January 20, 2021
Member Weekly Update – Edition #2
As communicated last week, CATCA will be providing weekly updates to the membership about ongoing Union business. Please find this latest edition below.
Last week we advised you of a number of grievances that were filed on behalf of the CATCA membership, including grievances related to job security and staffing. While CATCA had hoped to be able to report a response from the company by now, we have yet to receive even one. We hope that we will be able to report progress in that regard by next week’s update.
In addition to the grievances, CATCA has continued to push for answers since last week’s summary and sought to consult with the employer on a number of issues. Unfortunately, our requests continue to be, generally, to little or no avail. This remains extremely troubling in that where there had previously been some level of consultation and collaboration between the parties in the past, there is now only information-sharing at best.
As a result, the Executive Board (EB), in consultation with our in-house and external legal counsel, decided that it had no choice but to proceed with the Unfair Labour Practice Complaint previously mentioned. This complaint was officially filed at the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) yesterday and contains a number of allegations related to actions that have been taken by NAV Canada in the last months. It is important to note that an Unfair Labour Practice is not a grievance. Rather, it is a complaint to the CIRB that alleges that NAV Canada has interfered with the administration of the union and the representation of employees. The allegations filed are under the following headings: Level of Service Reviews and Improper Assignment of Bargaining Unit Work, Failure to Engage in Meaningful Consultation, Individual Consultation regarding Options and Interests with respect to letters of Vulnerability, Issuance of Deployment Letters, and National Leave.
While we wait for a response from the CIRB on the complaint, CATCA will continue to pursue other issues with the employer including staffing optimization and the so-called National Leave Policy as outlined above. If more grievances need to be filed, we will certainly be taking those steps as required and as advised by counsel. However, we continue to hope that NAV Canada will see the potential long-term damage resulting from the current climate and will seek to return to a more collaborative mode of working with CATCA.
Other updates
- Collective agreements are being prepared for shipment to all branches and facilities.
- Electronic voting for the RVP Central position will commence January 27, 2021 and close February 1, 2021, noon EST.
- Extensions of COVID schedules are currently being discussed without a conclusion at this time. Information will be communicated to the membership as soon as it’s available via a separate B&F if it does not coincide with the weekly B&F.
As we noted last week, we understand how difficult the situation is right now for many of our members. Your Executive Board continues to work to protect our member’s rights and jobs and will continue to do so. Should you require assistance, your RVP and Branch Chairs are available to you. EAP services are always accessible to provide support; click here or here.
On Behalf of the Executive Board;
Doug Best Scott Loder
President Executive Vice President
Click here for the PDF.