Toronto ECCC Branch Executive Meeting Minutes Q4 2023
October 3, 2023
Attendance:
Executive:
Andrea Darlington, President
Bill Sukloff, Vice-President
Qian Li, Secretary
Diane Pendlebury, Member-at-large
Michael Wheeler, Member-at-large
Balbir Pabla, Member-at-large
Guests:
Waheed Khan
Paul Makar
April White
Helen Yang
Kim Laird
Dae Il Jeong
Andrea welcomed Waheed Khan to the meeting. Waheed is President of the PIPSC National Consultation Team for ECCC.
Waheed:
- reaching out to the new DM on the topic of respect in the workplace, and the annual respect day.
- purchase of visibility items is no longer available on the PIPSC web site. Waheed will talk to the PIPSC President about it.
- Asked for suggestions on visibility items that would be valued by members
- Paul suggested a large biodegradable pin that could be worn by members but is visible during video meetings.
April: Canada Water Agency (CWA) is being created. Staff have concerns about career progression. In a similar situation, if you're with the Impact Assessment Agency you're excluded from internal ECCC staffing processes. Is there union engagement about career progress at CWA? Can CWA staff be included in ECCC jobs postings? Waheed: the unions were briefed on the CWA but not provided details. Thank you for raising the issue about career progression. This will be raised at future consultation meetings. Also, members should raise these issues at your all staff meetings so the message is amplified. April: now would be the time to ensure this issue is addressed in the legislation. Waheed: it's management discretion. They could include Agencies in job posting if they wish. April: department's mandate is increasing. Is HR keeping up with the increase workload and complexity in staffing? Waheed: it's an ongoing challenge. Waheed had another appointment so he left the meeting.
Previous minutes are in the OneNote File.
Updates from the Ontario Region Stewards Council. Training sessions such as working with difficult people. Bill appreciated the networking opportunity. Helen is a steward in waiting, and benefited from the experience and is looking forward to the official basic training required for being a steward. Key legal decisions, led by an ERO, describe a few important cases on grievances decided by the Public Service Commission.
Andrea: PIPSC will be offering training to Constituent Body Executives, possible next year. Andrea will attend the pilot training session next week.
Michael: SP tentative agreement, details are on the PIPSC web site. It's a 4 year contract.
April: issues with pay, some people are receiving letter asking for a decision within 30 days. It can be issues from years ago. It's a stress than hangs over your head. Andrea/Bill/Michael: raise the issue with management. Use the form on the PIPSC web site for reporting issues. Members experiencing financial hardship or undue stress can reach out to Waheed for help. Andrea provided two links: Recovery process for Phoenix overpayments – FAQs | The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (pipsc.ca), Ongoing Phoenix pay issues | The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (pipsc.ca)
Michael: limit on how long employer is required to keep pay stubs. PIPSC recommends all members keep a copy of their pay stub in case issues arise years later.
Andrea: Can investigate whether you are entitled to compensation if you have had significant Phoenix issues related to the agreement that was signed in 2019 for Phoenix damages
Andrea: date of Branch AGM: December 6, 2023.
Meeting ended at 1:30pm.
Next meeting is Nov. 3, 2023
November 3, 2023
Attendance:
Executive:
Andrea Darlington, President
Bill Sukloff, Vice-President
Qian Li, Secretary
Michael Wheeler, Member-at-large
Absent:
Diane Pendlebury, Member-at-large
Balbir Pabla, Member-at-large
Guests
Helen Yang
MarieClaude Archambault
Dennis Wintjes
Kulbir Banwait
Dae iL Jeong
Agenda:
- Acceptance of the Agenda
- Review of previous Minutes (no minutes)
- Business of the day
- PIPSC AGM resolutions - review
- Roundtable
- Next meeting
Andrea: Previous minutes were sent to PIPSC for posting.
Canada Life—still ongoing issues. CBC had a few stories on the impact on members.
Dennis said that if you call after 2:00pm the system hangs up. If you call at 8:00am you can wait for 4 hours and possibly speak to someone. However, they no progress was made on the claim.
IT Group information sessions on tentative agreement, and for the SP Group, occurring next week. Pizza and pop will occur in the meeting room at Downsview.
Possible information session on Duty to Accommodate.
Branch AGM scheduled for December 6, 2023. Agreed to ask Waheed Khan to be the guest speaker.
PIPSC AGM resolutions. The participants discussed the dues increase.
Helen: unassigned seating. Some lockers are for day use, others are assigned. Assigned are for people who work on the second floor. MarieClaude: CWS are on the 2nd floor. Questions on etiquette. When do you go to a quiet room? Monitors were hard to adjust. No avenue for feedback.