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AAFC EG Review: Hearing dates set for first weeks of May and June

'Work-life balance' latest topic to be added

to our KeyInfo information kit

AAFC EG Review: Hearing dates set for first weeks of May and June

(Posted April 30, 2008)

Dates have been set for the first weeks of May and June for the Agriculture Union to argue for resolution of grievances arising from the EG Review for technicians at AAFC Research Centres.

The hearings will deal with ‘expedited paper review’ of acting pay/effective date cases, and with the presentation of final-level arguments on work description cases.

Depending on the availability of employer representatives, it is hoped that additional hearings can be arranged throughout the spring and summer months.

Work Description Grievances

While the grievance procedure allows for final level presentation directly to the Assistant Deputy Minister of Human Resources, this would doubtless create a serious bureaucratic logjam that would delay completion of the EG Review.

Therefore, both parties have agreed that an Agriculture Union representative from the National Office will make the final level presentation to a committee that will advise the ADM whether to allow or deny the work description grievance.

This committee will include both labour relations and science people. Our Union has offered input regarding the selection of committee members so as to ensure that neither previously-involved classification staff nor 'unacceptable' science managers are involved. Our goal is to avoid the appointment of managers who have already addressed the cases and who may be in any way biased.

Should the committee intend to recommend denial of the work description grievance, the ADM has agreed that both the grievor and his or her Agriculture Union representative must be provided with the reasons for the rejection of our arguments. This will hopefully avoid the unexplained and seemingly arbitrary results that most of our EG members experienced at earlier stages of the Review.

Moreover, our new understanding with AAFC will provide us a further opportunity both to respond to the committee’s rationale and to persuade its members of the necessity of change. Should our arguments still be denied, we will then be free to trigger our right under the grievance procedure to meet directly with the ADM to press our case and to argue against the committee’s 'rationale'.

Should this appeal to the ADM then fall on deaf ears, there remains the option to refer our case on the work description grievances to adjudication at the Public Service Labour Relations Board.

Acting Pay/Effective Date Grievances

Apart from – but of course, closely related to – the work description cases, we have the 'expedited paper review' process aimed at allowing for fast settlement of the approximately 175 acting pay/effective date grievances.

A number of these grievances involve situations where the classification level issue may have been resolved but disagreement remained as to an effective date.

We will continue to keep our members updated as to the continued progress of the EG Review.

'Work-life balance' latest topic to be added to our KeyInfo information kit

(Posted April 29, 2008)

Feeling stressed and overworked is hardly a new experience for most of us. However, for Agriculture Union members, the imbalance between work and home lives has never been greater.

That’s why ‘work-life balance’ is the latest topic to be added to our popular KeyInfo information kit.

And while a hard copy has been sent to our Locals for inclusion in their KeyInfo binders, you can access this and nearly three-dozen other topics at any time by simply clicking on the link located on the right-hand column of our main Web page.