2019 AFS AGM - CS Regional Report

Collective Bargaining

After signing a collective agreement on March 29, 2018, the AFS Negotiation Team began to work on the next round of bargaining.  The Negotiations Team held prep meetings in March, May, June, July, August and September along with a bargaining meeting with the Sub Group Presidents and IT Region Presidents in conjunction with the AFS AGM.

The Negotiations team exchanged proposals with the Employer in September and meet with the Employer in October and again in November with 2019 meetings scheduled for February, March and late April early May. 

It is the goal of the Negotiations Team to reach a fair and equitable deal for all AFS members.

Term to Perm Conversion

In December 2018, it was announced that ITB would be performing another term too perm conversion with the completion scheduled for the end of fiscal.  Several term employees were converted to permanent employees as a result.

Staffing

Staffing continues to be a concern with IT in the regions.  I will continue advocate for additional staffing for regions and bring the concerns on staffing received from the field to the attention of senior management.

Also, it should be noted that the Employer has begun a “staffing overhaul” initiative in an attempt to improve staffing across the Agency.  The AFS Group has two representatives as part of this initiative:  Shawn Gillis, the AFS Ontario Region Representative and Steve Parent, the AFS Quebec Region Representative.

Calls with IT Region Presidents

Over the course of 2018 I have hosted several calls with the IT Region Presidents to provide updates from the National Executive on bargaining and other issues and to hear the concerns from the CS members in the regions.  These calls have been very beneficial to provide accurate information to the membership and to escalate concerns to Senior Management.

CS Regional Consultation

I met with Michel Bastien, Director General of CCSD in May and again in November to discuss concerns coming from the regions.  I canvass the IT Region Presidents for issues and/or concerns for discussion to bring as agenda items.

Through these meetings I was able to achieve solutions on equal overtime pay for shift work on a holiday, ensuring that Director’s brief the IT Region Presidents when announcements/changes are coming, along with being notified of upcoming staffing processes in the Regions.  I take this information and share it with the IT Region Presidents. 

In closing I would like to thank my IT Region Presidents and their IT Zone Representatives for their support in the past year.

Respectfully Submitted,

Emmanuel “Manny” Costain

AFS CS Regional Representative