News - January 2010              Previous Month         Following Month

Headlines of the current month's news items are listed immediately below. Click on the headline of your choice to see the entire text of the article.

Concerns raised over Questionnaire regarding GL Review with AAFC

New issue of our Health and Safety Bulletin now available

Lack of political will undermining food safety inspection reforms: Kingston

Agriculture Union Human Rights Committee Logo Contest – Deadline is February 26

Health and Safety Addendums: What you should know

Agriculture Union donates $10,000 to Red Cross for Haitian relief

Concerns raised over Questionnaire regarding GL Review with AAFC

(Posted January 29, 2010)

It has recently come to our attention that our GL members at AAFC have received a questionnaire to fill out as part of the GL Review. This unilateral initiative was launched without consultation with the Agriculture Union GL Review working group.

We disagree with the employer’s use of a questionnaire instead of onsite interviews.
To add insult to injury, our GL members are requested to submit the completed questionnaire in a very short period of time.

At this time, we are advising our members not to hurry and fill out the questionnaire. The deadline will be extended while discussions take place at the national level to try and rectify this oversight.

As one can well appreciate, classification is a complex and tricky matter. GL members who don’t have and are not familiar with classification standards may run the risk of providing information that will simplify and downgrade their work descriptions.

We are asking that classification officers be available to assist members when filling out the questionnaire, should they feel they need it. If members have already filled out the questionnaire, we will be asking that they have an opportunity to review and amend the form if necessary.

Consultation is now taking place at the National level to work out a communication strategy to answer questions regarding the GL Review. Local union officers will be part of this strategy.

More information will be coming out in the near future.

New issue of our Health and Safety Bulletin now available

(Posted January 28, 2010)

The latest issue of the Agriculture Union’s Health and Safety Bulletin has now been sent to our Locals for distribution to the membership.

Copies can be downloaded HERE.

Lack of political will undermining food safety inspection reforms: Kingston

(Posted January 28, 2010)

The Agriculture Union and Canada’s largest consumer organization, Option Consommateurs, have given the Harper government a near-failing grade on efforts to ensure there will be no repeat of the infamous Maple Leaf Foods listeriosis outbreak.

A ‘report card’, issued January 27, gave the Conservatives a D-minus grade for their tepid response to recommendations from an investigator appointed directly by the Prime Minister. Half a year has passed since Sheila Weatherill handed in her report on the incident that cost 22 lives and sickened many more Canadians in the summer of 2008.

Precious little has been accomplished, Kingston said, on two critical recommendations: an audit to determine the number of inspectors required to ensure food companies are complying with food safety requirements, and an overhaul of the new inspection system – the Compliance Verification System, or CVS.

“Six months later, the federal government and the CFIA have yet to begin work on either of these key recommendations. An audit has not even begun and the CVS remains unevaluated. The inspector shortage is as acute as ever and we continue to be hobbled by an inspection system that is deeply flawed.

“The Canadian Food Inspection Agency efforts to improve have been hamstrung by the absence of political will and commitment to improve on the part of the federal government.”

The full text of our news release, along with the wide media coverage it garnered, can be viewed HERE.

Agriculture Union Human Rights Committee Logo Contest – Deadline is February 26

(Posted January 25, 2010)

Get out your pencils or get on your computer because the Agriculture Union Human Rights Committee is looking for a logo and all members in good standing are invited to submit their ideas.

All entries should be submitted to the Agriculture Union office and must be received by February 26, 2010. The winning entry will receive a totally cool Agriculture Union jacket and be recognized on our website.

All submissions should reflect the mandate and goals of the Committee which are as follows:

          • Our commitment to achieving equality for all members in the workplace and in our union by ensuring

               opportunities are available for Women, Persons with Disabilities, Racially Visible, Aboriginal and Gay,

               Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered members in all facets of our union activity.

          • Our commitment to ensuring our union is reflective of the diversity of our membership and to provide

               opportunities for these members to be involved in all levels of the Agriculture Union from the grassroots to

               our leadership.

Be creative, but keep in mind the following criteria:

          • Complement the Agriculture Union logo both in style and in coloring.

          • If any words or letters are incorporated, they must be formatted to ensure they are easily readable in

               varying logo sizes and can be translated into both official languages.

          • It is preferred that the English acronym ‘HR’ not be used since it is so readily identified with “Human

               Resources” and we wish to ensure our logo is clearly identified with the Human Rights Committee.

Health and Safety Addendums: What you should know

(Posted January 22, 2010)

Members who have been required to perform health and safety duties (outside of volunteering for workplace Health and Safety Committees) have now received their Health and Safety Addendums. These will become part of the work description for their positions.

Members have also been advised as to whether the added duties have changed the classification group and level of their position.

For the most part, these added duties will not change a position’s level as the technical knowledge and expertise required to perform them is not more than what is required of a senior technician at the EG-4 or EG-5 level. However, for a technician at a lower level, who is required to have knowledge and expertise to perform duties such as emergency response or to be a radiation safety officer, it may make the difference from one level to another.

As these duties will form part of the work description, a copy should be provided by management and should be reviewed to ensure they are accurate. If you filed a grievance in 2005-06 and this Addendum is not accurate, please contact either Sylvie Rochon (Quebec region) or Sylvia Prowse (rest of Canada) to advise what duties are missing and/or are not accurately described.

Members who did not previously grieve their Statement of Duties but now believe that the Health and Safety Addendum is not accurate should file a Statement of Duties grievance. Please contact your Local President to assist in this regard.

For members who believe that the knowledge and/or technical expertise required to perform these duties is higher than what is presently assigned to their point rating by factor, and their group and level remained the same, please contact your Local President to discuss the filing of a Classification grievance, if one has not already been filed. Don’t forget you have 35 calendar days within which to file a grievance from the day you receive the notification.

Agriculture Union donates $10,000 to Red Cross for Haitian relief

(Posted January 18, 2010)

Our union’s Social Justice Fund has made a $10,000 donation for badly-needed Haitian relief.

The donation, decided upon at a special meeting of the Agriculture Union Social Justice Fund Committee on January 18, is being sent to the Canadian Red Cross on behalf of all Agriculture Union members.

The vivid pictures and harrowing tales of death and suffering in Haiti have led to an outpouring of financial support around the globe unmatched since the Asian tsunami of December 2004.

The Agriculture Union is urging our members to make their own donations to the Canadian Red Cross. Such contributions can be made directly on-line HERE. Doing so will see your generosity doubled, as the federal government has announced it will match all individual donations up to a total maximum of $50-million.

If you are considering a donation to another Haitian relief charity, please be careful! Sad to say, there have been media reports of a number of questionable and outright fraudulent charities actively soliciting donations. Should you be unfamiliar with a group or organization soliciting funds for Haiti, the Canada Revenue Agency’s list of registered bona fide charities can be accessed HERE.