APPEN=
DIX H
Report
of the National Executive Vice-President
The last six months have been focussed heavily on
collective bargaining, the split in the departments, and staffing.
The decision of Mr. Martin on December 12, has had=
an
impact on the members, elected officers, on how we do business and whom we =
do
business with. It has created=
many
challenges that Jeannette and I have worked through and will continue to
address during the upcoming months.
In the meantime work continued around Health and
Safety. At C&I we con=
tinue
to meet. The boot policy has been put on hold until the final decisions are made. They will revisit who wi=
ll be
entitled to repayment and the amount of payment. It remains as an outstandi=
ng
item. We are in the process of setting up a National Health and Safety Policy
Committee at CBSA. I would like to thank Janina Lebon for all of the insight
and knowledge that she brings to the table.
At SD and HRSD the decision has been to remain as =
one
committee until we get a legal opinion. The issues remain the same as we
continue to pressure the department for a Scent Free policy or guidelines. =
To
date we have managed to get them to agree to an awareness campaign that will
assist in creating a better and cleaner working environment for our members=
. We
are still waiting for the job analysis of the I&C officer position. This
will be ready for our next meeting.
We have had a long battle with the HRDC in regards=
to
the payment of travel expenses for the members representing the Union. HRDC=
has
refused to pay any travel for the union representatives that are part of th=
is
committee. The Unions postponed the NHSPC meeting that was scheduled in
December until an agreement had been reached. In January we were able to re=
ach
an agreement on piloting thre=
e (3)
meetings to explore the use of teleconferencing both financially and for
effectiveness.
The HRDC Disability Management working group devel=
oped
a policy on Return to Work that will clearly establish the procedures for
members returning to the work place following a period of illness. This pol=
icy
should be in place within the next six months. It will be a tool that will
assist union stewards and members achieve a successful return to work of our
members.
2
The National Women’s Committee contin=
ues
to work on the conferences planned for 2004 and 2005. The Ontario and the
Atlantic Regional Women’s Committees invited me to take part in the
planning of their regional conferences. I would like to thank them for this
opportunity as I find this work exciting, challenging and rewarding. I am l=
ooking
forward to these conferences and I am pleased to be able to facilitate part=
of
the conference. I was able to attend the Western Women’s Conference in
Vancouver. The agenda was very thought provoking and the action plan is one
that members will be able to take part in. As always it was great to be par=
t of
this conference as it was like going home. There are still ongoing planning=
and
decisions to be made for the National Women’s Conference and I will
assist the Women’s Committee wherever possible.
The HRRR Committee met to plan the HRRR
Conference that will be held in Edmonton in September. The call out letter =
has
just been sent and I ask that you encourage your HRRR members to self-ident=
ify
and apply for this conference. They continue to work on the video and are
planning to launch it at the HRRR Conference. This committee is great to wo=
rk
with and would like to thank them for their dedication.
The CLC UI Committee will help us launch the
latest version of the EI-EI-OW. We will be printing a limited amount for
distribution, it will be available on our web site and a notification will =
be
sent out through the CLC to advise interested parties that it is now availa=
ble
electronically. This committee continues to work on campaigns in relation to
the EI program.
The Joint CEIU/OPEIU Employment Equity Mentoring
Program is completed for 2003. We mentored two members at the Union Officer level. Both did very well =
and we
will be able to call on them for back up if needed. More importantly they w=
ill
be able to successfully compete on positions that become available in the
future. We have started the process for 2004. We had twelve (12) applicants=
and
were able to qualify six (6.) We will be offering positions to three (3) of=
the
six (6) members starting in May.
Staffing of the RUOs
have been completed in several of the offices. We have extended the term Ad=
min
Assistant position in Moncton=
until
the end of 2005. The Union Officer position in the National Office has been
filed with a new staff member starting on March 29. I would like to welcome
Fred Sadori to our organization and hope that you will take some time to me=
et
him before you leave. The staffing in the Vancouver office has been complet=
ed.
We have Lovina Zwarich joining us as a part time Admin Assistant and Kathy
Sands as the Union Officer. These are term positions until the end of 2005.=
3
CEIU/OPEIU collective bargaining=
has reached the tentative agreement stage. We will need to wait for the res=
ults
of the OPEIU ratification vote to determine if further negotiations will be
required.
Collective bargaining
and membership mobilization has started to take more of my time as I
prepare to take an active role in the upcoming campaign to encourage our
members to vote YES. I have attended the collective bargaining conferences =
in
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Headquarters and Ontario. The Ontario Collective
Bargaining Committee invited me to be part of their planning session. They =
have
included me as a guest speaker for several of their strike meeting in the
Ontario Region. I will also be available for Headquarters strike meetings.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the=
staff
in the RUOs and here at the National Office for their continued dedication =
and
support. There are days that they achieve the impossible and this union
continues to work well because they do.
Travel in the near future:
April
14 and 22 &nbs=
p; Local
638 Toronto &n=
bsp; Strike
vote
April
15-19 &n=
bsp; =
; Vancouver &=
nbsp; BC
Presidents’ Conference
April
23-26 &n=
bsp; =
; Vancouver &=
nbsp; CIC
Conference
April
30-May 2 =
; Edmonton &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Alberta
Presidents’ Conference
May
13 to 16 =
; =
Fredericton &=
nbsp; N.B.
Presidents’ Conference
June
3-6 &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Charlottetown &=
nbsp; Atlantic
Women’s Conference
In solidarity,
Janet Letwinka
National President