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Tony Geoghegan, A/Regional Director |
Jason McMichael, 4th National Vice President, CIU |
Opening:
Jason McMichael opened the meeting by welcoming all attendees.
Item: FB Conversion and Retro Payments (clarification for members)
The Union raised the issue that members are not only having difficulty reviewing their retro payments as cheques are being issued with OT, and weekend premiums included, but also want to ensure that the payments are correct in order that they not be in an overpayment situation.
Management explained that the Regions’ FB Conversion and Retro Payments are 100% complete and are not aware of any deficiencies in our Region. There are scenarios that are being prepared at the National level which show the calculations and how they were applied. It is expected that these scenarios will be posted on the intranet within the next two weeks.
If the scenarios are not posted by July 28th, the Regional Management team will have scenarios available.
Item: Niagara District policy on Compensatory Time – Cap on CT accrued
The Union raised the issue that after September 4th 2009, employees will no longer be able to accrue Compensatory Time(CT) in the Niagara District. The Union feels this date is arbitrary and violates the Collective Agreement(CA) as there is nothing in the CA which states this date.
Management agrees that Section 28.06 does not specify a date, however it clearly states that overtime will be compensated in cash unless CT is requested by an employee and agreed to by the Employer. In addition, managing leave is a major Management issue and the accrual of CT compounds the issue. The date was communicated to Staff in the Spring in order to allow employees time to prepare.
The Union reiterated that this is an issue for its members and suggested that allowing employees to take CT rather than cash may be beneficial to the Regional budget however the Union feels that to deny employees the ability to accrue CT is unreasonable, and affects the morale. Management should stop the approval of CT if there are not enough employees on shift rather than stop the accrual of CT. The Union did understand the denial of accrual of CT if there was too much CT in one’s bank and the employee would not be able to use the CT prior to the end of the fiscal year, however was not in agreement to the limiting of accrual based on a date.
Management explained that there is a challenge to meet the demands of discretionary and non-discretionary leave, which is being compounded by CT and also the ending of student BSO’s program. Management believes that the opportunity to grant the accrued CT will be limited. Employees were given significant notice to this change in order to prepare accordingly.
Item: Vacation Leave Guidelines
The Union feels that the guidelines were cloudy compared to the CA and that it would be counter productive to agree to something that is different than what was bargained for.
Management explained that the sprit of the Guidelines were in keeping with the CA. These guidelines were considered early in the fiscal year to try and put a plan into place to deal with leave. Management was in part preparing for future peak leave periods when they would have less resources, ie. No student BSO’s. There was push back from the Unions in certain areas of the Region and therefore Management opted to maintain the status quo for the granting of vacation leave. In the areas that the guidelines were accepted they were implemented.
It was agreed that both Union and Management would work together in the Fall to engage in talks regarding leave guidelines for the next fiscal year.
Item: “H’ing” on Statutory Holidays (Kitchener Airport)
The Union raised the concern that when “H’ed” on a statutory holiday, employees from the Kitchener/Waterloo airport are finding that they need to book vacation hours for time over and above a 7.5 hour shift. Members are concerned that they are using their vacation time in order to cover the extra hours.
Local Management explained that employees have several options available to them other than booking vacation. Management will allow them to make-up the hours at another time, that this is an administrative time balance issue.
Local Management indicated that they are open to the idea of looking at adjusting schedules and work with the Union for days that are impacted by statutory holidays. Management also agreed to ensure that it is not only the BSO’s that are being “H’ed” but that the number of Superintendents will also be reviewed.
Item: Union/Management Meetings/Consultations – Number of CIU representative in attendance
Management is concerned that when CIU is meeting with the RDG, local management is not always aware in advance as to who will be attending the meetings in order to adjust their schedules to accommodate the representatives being absent from the daily rotation. Management asked that CIU ensure that they indicate to HR when meeting with the RDG which members from CIU will be attending the meetings/consultations in order that the RDG may make local Directors aware of the CIU absences that have been authorized.
The Union agreed that this would not be a problem. The Union also expressed that bringing different CIU representatives was being done in part for training/learning purposes.
Management asked for a copy of the CIU delegation for the Fort Erie District. The Union said that would not be a problem but asked that Management show some flexibilities if someone is not available and a substitution is required.
Item: Joint Learning Program(JLP) on Anti-Harassment
Management indicated that there is funding available for a Joint Union/Management program on anti-harassment. This program will be delivered in the Niagara-Fort Region.
The Union supports this initiative and also raised the idea of having a JLP on Union/Management Relations. The Union indicated that GTA Region used the Union/Management Relations program and reported it as successful.
Management will look into both programs. Regionally will move forward with the anti-harassment program and will look into the Union/Management Relations program.
Item: Fort Erie District Timeliness of Minutes
The Union asked if they could bring a couple of items forward to this meeting as they did not receive the minutes in a timely manner from the LUMC.
Management apologized for the delay in the dissemination of the minutes and will endeavour to ensure that it does not happen again, and agrees to items being brought forward. Management also asks the Union to sign a copy of the last RUMC minutes as signed copies had not yet been received.
- VSSA Review: The Union is wondering when talks will begin. No talks to date.
Management agrees that all VSSA’s are being reviewed but they may not all be reopened. Neil Mooney agrees to meet with the local Union to begin the consultative phase. - Medical/Dental Appointments: The Union is looking for direction and policy on how this is being granted. Al Campbell to follow up.
- Refugee Processing Unit and Schedule Changes: Local Union feels that no consultation took place. Management explained that ongoing meetings have occurred between P. Taylor and T. Elia and the Union regarding this issue.
- Students not being paid for Officer Powers training: The Union provided the list of names and dates and has not heard back from Management. Al Campbell has received the names and dates and is looking into the situation.
- Union Office space: Union has not yet hear anything further on this issue. Neil Mooney to discuss with D. VanHelvert, as he has a couple of options.
- Student replacement strategy: The Union wants to see budget figures for 2008/2009 for the Port of Fort Erie. Management explains that the budget figures are such that overtime money is lumped in with salary, that the entire budget is received and it is all placed against all resources, including statutory holidays and overtime. The student replacement strategy has been ongoing for a couple of years and the Region has hired more BSO’s than attrition rates. As we increase our level of BSO, the need for OT shrinks as well. There were 220 new hires over last two years.
- Commercial Operations and Assignments: The Union is concerned that certain positions are normally rotational and that they are no longer and employees are not being given the opportunity to get those positions; it is inhibiting their career pathing. An example given by the Union is the ELO position. Neil Mooney agrees to look into this and get back to the Union
Round Table:
Libby Tiberi raised the following:
- VSSA agreement: A schedule has been in place in Hamilton for a new of years and the VSSA agreement has been presented to Anita Gray for review and signature. The Union is reviewing and will get back after discussion at the next meeting.
- Kitchener Airport lost some flights last month. New staff is nervous of the future, but Management has met with staff to give advise and project the further of KW. Business in Hamilton has increased.
Tony Geoghegan raised the following:
- SCONSAT visiting in the Region on Thursday the 16th of July.
- Statistics were given on the decrease in volume levels
- June 2009 traffic decrease of 16% Regionally, with 19% decrease at Rainbow; WHTI is a significant impact to these numbers
- Commercial traffic decreased by 24% in May; and a 15% decrease in June
- Buses have dropped by 35%
Dave Berardi raised the following:
- Protocols and procedures are being developed on how to deal with potential Duty Firearm incidents to complement current policies
- Working with VIA Rail in order to secure proper facilities to clear the train
Al Campbell raised the following:
- Regarding the Public Service Employee Survey, the Region are looking at ideas for how to address concerns, why we got the answers,we did to the questions and how to fix the situation. Management will be looking to the Union on plans on how to engage employees to address the issues. Jason McMichael would like the Region to develop something that the Union can jointly endorse on this issue.
Fred Milligan raised the following:
- Feels that at times QBT is working with low staff levels due to limits on overtime being called out which may compromise officer safety. He cited an observation that he made on a non-specific date the week prior as an example.
- Wants to know what can be done for CR’s. He has asked all his members to get a copy of their work descriptions. Many are out of date. Al Campbell indicates that the distribution of the work descriptions should be completed by mid-August
Dave VanHelvert raised the following:
- Union would like to be included or have a representative from the Health and Safety committee participate in meetings between Management and the PBA in discussing the procedures for clearing buses for Bills games. Neil Mooney to follow up with Dave
Stuart Sanderson raised the following:
- Clarification was being sought to a sentence contained in recent letters of offer. The letters state that the employee has been hired by the Region but that their first assignment would be a particular location. The Union wanted clarification of what that meant if an employee moved work locations. Management assured the Union that employees will receive any CA entitlements. Jason McMichael agreed that he has seen the wording in other Regions and felt the wording was introduced post 9/11 to provide greater flexibility in resource distribution. Tony Geoghegan re-iterated that all entitlements would be extended to employees as per their situation or scenario.
Next meeting
The next meeting was proposed for the 2nd or 4th week of October in Niagara Falls.
Anthony Geoghegan |
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Jason McMichael, 4th National Vice President, Customs and Immigration Union |
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