Memorandum
From: Claude Danik, Executive Director
Subject: Financial Incentives Plan extended for another year
March 27, 2006
CAPE, management of the Translation Bureau and Treasury Board have reached an agreement to extend the Financial Incentives Plan for the 2006-2007 fiscal year, with no major changes.
After several preparatory sessions, the CAPE committee brought to the bargaining table a number of issues raised by members in a survey conducted in December.
Despite protracted discussions regarding the ceiling and other key aspects of the FIP, no significant changes could be agreed upon. However, solutions were worked out for some irritants in the application of the Plan. It was also agreed to pursue the discussion of some issues away from the bargaining table.
The changes in the FIP may be summed up as follows:
1. The charge applied to dictated work under paragraph 21 of the MOU has been eliminated; management intends to encourage dictation.
2. Despite the employer’s claim that the FIP is not workable in the parliamentary section, it will be extended to this section for 2006-2007 fiscal year. A joint committee will be mandated to undertake a detailed review of the application of the FIP in the parliamentary section.
3. Following lengthy discussion of the elements in TRs’ work that contribute indirectly to the incentives (revisions, quality control and so on), it was decided to strike a committee to examine the issue and prepare a report on the subject for the next round of bargaining.
4. To remind the parties of the obligation to anticipate problems in the application of the FIP, and to address them promptly, a definition of “Steering Committee” has been added to the MOU. It was agreed that the parties will pay special attention to the production of reports, which was particularly difficult in 2005-2006, with the major changes in the plan that had been negotiated in February and March 2005.
5. Another new paragraph defines the process of addressing problems that are not the responsibility of the Steering Committee, but which affect the value of the plan to CAPE members.
6. The parties have agreed to pursue their discussions regarding the urgent problems at the Privy Counsel Office and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade at union-management consultation committee meetings.
7. The parties have agreed to work together on the preparation of a document explaining the principles of the FIP and its main operating features. The parties will also organize information sessions.
8. Retroactive application of some administrative decisions will be considered by a Steering Committee.
As negotiator, I would like to thank the members of the FIP Negotiating Committee as well as the CAPE staff members, without whose help it would not have been possible to prepare for the bargaining table and bargain with the employer to reach what I believe is the best possible agreement given current circumstances.
My thanks go to Caroline Leclerc, Stephen Mullen, André Picotte, Claude Poirier and Isabelle Rochon, who devoted many hours of work and thought to protecting the interests of their TR colleagues. I also wish to thank Sylvie Richard and Liana Griffin, as well as Hélène Paris, for their contributions. Lastly, my thanks to all the TR members who responded to the survey and thus gave direction to our negotiations.
Memorandum of Understanding between the Treasury Board of Canada and the Canadian Association of Professional Employees:
Financial Incentives Plan for the Translation Bureau
From: Claude Danik, Executive Director
Subject: Financial Incentives Plan extended for another year
March 27, 2006
CAPE, management of the Translation Bureau and Treasury Board have reached an agreement to extend the Financial Incentives Plan for the 2006-2007 fiscal year, with no major changes.
After several preparatory sessions, the CAPE committee brought to the bargaining table a number of issues raised by members in a survey conducted in December.
Despite protracted discussions regarding the ceiling and other key aspects of the FIP, no significant changes could be agreed upon. However, solutions were worked out for some irritants in the application of the Plan. It was also agreed to pursue the discussion of some issues away from the bargaining table.
The changes in the FIP may be summed up as follows:
1. The charge applied to dictated work under paragraph 21 of the MOU has been eliminated; management intends to encourage dictation.
2. Despite the employer’s claim that the FIP is not workable in the parliamentary section, it will be extended to this section for 2006-2007 fiscal year. A joint committee will be mandated to undertake a detailed review of the application of the FIP in the parliamentary section.
3. Following lengthy discussion of the elements in TRs’ work that contribute indirectly to the incentives (revisions, quality control and so on), it was decided to strike a committee to examine the issue and prepare a report on the subject for the next round of bargaining.
4. To remind the parties of the obligation to anticipate problems in the application of the FIP, and to address them promptly, a definition of “Steering Committee” has been added to the MOU. It was agreed that the parties will pay special attention to the production of reports, which was particularly difficult in 2005-2006, with the major changes in the plan that had been negotiated in February and March 2005.
5. Another new paragraph defines the process of addressing problems that are not the responsibility of the Steering Committee, but which affect the value of the plan to CAPE members.
6. The parties have agreed to pursue their discussions regarding the urgent problems at the Privy Counsel Office and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade at union-management consultation committee meetings.
7. The parties have agreed to work together on the preparation of a document explaining the principles of the FIP and its main operating features. The parties will also organize information sessions.
8. Retroactive application of some administrative decisions will be considered by a Steering Committee.
As negotiator, I would like to thank the members of the FIP Negotiating Committee as well as the CAPE staff members, without whose help it would not have been possible to prepare for the bargaining table and bargain with the employer to reach what I believe is the best possible agreement given current circumstances.
My thanks go to Caroline Leclerc, Stephen Mullen, André Picotte, Claude Poirier and Isabelle Rochon, who devoted many hours of work and thought to protecting the interests of their TR colleagues. I also wish to thank Sylvie Richard and Liana Griffin, as well as Hélène Paris, for their contributions. Lastly, my thanks to all the TR members who responded to the survey and thus gave direction to our negotiations.
Memorandum of Understanding between the Treasury Board of Canada and the Canadian Association of Professional Employees:
Financial Incentives Plan for the Translation Bureau