Looking back and looking forward...

I have intentionally waited a few days since this posting due to members asking me many questions regarding the emergency meeting and what my stance is on the HPro3, version 2, issues and ramifications.

I still maintain that the members have to read and use the new protocol for what it is intended to do:

• To get all workers on one protocol so we can normalize relations at each local site,
• To show the amount of overtime to eventually negotiate immediate triggers to create jobs for fixed-term(unclassified) staff,
• To take all of our member's barriers in signing up for overtime into account as we keep negotiating the terms of the protocols,
• To keep moving the protocol past what is already in any agreements, both locally and beyond our provincial agreement.
• To move us past the first version of HPro3.

I can appreciate that members want a great protocol in the end.

I am confident that the new version is better than the first version of HPro3 and that the end result will be better than the local hiring protocol.

As far as the need for job actions and what we should do next, I would propose a motion to withdraw availability for overtime to attain an agreement to rollover all our staff and have a real complement increase to reflect staffing needs.

Would you?

In solidarity, Emidio.

What Is KAROSHI?

I ran across an interesting article in the newspaper.

KAROSHI is a Japanese term for death by too much work. The problem is highlighted by the following reactions:

• a national hotline to report it
• self help books to handle it
• a law to funnel money to the widow and kids of someone who dies for the good(??) of the company they work for if they die of overwork.

A ruling in the Aichi prefecture by the Labour Bureau ruled that a 45 year old man died of too much work. In the six months before his death of heart failure he was putting in up to 114 hours a month of overtime.

Does overtime kill? Hard to say for sure, but...

According to the Japanese government's 2007 statistics on claims for death and disability, of the 2207 work-related suicides, the most common reason in 672 cases was listed as overwork.

It is a wonder that when there is paid work available that we are still trying to convince the employer that we need more members to be full time.

In solidarity, Emidio.

Hpro3 information and general comments

The last week has been interesting and quite a shock to me from what I perceived as finally putting some issues to rest. Namely, having copies of agreements posted on the walls of the workplace portraying me and union members with quite unflattering language for the voluntary work we do.

I am unsure if the sentiment is due to being sore at my reelection or purely a personal need for an unsigned document to affect change but it has been duly noted and is under review.

Whatever the reason I don't believe I or any other member would support being referenced in those terms. In a union, we are supposed to be working as a team. I wonder if those members who are distributing their opinions and foul display of the language really understand the agreement they are criticizing and the people they are attacking, as it isn't just me they criticize. I write freely to you now, and, if I write it down on paper, I sign it. I stand behind it.

So, further to that, I advise the members to keep an eye out on the OPSEU website for an upcoming issue of Locktalk. It will address the hiring protocol from a global view.

From a local view, I wish to clear up some misconceptions and put some issues to rest.

1. The protocol is a standard for the province and is being refined and revisited quarterly by the union and the employer. The changes will be negotiated provincially. Some issues may be locally permissible,if the employer agrees, after the roll out and testing of the system.
2. It is still based on signing onto a computer and picking your availability.
3. Hiring is based on hours already accumulated, least first with respect to classification.
4. The computer still displays who is next. The manager can make an exception in certain cases. This will generate a report that will be available to be viewed by the Local President and/or their designate and is for grievance disclosure.
5. The entries are now supposed to be done in real-time, not two days after the fact.
6. Shift hires will be done in advance so you can plan your life and members who are taking one shift and trying to come in for something other than that shift without being totalled correctly should be stopped. That allows for true equality of distribution as the hours totals should be in order.
7. The new protocol is supposed to be easier to use and the employer shouldn't be making mistakes.
8. The new Hpro3 has a wait time between calls which differs from the original Hpro3.
9. The protocol is still able to be viewed by members to see if they were bypassed.
10. The new protocol allows for a change to availability from the local standards down to eight hours.
11. The new protocol allows for a four month sliding scale, not a six month total.
12. There is no penalizing for a message left, only for a true declining of an opportunity.

The Local, and OPSEU's MERC, still contend that all grievances seek the remedy that the LEE decision set out. We are not interested in a shift down the road as compensation as it creates a further issue for another person's opportunity.

Members who have concerns that the protocol isn't the same as the local version need to be aware that the employer would not agree in whole to the local version.

In fact the original Hpro3 was imposed after the MERC withdrew from it. The efforts from our Local and the efforts from outside our Local brought some weight to bear to bring the protocol to where it is today. As a group we are moving to where we wish to go with this putting aside the need to bring political animosity into the mix. I am also dismayed at the contempt that members are putting on our unclassified staff and making them feel like they are interfering in people getting overtime. They are members who have rights as members and the unclassified staff don't even have a true schedule and job to rely on.

I challenge the members to look at job creation for those members as our focus, as there is overtime over and above the numbers needed to create those jobs.

In response to the desire for some members to talk further an emergency meeting is scheduled for Monday July 21st, 2008 at 2015 hrs at the Milton Membership Centre. The address is 42 Bronte Street South, Unit A10. The agenda is as follows;

1. Call to order
2. Statement of respect
3. Opening statements by President
4. Invited guest, MERC chair
5. Hpro3 discussion
6. Adjournment.

In solidarity, Emidio.

Rollovers and HPro3

The place is full of questions on these two issues. The following answers should clear them up.

ROLLOVERS

The reason it is posted as a competition is to satisfy the process of filling the positions from an administrative point of view. The jobs have a file number attached and the posting states the positions will be filled as per the appendix 24 language. It is a rollover as per the MERC agreement stated.

In a nutshell, the amount of straight-time hours combined with a response of wanting to be considered for the position is the way they will be filled, up to eleven positions.

I am contacting the members who are most likely affected to let them know what is happening.

HPro3

The protocol is being implemented locally and member concerns over some issues are being addressed. The protocol is a new benchmark for the CO's across the province and many improvements can still be adopted as time goes on, but, for now, the version is going live. Some members are confused that it is the older HPro3 and I am stressing to the members that they need to read the new version to see it is not. If you want to work overtime, please practice the new version.

Please be aware that the protocol has quarterly review meetings to discuss changes that the employer and/or union wants to discuss. Please forward the issues to me and hopefully we can negotiate the best practice for the future.

Finally,
As a side note, on the topic of overtime, I hear different takes on the issue.
As a rule, I don't negotiate for more overtime.
I won't advocate for members to come to work more than their schedule dictates.
I advocate for full time positions to fill vacancies and create jobs for the members who are waiting to be rolled over.
Looking at the members who are unclassified and working over 40 hours a week proves deficient staffing practices that need to be addressed by job creation, proper relief in the schedules and time-off entitlements in the schedule.
As a matter of cautioning the members I have to state...

Overtime is not a guarantee under our collective agreement.

I am concerned for members who are counting on the present reality of having plentiful overtime being a permanent reality.
It may last a while longer.
If it does, great for those that want it, but, think of what you can do if it isn't.
With bargaining on the horizon and the recent audit of the complex, anything could happen, and it usually does.
I feel obliged to raise the issue, as a matter of importance for those that may not be aware of the possibility of a pay without overtime.
Some members have expressed the notion that the employer has to ensure overtime because they created this environment. I don't know where that is written in law and it is shaky ground to stand on as an argument.

Perhaps we should adopt a full-time jobs only attitude as we all do the same job.
We would all line up for fair and equitable distribution of overtime if you want it.
We wouldn't have a 40 hour threshold for unclassified staff to stress them out.

I wonder if we can focus on that for the next two years? I think it is worth it.

In solidarity, Emidio.

Weekly happenings

There are some new developments to announce today, so let's get to it...

1. Eleven members are slated to be rolled-over as per the recent job posting. These are all being done as per Appendix 24 of the C.A. and do not involve transfers.
2. There is a new HPro3 protocol being implemented that mirrors the demands that we forwarded after the voluntary overtime withdrawal. Please take the time to read and use the new version. It is an important agreement for all C.O.'s and is closer to the HPro2 we currently use.
3. I am forwarding our condolences to the family and co-workers of Curt Bishop, a C.O. at the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre, and, the co-chair of the Provincial Joint Health and Safety Committee for the worker side. Curt and I worked side by side on the committee. He was a a great help and ally and wanted to understand our issues at the superjails. He was warm and jovial and welcomed me as a team member from the start. I will miss him.
4. Some members are asking me about elections two months after the fact, and, sincerely, I am stunned that this issue is still out there. There is no plan to hold elections again and OPSEU has confirmed with me that there is no issue regarding the way the election took place or the results. They are not coming to hold them over and are satisfied with the way we conducted our elections.
5. Canada Day came and went and I hope you and your family enjoyed the day!

Once again, I hope to have more news for you as time and space permits. Take it EZ.

In solidarity, Emidio.