To: Roman Ruegg PSRC Chair Date: Dec. 16, 2003
From: Curtis Ballard PSRC Secretary
Re: TRIUMF P&S AGM
Present were: Guest Speaker – Jim Hanlon, members of PSRC Executive and members
First on the agenda was Jim’s power point presentation as the members were encouraged to ask questions. The overheads will be entered on the P&S website. The presentation was titled “Human Resources and Administration”. The purpose was to inform P&S members of the issues that HR were working on.
Highlights included:
PPR forms have been distributed to supervisors.
Q: “Who reviews the Division Heads?”
A: “Alan Shotter, and the Board of Management reviews him. Everyone at TRIUMF has a review”
Division Heads award merit increases based on PPRs, current level, # of dollars available and a comparison to other people in a similar position. The method seems fair.
This year supervisors will be notified if an employee is eligible for reclassification. There will be a notation (in bold) on the PPR form.
Q: “What about feedback to the employee?”
A: “That is the supervisors’ job. We need to do a better job of communication.”
Q: “What is the mechanism for Techs to be reclassified as P&S.”
A: “The best way is to get the job posted as a P&S position and have a fair competition.”
Q: “What about including all the reclassification information with the PPR for people who are eligible for reclassification. That way the division head can make a decision regarding the next step?”
A: “The supervisor should discuss the possibility of reclassification with the division head first as there is quite a bit of work to prepare for reclassification. We are thinking of having the reclassification meeting twice a year and that would alleviate some of the pressure.”
We are still considering Job Families, where people are paid for what they do rather than their position. We are hesitant to impose a system until it has been thoroughly considered.
UBC has approved a new sick leave plan for TRIUMF that is better for the employees and reduces the EI premiums paid by TRIUMF. Instead of accruing sick days, employees get a bank of sick leave based on time of service. The benefit is paid to the employee per sickness and EI will only kick in if the “banked” time per sickness is exceeded. This starts March 1, 2004.
Mandatory retirement is 65, but it may be changed to 67. TRIUMF needs a policy in place to allow retirees to work on a contract basis, yet we need to train and develop new young employees as well. The last day of the month you turn 65 is the last working day. There is a new supplier for retirement benefits called Green Shield which has unlimited coverage inside Canada for extended benefits and eye exams are included. The cost is about $60 per month for extended health and $80 per month for dental, which is isn’t really worth it as the limit is only $1500 per year. TRIUMF is locked into the UBC plan, but in the future it will probably include eye exams.
End of Jim’s presentation
AGM called to order at 12:00 – last year’s minutes of AGM on Dec. 12, 2002 were approved. Motion made by Stu Austin and seconded by Joe Chuma.
Discussion on Jim’s presentation:
The priority on pay increases is 1) scale increase 2) merit increase 3) career progress
As far as Job Families are concerned, we need a mechanism to pay people for what they do, however there is no reason to throw out the grid. We should make small changes to the existing system to improve it. The “families” seem to imply a cap on salary.
On the reclassification front, Roman has spent quite a bit of time discussing this with Jim. As it stands, there is very little feedback to the employee of what is required for reclassification or if the employee is even considered for reclassification. Jim is working with the Division Heads to improve communication between the supervisors, employees and management.
The new sick leave benefits start March 1, 2004 and this will greatly improve the situation for workers, especially older employees who have been at TRIUMF longer than 15 years.
Brian Evans brought forth a motion for the Executive Committee to investigate the idea of amending the constitution to allow the membership to elect 4 members at large for the Executive Committee each year for a two-year term and have them choose a chair, vice, secretary etc. Brian says that this has worked well in other committees that he has worked on, and it encourages new people to get involved. Klaus seconded the motion. The motion carried with one opposed vote by Stu Austen.
Nominations for Election:
Chair- Roman Ruegg , Vice Chair- Brian Evans & Curtis Ballard, Secretary – John Drozdoff and Members at large- Roy Moore, Rick Bloemhard and Josef Orzechowski. Ballots will be mailed and voting to start Dec.18 to Dec. 23. The ballot box will be located in the Badge room.