Toronto CS Sub-group Planning Meeting - November 26, 2018
Present:
Judy Chow (President)
Nuşin Brown (Secretary)
Bill Sukloff
Keshav Samaroo
Roy Philip
Yvonne Snaddon
Doug Powless
Kevin MacEwen
Absent: Ralph Leigh (Treasurer), Joanna Welby (VP), Karla Yelland
Welcome by Judy Chow at 6:00 pm
SSC Ombudsman Presentation: The SSC Ombudsman invitation was sent widely. Judy will ask Fernando if the invitation is for all stewards in Ontario. Bill will provide Judy with information about the EC building. Judy will ask Fernando to locate the SSC people at EC to ensure they receive invitations to SSC events.
CS Newsletter: We can inform members about courses offered by CSPS about furthering their career. Provide a link to courses and to EWSP. There will be 3 or 4 newsletters per year timed to give information about upcoming high profile events. Mention using the 2 personal days before fiscal year end.
Member Engagement: Doug will look into pricing to rent a movie theatre.
CS Group update: The CS AGM of 2019 will take place in Winnipeg to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the general strike. AFS Group will hold theirs at the same time as well to hold joint events together. Apply early to be a delegate if interested.
Bargaining update: Some EWSP items are still being negotiated. It may go into February. If EWSP cannot get certain important items, we can bargain for them. It takes a long time for new members to bank sick leave. EWSP will help them in case of illness.
Strong contracting out language is being worked on. The CS group checks on contracts of long duration. DND and SSC are the biggest offenders for contracting out. The contracting out committee questions departments and places grievances in abeyance when they notice new contracts. Contractors may be needed for new technology; however, they should train our members and leave when the job is done. CS employees should not be reporting to contractors. We want to see a reduction in contracts. If the reduction does not happen, the grievances in abeyance will be filed. The Gartner group said there is a recruitment and retention issue for the CS Group. We are trying to give Treasury Board a chance to talk to Deputy Heads.
Most of the big groups are being represented at the central table. They are bargaining main items for many groups such as economic increase, change to language on harassment, Family Day. Our representative is Rob Scott. We want pay parity with AFS CSs.
Meetings with Treasury Board for proposal exchange in 2019 will take place Feb 25-27, April 11-13, May 27-29. CS Bytes will be issued following each meeting.
PIPSC AGM Update: Professionals Canada was a big discussion item. They are like a union but mostly an association for contractors. We have an issue with contracting out. It was referred back to the Board to go through an advisory committee. PIPSC 100th anniversary is coming up next year. There is a Facebook group specifically for the AGM.
Treasurer’s report: The current balance for the Sub Group is XXX. This amount includes the Meeting Expense reimbursement for our last executive meeting.
The Sub Group had approved a contribution of XX towards the Legacy Foundation. Ralph requested PIPSC Finance to transfer the funds directly to the Legacy Fund but that has not yet happened. He will send a reminder to PIPSC Finance to action the request as it would be better to have the money come out of this year’s allocation.
Lunch and Learns: CSPS offers courses on resume writing and preparing for interviews. We can do a lunch and learn on grievances.
CS Promo items: We can order camera covers for laptops. Other possible items are mittens, socks, glasses and towels. If you are interested in an item, source it and get a price. Post your ideas with a link on Facebook to have your item voted on. Pierre Touchette was the one who had previously ordered the CS group lens cleaning cloth. CS Group 50th anniversary is upcoming in 2019.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 pm. Motion to adjourn made by Bill, seconded by Doug. Next meeting will be held at a location TBD in January.