Union discusses details of Service Canada hiring plans

April marks the start of new staffing activity at Service Canada aimed at moving much needed resources into EI and CPP/OAS processing. At a recent meeting in Ottawa, the union was assured that current staff will be given the first opportunity to fill the new vacancies.

Up to 1000 more staff will be appointed to claims processing positions, depending on the new Key Performance Indicators (KPI). The KPI will now be calculated on an monthly, rather than annual, basis.

Work sharing programs will see an increase in staff of between 200 and 800 while EI call centres will add at least another 170.

The workload increase in CPP/OAS processing has prompted management to approach the Treasury Board for funds to hire additional staff. At this time, the number of staff to be taken on is not known.

There will be external recruitment as well as the internal movement of current staff. New hires will have to accept shift work as a condition of employment as the employer plans to introduce evening work in processing units and call centres. Current employees may volunteer for shift work if they wish.

At the meeting with union leaders in Ottawa, management indicated that they might use “Sunset” provisions to hire term employees. Sunset hiring means that term staff will not have their employment count toward the accumulation of the three year period required to attain indeterminate status (see the Term Employment Policy for more details). The union took the position that the Sunset approach was not appropriate in these circumstances and that alternatives existed under the Term Employment Policy to provide management with the flexibility they might require. Locals are asked to advise their National Vice-President(s) if local management hires term staff on a Sunset basis.

“CEIU has been calling for a realistic staffing plan to deal with this crisis – for the good of the public and our members” said National President Jeannette Meunier-McKay, “and we are happy that the government is finally moving forward.”