be formulated upon receipt of the Unit Workforce Analysis Data sometime in mid August and that she would like to have the EE website and all relevant links up and running as soon as the new Branch Webmaster is trained. More to follow. The next Army EE Working Group will be held 15-19 Oct 2007 in Halifax.

Update on IM/IT Issues: Col Erickson (Co-chair and Comd 2 ASG), provided an update on the IM/IT issue,. He indicated that little information has been received through the Chain of Command, however, the Comd of the Army supports this initiative. A draft warning order, for the Army, is expected to be issued with respects to the transfer to Sigs Sqn IM/IT effective, 1 April 2008. Col Erickson elaborated that he has raised concerns with respect to the transfer, however, he has not received a response to date. He also mentioned that it seems that ADM(IM) would like to accelerate this process. Brother Santerre the PIPSC rep, inquired about when the draft warning will be finalized. Col Erickson indicated that he knew that there had been a brief consultation on the technical network but little consultation with the Chain of Command. Col Erickson indicated he will follow up on this issue, as he is not comfortable with the speed in which this initiative is progressing, and will provide further information at the next meeting

Update on Vacant Civilian Positions: The AHRBM, Gail Fox, confirmed that the Bulk Inactivation of Civilian Positions had taken place in early 2007, and the Area has updated the Consolidated Vacant Civilian Positions List based on this list and Units’ current AER reports. I requested an updated copy of the Vacant Civilian Positions List, and once reviewed will provide comments. Since the meeting I was provided a copy of the list, and forwarded a copy to the National EVP. Col Erickson queried why the Union wanted the information, and I informed the committee that there were some concerns about military filling civilian positions, why vacant positions weren’t filled, changes in SWE, etc. The Colonel responded that there could be a variety of reasons for positions not being filled, however, the Area was working with stakeholders to resolve this issue.

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 the debriefs with the L1 and the Unions were completed at the National Level, and that the next priority was to advise the managers, which is expected to be done mid-July. Debriefs to the Local Union reps would take place shortly after. He also indicated that this was not a full review and that it only focused on high risk classifications with decisions in FY 04/05 and 05/06. The positions reviewed were mainly in the GS, GL, CR and CS groups located in Petawawa, Kingston Trenton, Borden and London.

There were 152 positions reviewed, 53% of the classified groups/levels remained the same, 29% will require a group or level revision, 8% will need a rating revision which won’t affect the existing group and level, and 10% will require follow-up to gather additional information. We questioned what the impact will be, and was informed that the full impact is yet to be determined, and there may be more positions impacted than the 152 positions reviewed, as well there may be grievances on other decisions that may be linked. Mr Lesch further explained that as there was definitely a lack of accredited classification officers in the Region, actions have been taken to strengthen this service and that there has been some newly accredited classification officers hired in the East and West Areas and there are 3 HROs currently being trained toward accreditation.

Mr Lesch also informed the committee that the backlog has been reduced and that the entire backlog is expected to be addressed in the next 3-6 months, and that managers are also starting to use identical to positions. When I questioned if any new grievances submitted because of the audit, would this not affect the backlog and push the timelines off again. He indicated that it is possible however, some grievances put on hold have been withdrawn or moved forward. I also further expressed the concern that this review has taken a long time to complete and the results may affect employee morale and that members have expressed their frustrations over this issue. The Union would therefore, like to have this move forward quickly and requested to be informed when/which Base/Unit is briefed/will be briefed. Col Erickson also expressed his disappointed in how the information had been passed through the Unions at the National Level without Local Management being advised and questioned whether ADM (HR-Civ) recognized this classification process problem. Mr. Lesch acknowledged the points/concerns raised and indicated that the review originally had been planned for the whole country. Col Erickson stated that further that in his opinion, the review must go across the entire department in order to validate the results. Further, he indicated that if ADM (HR-Civ) decides not to go across the department, Management and Unions should be notified. He would like to know what the communication plan will be and how ADM (HR-Civ) will manage it.

Essential Services Agreements (ESA): The AHRBM indicated that the definitions and level of services had been sent to the L1, and that the Area is expecting to receive the direction/guidelines shortly. I mentioned that CDA and RMC Kingston have met with half of the Base in order to prepare for negotiations locally, and was confirmed by Jackie Lean, SME Labour Relations, that CDA is moving forward and Air Direction came out in early July.

HR Services: Distribution HR Support: As there have been concerns raised in the Region in reference to HR Support and the Distribution of this support, I requested a list of HR representative for each unit in Ontario. Jackie Lean, informed the committee that there is a list on the ADM (HR-Civ) site, that indicates clientele for each HR Representative. I however, expressed concern that this site wasn’t available on the internet, only the intranet and was informed that calls can always be made to the Service Centres and staff will direct the calls as appropriate. However, as I indicated to the committee, not all Bases have a Service Center on site and recommended that a HR visit schedule be put in place and be communicated in advance. Both Mr Lesch and Ms Lean said that this issue would be discussed at the next management meeting. Col Erickson also mentioned that he will engage management to encourage local HR rep visits more often. (Note: after a recent visit to Sudbury and Sault Ste-Marie, I have requested HR Support again be placed on the agenda)

Parking: Col Erickson informed the committee that the Area had not been consulted on the draft DAOD, and further indicated that the Area Commander is concerned about this issue and is watching this closely. I mentioned that the Union was also diligently working on this issue, and shared the fact that in comparing the old CFAO, to the new DAOD there was information missing and this has caused concerns. Col Erickson also elaborated that not all locations would be impacted, however, Armouries, CFC and the Downsview site served by TTC may be affected.

During the round table, the PIPSC Rep Brother Santerre, requested a copy of the Power Point Presentation that Mr Lesch referred to in is presentation.

The next meeting is scheduled for the 20 Sept 2007.

Debra Nadeau
UNDE VP Ontario