October 2013
The Annual General Meeting is now behind us; again I was sad to see so few members attend this year’s AGM. I thank the members who have year after year attended the AGM.
I was recently informed of good news that applies to the pay in arrears that I mentioned earlier in the year. The Bargaining Agents were able to reach a tentative agreement with the Treasury Board on the implementation of “pay in arrears”. It was confirmed that “pay modernization” in the federal public service and the implementation of “pay in arrears” will take place with no impact on your pay – no member will experience a claw back. As mentioned in my July message, the proposed transition would have resulted in a loss of 4% of member’s bi-weekly paycheques in 2014. This is a good example of what solidarity is about.
Most of you are probably aware this is my last term as President of the RCEA. It has been 9 challenging years at the head of the organization. I am proud of the accomplishments that we were able to achieve during my 3 terms as President. We managed to improve on many aspects to modernize the Association. We have introduced the participation of the regional representatives which represents close to half of our membership, we have also rewritten the RCEA constitution which I believe is more reflective of the challenges the Association is faced with. Of course these achievements were not made alone; there are many people that were involved who made the process much easier. For all those involved, I thank you.
I would like to welcome Cathie Fraser as the next President of the RCEA; Cathie has been acclaimed as the new President and I would like to congratulate her on this achievement. Cathie is a TO who has been actively involved with the RCEA for many years, most recently as 1st Vice-President. Also I would like to welcome Marvin Zaluski as the next 1st Vice-President, Marvin was also acclaimed. I wish both Cathie and Marvin success in the new year.
Sincerely
Serge Croteau
President