Science Sector Union-Management Consultation
Committee Meeting

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

June 6, 2009

1:30pm to 3:30 pm

Peter Mitchell Boardroom

Record of Decision

Participants:

(See attached list)

1. & 2. Welcome and Review of Agenda

Wendy Watson-Wright, ADM Science, opened the Science Sector Union Management Consultation Committee (UMCC) meeting and welcomed participants. The ADM expressed appreciation to participants for their flexibility as the meeting dates were adjusted a number of times.

Participants were reminded that the UMCC Record of Decision (ROD) would be approved via email as previously agreed. The review and approval process of the ROD would first entail a draft being submitted to all participants for comment, a second revised draft would be shared and comments solicited once more, after which a final version would then be posted and all participants notified. A final copy of the ROD would be emailed to all UMCC participants. All participants concurred with this process.

UEW representatives asked for follow-up on action items from the November 13, 2008 meeting. The ADM agreed, and acknowledged that some of the previous agenda’s action items were going to be addressed during the meeting. The ADM asked that a table of action items be included as part of the ROD; participants agreed that this would be helpful in keeping track of action items.

Review of Action Items

a. Access to DFO IntRAnet

The ADM acknowledged that some effort had been made to improve access, and asked that the DG of IBM Jacqueline Goncalves speak to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) to resolve the issue before the next UMCC meeting.

b. Special Meeting to discuss EG 06 positions

The ADM noted that a meeting with the UEW was not held as agreed in the November 13 UMCC ROD, however suggested that one could be convened shortly. It was noted that the EG 06 issue would be addressed in some detail during the meeting. Union representative concurred with this next step.

c. Review of Grievances

UEW union representatives asked for information regarding a breakdown of the grievances for the Sector as noted in the November 13, 2008 UMCC meeting ROD. Participants were advised that Labour Relations Advisor, Irene Arkorful was aware of the request and follow-up on this action item would be done.

Action Item: Camille Jolicouer, Senior Labour Relations Advisor and Stéphanie Dusablon Labour Relations Officer agreed to follow up on this action item, as noted in the November 13, 2008 UMCC Meeting ROD.

d. SaL Statistics of Participants

It was noted that the information was shared with participants immediately following the November 13, 2008 UMCC meeting. Union representatives acknowledged receipt of the information.

3. Classification Update

The ADM opened the discussion by noting that progress was being made in the completion and implementation of the national model work descriptions; however more work was left to be completed, particularly in the development of variant work descriptions. The ADM also noted that the national organizational structure was being updated to reflect the implementation of the work descriptions appropriately.

BI and EG Models

The ADM provided an update with respect to the BI and EG National Model Work Descriptions, noting that the work was tedious but progressing. Audits for Newfoundland were currently on-going and Quebec would be released within the coming weeks. There were still a few outstanding audit files in each region that require completion in the coming weeks.

PC and CH Work Descriptions

The ADM advised that the OCCOE was completing concordance of the rationales and work descriptions in order to release them by mid-June.

UMCC members were told that once the work descriptions were released, managers would be asked to review their current workforce to determine positions that best matched the work descriptions. Participants were also advised that the Sector is working with the OCCOE to develop linking guidelines to assist managers with the process of applying the work descriptions, thus making the process somewhat smoother as they reflected lessons learned from the release of the BI and EG process. The OCCOE also advised that the PC and CH work descriptions would not include reference to the proposed classifications as it confused employees and falsely inflated expectations.

UEW representatives raised concerns about the timelines with respect to the linking exercise, specifically noting that the slippage in dates would have an effect on effective dates, particularly in the case of audits. Kim Crossland, OCCOE Senior Advisor and Team Lead Science, stated that employees would receive retroactive pay to the date that was indicated on the original classification action and submitted work description.

PIPSC representative shared concerns that because timelines had slipped a number of times in the past, their members were feeling frustrated about not knowing the status of the release of the PC and CH work descriptions and there was a general sense of negativity about the impending release. UEW representatives agreed with this perspective, and stated that they were not in favour of the implementation of National Model Work Descriptions generally because the expertise of their members, coupled with the regional variance made it difficult to balance the uniqueness of the work with organizational realities and structure.

The ADM noted the concerns but reaffirmed that the National models were a work in progress and that the organization structure needed to be harmonized in some manner.

PIPSC representatives followed this point by raising concerns about the creation of unique work descriptions, as it would undermine the efforts of the national models and cause employees to question the legitimacy of the models. The OCCOE acknowledged this issue and noted that for the most part, the variants were being created for the right reasons, and that unique work descriptions were being monitored very closely.

Sylvain Paradis, Director General, Ecosystem Science advised members that as the Functional Authority for Science he would appreciate knowing about specific cases being raised by members.

National Priority List

The ADM opened this discussion by acknowledging the efforts of the OCCOE in chipping away at the pending priorities for Science, noting that the Sector had, at one point, more than one thousand requests most of which were associated with the application of the national models. The most recent report showed the Sector with just over two hundred and fifty classification requests pending.

The issue of timelines in addressing cases was raised again by union representatives who noted that their members were becoming increasingly frustrated with delays in the application and/or development of work descriptions.

4. Labour Relations - Update

The ADM provided an overview of classification grievances for the Sector. The unions were asked to reserve questions about specific cases for their respective regional UMCC meetings.

The ADM noted that there are currently a total of 70 grievances (spread out across each region), 35 of which are related to work description grievances. Of the 70 grievances, 17 grievances were launched in 2009, and the remaining 53 are spread out over 2003 – 2008. There are 26 grievances awaiting adjudication, 17 of which are older than June 2006. 4 grievances have been scheduled for adjudication and should therefore be resolved by the end of June. Participants were advised that the Sector is currently working with UEW to try and establish a convenient date to address the Hydrographer’s work description grievances which currently account for 12 of the 26 Science Sector grievances awaiting adjudication.

Labour Relations Advisors Camille Jolicoeur and Stéphanie Dusablon mentioned that grievances launched between June 2003-2006 are all in adjudication and that there are no backlogs within the department.

The UEW raised questions about how job description grievances are processed. The Labour Relations Advisors clarified that the job content grievances are reviewed first to ensure that the language of the work is described correctly, following this it is sent for classification, then sent for determination of acting pay. It was further clarified that in cases reclassifications, acting pay is paid according to effective dates. UEW representatives asked for a more formal confirmation of this process.

ACTION ITEM: Labour Relations to provide an overview of how acting pay issues are resolved within reclassification situations.

4a. EG 06 Update from November 13, 2008 UMCC Meeting

The ADM provided a general overview of the EG 06 community within the Sector, noting that the Science Sector has undergone a number of organizational changes which entailed a review of it’s EG community and the positions. Participants were told that all EG 06 positions were assessed, and a plan of action was in motion to address remaining positions. Further, it was noted that in August, the Science management team would review a number of issues within its organization structure, one of which will include a review of the EG community.

For EG 06 positions outside of the OS-CHS structure, a number of options were pursued namely, 7 unique work descriptions would be created, 17 would be deleted once the position became vacant (either through retirement or departure); 1 national model Head Technology Support would be created to link to positions in Quebec and Pacific region, and possibly Maritimes region. Sherry Niven, Assistant Director, Science, noted that a number of positions were being deleted because they were vacant for some time.

Within the OS-CHS context, the Canadian Hydrographic Service implemented the Multi-Disciplinary Hydrographer (MDH) Career Program in the early 1990’s to better facilitate the delivery of products and services. An EN SUR 03 Engineering Project Supervisor work description was chosen as best representing the generic supervisor for both hydrography and cartography work units. An EG 06 Project Supervisor was created to accommodate those positions that did not need the engineering qualifications. Due to unforeseen delays in implementation several EG 06 Supervisors performed EN SUR 03 duties between the retroactive date of April 1, 2002 and the actual implementation date.

Employees of the EG 06 Supervisor group and level who met the education requirement and performed the duties according to the EN SUR 03 Statement of Merit were retroactively appointed at the EN SUR 03. A handful of EG 06 Supervisor employees did not meet the education criteria but claimed to have been doing work that was equivalent to the EN SUR 03 group and level. CHS management undertook an assessment of these employees and determined that several, though not all, EG 06 Supervisors were performing EN SUR 03 duties. Retroactive pay, including the terminable allowance, was made to EG 06 employees who were qualified and employees who also demonstrated (with confirmation from managers) that they performed the duties of an EN SUR 03 Engineering Project Supervisor (although they did not have the educational requirement).

The ADM also mentioned that a number of retired EG 06 employees have started to come forward to request compensation for duties believed to have been performed at the EN SUR 03 level. Savithri Narayanan, Director General, OS-CHS mentioned that a few employees who wanted to pursue the education requirements for the EN-SUR 03 were supported.

The ADM concluded the overview by re-emphasizing that OS-CHS management is paying careful attention not to assign EN SUR 03 Engineering Project Supervisor duties to EG 06 Project Supervisors unless needed, and in those cases employees will be appropriately compensated.

UEW representatives raised concerns that the generic job descriptions made it difficult to distinguish the differences between the EG 06 and EN SUR work descriptions, and employees had a number of questions regarding the differences. UEW members were advised that employee assessments were completed by comparing key requirements and work performed.

ACTION ITEMS: The ADM and DG, OS-CHS agreed that a meeting would be convened with employees to clarify the differences between work descriptions; the UEW would provide the names of employees. Also, the ADM agreed to meet with the UEW to discuss the review process used to assess EG 06 employees.

5. Public Service Employee Survey

A brief overview of the PSES results was shared with participants. It was noted that a complete analysis was not presently available but would be in the coming months. Overall, the Science Sector had a national response rate of 51.2%, and for the most part responses were positive. Participants were advised that a more thorough review would be completed by NSDC in August followed by the development of a workplan developed to engage employees, specifically, looking to get feedback about the areas where the Sector should focus its efforts. An all staff Sector meeting was being planned for Fall 2009 and would provide employees with an opportunity to discuss issues and next steps. The results of the survey would be used to inform revisions to the National HR Strategy.

6. Science Sector Reorganization

The ADM shared that the Science Sector undertook a multi-year strategic renewal exercise to ensure the activities of the Science Sector were properly aligned with the priorities of the department and government with a view to balancing capacity with commitments. Further, the requirements to manage, develop, coordinate and set in motion the Science Renewal exercise required a dedicated team. As the operating principles became more integrated into the Sector’s activities, efforts were being made to re-structure and streamline the Science Sector’s national headquarters’ organization.

As a part of this streamlining, the Science Renewal Directorate would be winding down. The Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) of the Science Renewal Directorate will formally become a part of the Ecosystem Science Directorate (ESD) and Strategic Science Outreach (SSO) would be amalgamated with the Integrated Business Management Branch into a new Science Strategy and Integration Directorate.

Participants were advised that the implications for Science employees in the regions would be minimal as the Science Renewal Directorate responsibilities would be distributed between Integrated Business Management and Ecosystem Science Directorate.

The ADM concluded this overview by recognizing the contribution and leadership of the recently retired Serge Labonte in the work of the Sector and Science Renewal.

7. Strategic Science Outreach – Presentation of On-Going Activities

The ADM introduced the presentation by recognizing the efforts of Strategic Science Outreach, noting that a number of compliments were given to the Directorate regarding the development of the website, tools and information.