|
Previous Month Next Month
News - December 2006
The headlines for news items published during this month are listed below.
Click on the headline of your choice to see the entire text of the article
.
• NHWU helps fete third anniversary of Health Canada's
Internal Ombudsman Service
• Year-end Message from National President Ray Strike
• Employer promises end to foot-dragging
on SDA-II classification issue
NHWU helps fete third anniversary of Health Canada’s Internal Ombudsman Service
Posted December 19, 2006
NHWU officers and members recently marked the third anniversary of Health Canada’s Internal Ombudsman Service.
The Service is a neutral body that sees itself advocating for neither labour nor management. One of the very few of its kind inside the federal public service, it is a key point of contact in accessing the Department’s informal conflict management system.
The Service provides confidential advice to employees on addressing workplace issues – including recourse to the union and NHWU representatives. Every year, some 500 Health Canada and 70 Public Health Agency of Canada employees turn to the Internal Ombudsman Service.
The NHWU is fully supportive of the Service’s work. The above photo shows Claude Gagnon (second from left), one of our union’s Regional Vice-Presidents for the National Capital Region, sharing cake-cutting responsibilities at the celebration.
Year-end Message from National President Ray Strike
Posted December 18, 2006
The close of another year is once again upon us, a fitting time to pause and reflect on the events of the past 12 months, and to look ahead to new events and challenges.
Certainly the past year was as eventful as any I can remember. It was a year that saw the NHWU revitalize its image. A new logo, a new Web site and a new sense of collective pride signal that our union remains vital, forward-thinking and ever more committed to membership control.
An example of this renewed vigour is our NONService Canada campaign, launched to protect our members and the integrity of the Income Security Program and the valuable services it provides to the most vulnerable in society. The National Office provided our Locals with fact sheets, stickers and lobbying kits to spread our message both in the workplace and in the general community.
Our fight is far from over. However, we know we are having an impact. And that is to the credit of all those who have worked so hard on our campaign. We will be making renewed efforts in the New Year to arrive at a Service Canada that truly lives up to its name.
The year 2007 will see NHWU hold our Presidents’ Conference in Quebec City. This will give us an opportunity to learn from each other, to share ideas and continue to build our union.
Next year will also see the start of negotiations between our bargaining agent, the Public Service Alliance, and Treasury Board for a new collective agreement for federal public service workers, including NHWU members. The Harper government, if it is not voted out in a spring election, is doubtless intent on funding its tax cuts from the pockets of our members. Whatever the outcome of negotiations, it goes without saying that the more we stick together, the better the chance of making the gains we deserve.
The one large cloud hanging over the NHWU was ironically caused not by the employer, but by our bargaining agent, the PSAC. I refer to the announcement of a representation vote for our ISP members. As this is written, we are awaiting the report of an appointed tribunal investigating the issue.
I certainly don’t intend to end on a negative note. The past year has brought us too much evidence of the positive good the NHWU delivers for all our members, every day. As our newly-adopted motto proudly says on our Web site: Putting Members First!
Regardless of your faith, the holiday period is time for giving thanks and sharing what is best about our lives with family and friends. On behalf of the entire NHWU National Executive and National Office staff, I wish you all the very best.
Ray Strike
National President
Employer promises end to foot-dragging on SDA-II classification issue
Posted December 14, 2006
Continued efforts by the NHWU to resolve the long-standing SDA -II classification issue appear finally to be prompting the employer to take action.
A December 8 meeting with Phil Jensen, ADM of the People and Culture Branch of Service Canada, and other senior managers resulted both in an apology for the employer’s foot-dragging and a commitment to move forward to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.
The fly in the ointment remains the employer’s vision of what Service Canada should become.
It is abundantly clear that ISP SDAs do not fit the EI mould and the prospect of having ISP SDA PM-02s working in the front end is seemingly an insurmountable hurdle for management. And while the existence of one level of ISP processing staff who process complex and contentious issues at the PM-01 level is both logical and acceptable, this expedient option open to the employer is hardly fair or equitable.
While Service Canada may be touted as ‘new and innovative’, its staffing issues and problems are deep-rooted and have been compounded over the years by a lack of understanding of the ISP client base, and level of expertise needed to deal with those clients. Creating a cookie cutter approach to both staffing and service to seniors and the disabled has made the resolution of this issue much more difficult than it should be.
Nonetheless, we believe that Jensen's desire to close this matter is sincere, as the amount and intensity of input from ISP staff over the last several months has been mind-boggling. Correspondence from our ISP members has reached every level of government, from the Prime Minister's Office on down the line.
Management having agreed that the responsibility to conclude this matter falls squarely on the department, Jensen put forward suggested scenarios and perceived outcomes at the December 8 meeting. He was quick to note that no final decisions or direction has yet to be made by departmental officials.
There are issues around the April 2005 agreement and the May 2006 committee report that will need to be addressed by both sides. These issues are hampering a solution; however, decisions will be made shortly and any ramifications dealt with in due course and manner.
One other issue must be clearly understood – once the department has concluded their deliberations and decisions are finally made, Treasury Board still has to agree to ‘foot the bill’ for any fiscal ramifications flowing from the department’s final strategies.
On the positive side, we are no doubt finally reaching a conclusion to our 10-year struggle. The NHWIU believes that equity and justice will eventually prevail, and ISP staff will receive fair compensation and recognition for the work they have done on behalf of their clients and the department.
That said, it is indeed disappointing that, to date, we have not been able to explain our case and the background issues directly to the Deputy Head. It is still unclear to us if Mme Gosselin has a full and clear understanding of our position on ISP issues within Service Canada; or, if she relies solely on the information and direction left by her predecessor.
We will provide other updates as circumstances dictate.
|
