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3. ENHANCING EMPLOYER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP WITH AMALGAMATED TRANSIT
UNION Améliorer
la relation employé/employeur au sein du Syndicat uni du transport (SUT) |
That
Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services and Community
Sustainability, to acquire the necessary resources to work collaboratively with
OC Transpo and the ATU to meet the Collective Agreement objectives set out in
Section (2)2 and to report back to the Transit Committee and Council before the
end of Q4 of this year.
Que le Conseil donne instruction au
directeur municipal adjoint, Services d’infrastructure et Viabilité des
collectivités, d’acquérir les ressources nécessaires pour collaborer avec OC
Transpo et le SUT à l’atteinte des objectifs de la convention collective
énoncés au paragraphe (2)2 et de faire rapport au Comité du transport en commun
et au Conseil avant la fin du quatrième trimestre de cette année.
Documentation
1. Report submitted by Councillor Holmes dated 11
February 2009 (ACS2009-CCS-TTC-0003).
2. Extract
of Draft Minute, 4 March 2009
Report to /
Rapport au:
Transit Committee /
Comité du transport en commun
And Council / et au Conseil
11 February 2009 / le 11 février 2009
|
City Wide / À l'échelle de la Ville |
Ref. N°:
ACS2009-CCS-TTC-0003 |
SUBJECT: ENHANCING
EMPLOYER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP WITH AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION
OBJET: Améliorer la relation employé/employeur au sein du
Syndicat uni du transport (SUT)
REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
That the Transit Committee recommend Council approve that work be undertaken to enhance the relationships with ATU and bring back a report after six months to Council on how to maintain an enhanced employer employee relationship.
Que le Comité de transport en commun
recommande au Conseil d’approuver les efforts visant à améliorer les relations
avec le SUT et, qu’au bout de six mois, un rapport soit déposé auprès du
Conseil sur les mesures à prendre pour assurer une bonne relation entre employé
et employeur.
At the Special Transit Committee meeting on 9 February 2009, Councillor Holmes put forward the following Notice of Motion:
That Transit Committee
recommend Council approve that work be undertaken to enhance the relationships
with ATU and bring back a report after six months to Council on how to maintain
an enhanced employer employee relationship.
The Notice of Motion came following a presentation by staff to the Committee on the resumption of transit service following the transit strike between December and January 2009.
The intent of the mover was that a consultant be hired to work on enhancing the relationship between the ATU and OC Transpo; staff indicated that this process was underway.
CONSULTATION
Legal Services and were consulted in the preparation of this report.
Legal Services
Recognizing the polarizing effect of a protracted strike, Legal Services and Labour Relations will work with OC Transpo management in an effort to identify ways to improve the overall relationship with the ATU. This will include an assessment of ways to improve workplace communications and of means to address employee and Union concerns at a preliminary stage, rather than having than rise to the level of formal complaints and grievances. In this regard, staff may seek the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service as a neutral third party in an effort to bring the City and the Union together to deal with matters of mutual concern.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
N/A
LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
The decisions involved in the approval of this recommendation do not have any significant Legal/Risk Management concerns.
DISPOSITION
The recommendations of the Committee will rise to Council on 11 March. Any resulting follow-up by staff will be undertaken as directed by Council.
ENHANCING
EMPLOYER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP WITH AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION
Améliorer
la relation employé/employeur au sein du Syndicat uni du transport (SUT)
ACS2009-CCS-TRC-0003 CITY WIDE / À L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE
By way of background, Councillor
Holmes explained that following the last strike, the City hired a consultant
who, together with a member of City staff, spent a year working on the
workplace environment between the employer and the union. Over time, both sides came together and were
successful in setting up various working committees and she was seeking a
similar type of arrangement with this recommendation before the Committee. She recognized this is a very time-consuming
position that requires a highly skilled person and was seeking the necessary
funds to hire a consultant to do this job.
Councillor Legendre suggested that since the term
“consultants” was not included in the recommendation, then consideration should
be given to hiring staff if the expertise does not exist in-house. The Chair advised that he had received a
revised Motion to the current recommendation.
He suggested staff be tasked to bring back a report in response to the
Motion and the Committee could then discuss how to proceed. The effect of the Motion would be as
follows:
That
the Transit Committee and City Council direct the Deputy City Manager,
Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability, to retain an independent
facilitator to work collaboratively with OC Transpo and the ATU to meet the
Collective Agreement objectives set out in Section (2)2 and to report back to
the Transit Committee and Council before the end of Q4 of this year.
Councillor Legendre was concerned about reference to “an
independent facilitator” because the direction of the Motion involves a lengthy
and sustained effort. He suggested amending the Motion to replace the
words: “retain an independent
facilitator” with “acquire the necessary resources”. Councillor Holmes concurred with this amendment.
Moved by C. Doucet
WHEREAS the
City of Ottawa and the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 279 (the “ATU”),
recently underwent a 53-day labour disruption following the breakdown of
negotiations toward a renewal collective agreement;
AND
WHEREAS the loss of public transit service resulted in significant social,
health and economic consequences for the City;
AND
WHEREAS it is in the interests of the City and its residents, as well as the
ATU and its members, to avoid a similar disruption in the future and, in doing
so, to continuously seek improved labour relations between the City and the
ATU;
AND
WHEREAS this objective is expressly set out in Section (2)2 of the Collective
Agreement, which provides that “the Parties agree to co-operate fully in
maintaining an efficient and uninterrupted transportation service and to
further harmonious and rational labour relations”;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Transit Committee and City Council direct the Deputy
City Manager, Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability, to acquire
the necessary resources to work collaboratively with OC Transpo and the ATU to
meet the Collective Agreement objectives set out in Section (2)2 and to report
back to the Transit Committee and Council before the end of Q4 of this year.
CARRIED,
as amended