Mixed messages from Service Canada on the Transfer List

During the past two weeks Service Canada has notified programs staff as to whether they are on or off the transfer list to the province and what the post-transfer structure will look like at the department.

Understandably that news generated many questions from the members. Reasonable questions on what was considered, who made the decisions, and what flexibility is there now for changes to the transfer list. The union has been asking those same questions and has used your feedback to illustrate the mixed messages from the employer thus far.

The employer contends that these decisions have been a blend of ‘art and science’. Anyone trying to pin that down, be it the union or you asking your management directly, comes away with a murky picture.

The employer had contended that our members can bring their individual concerns to their directors and that exchanges (changing places with someone who was not selected) would be considered on a case-by-case basis. But that is not what we are hearing from many of our members and this has seriously eroded our confidence in the employer’s statements.

In the massive 1995-98 downsizing of the federal public service, the employer allowed exchanges between those who wanted to stay and those who wanted to leave. That system worked well and the union believes the same flexibility can work with exchanges on the transfer list—if the employer has the will to do it.

Members with disability accommodation concerns, members considering retirement in the near future, or members who feel they have a strong case to be made for some other reason should be heard by the employer.

We have demanded that the employer get the message straight and, more importantly, be straight with you. If there is no genuine flexibility on the list then you deserve to know that up front. If there is, then the employer needs to set out what options would potentially be considered and get that process moving forward.

We want to thank the members who have sent us their concerns and ask that you keep us informed of your individual issues and of developments in your office.