New CFIA President not expected to impact PI Review

(Posted May 24, 2007)

The Agriculture Union met May 18 with CFIA representatives to discuss the PI Review and obtain any new information about its progress.

We also passed on the concerns, raised by our PI members, that the change in CFIA leadership might have a negative impact on the Review process.

While we were told some key decisions have yet to be made, CFIA is optimistic they will be made soon.

On the issue of leadership change, we were assured that the appointment of a new CFIA President will not affect the process.  Carole Swan, currently Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Industry, becomes CFIA President on June 4.

The new President has been made aware of the situation by the departing President and we expect that she will be fully brought up to speed shortly after taking over her new position.

We will keep members informed of any new developments through postings on this Web site.

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Grievances: Timing is everything

(Posted May 22, 2007)

When it comes to grievances, timing is everything.

A Public Service Labour Relations Board decision, reported last month, denied sick leave to one of our EG members at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on just this point.

The member had originally been denied five days of sick leave because he lacked a medical certificate.  Three months later, the employer granted two days’ sick leave when the member produced medical certificates for two of the five days claimed.

Then, a week later, the member filed a grievance against CFIA’s decision to deny him sick leave for the remaining three days.  During the ensuing grievance process, the member was granted a third sick day when he produced a massage therapist’s certificate and a doctor’s note.

The member and his union representative attempted to argue that his grievance should be considered ’alive’, and therefore timely, as long as discussions with the employer continued.

Throughout the grievance process, and at subsequent adjudication, the employer maintained the grievance was untimely.  The PSLRB agreed, finding that the employer’s decision to deny the remaining two days of sick leave was known to the applicant more than three months before he filed his grievance:

         “In this case, the 25-day limit to file a grievance started to lapse from the time of the employer's refusal

         on December 22, 2004, and not from the time when the applicant had amassed what he considered

         sufficient evidence to file a grievance. Except when the parties agree to an extension as provided by

         the collective agreement, the time limit to file a grievance is not unilaterally extended by an employee's

         attempts to convince the employer to reverse or modify its decision.”

The entire decision can be viewed at:

http://www.pslrb-crtfp.gc.ca/decisions/fulltext/2007-34_e.asp

The bottom line?  A grievance is only timely if it is filed within 25 calendar days of the member's awareness of the occurrence of the issue or event giving rise to the grievance.  Even where there are ongoing discussions with the employer around the issue or event, the grievance must be filed within the 25-day limit set out in the collective agreement to ensure its timeliness.  If discussions are ongoing with management, the grievance can always be placed in abeyance.

Respect grievance time limits. Don’t let the clock run out on your case!

Bargaining with Treasury Board under way

(Posted May 17, 2007)

Our bargaining agent , the Public Service Alliance of Canada, has officially kicked off the latest round of negotiations for our members employed by Treasury Board.

An official exchange of bargaining proposals between union and management was made in late April.  The PSAC’s proposals flow from two regional bargaining conferences and a national bargaining conference held over the past six months.  Agriculture Union members participated in these conferences, where delegates finalized bargaining demands and chose the members of the negotiating teams.

This marks the first time the PSAC has commenced negotiations before the contracts of all Treasury Board bargaining units have expired.

We strongly urge our members to keep up-to-date with these critical negotiations by clicking on the ‘Negotiations 2007’ logo on our main page.