May 14th, 2014 e-mail sent to Isabelle Gingras, V.P., Human Resources
Subject: Classification Review – OP Group
Dear Ms. Gingras:
Several years ago you met with the RCEA to discuss our classification concerns. We discussed the order in which we felt any classification reviews should take place. At that time, we identified the AS/AD groups as the first priority and the OP/TO as the second. When NRC announced that it was undertaking classification reviews, the order of exercise was as we had recommended. Recently we have been advised that following the completion of the AS/AD review, the TO group will be the next group to undergo a classification review.
I am writing to ask you to reconsider this decision. In our view, the OP bargaining unit has urgent and pressing classification issues. They currently operate without any real standards; whatever guides do exist are extremely outdated and certainly have not kept pace with some of the changes that the group has undergone. We initially recommended that the OP and TO groups be reviewed together because there are some real concerns about overlap between the two groups. These concerns still exist. We do not believe that the TO group can be reviewed without also looking at the OP group at the same time. So we are requesting that either the OP group be reviewed at the same time as the TO group or that it be reviewed in advance of the TO group.
Sincerely yours,
Cathie Fraser
President
Research Council Employees’ Association