Dear Members,
This year I am pleased to announce that the 2019 RCEA AGM will take place at the NRC Royalmount campus. Thank you to the stewards at Royalmount who proposed the location and organized the meetings for this year; Marijana Kalinic, Michelle Lévesque, and Roseanne Tom.
Please join RCEA members, stewards and staff at the AGM. The meeting will be broadcast live by Baldwin Audio/Visual via https://collaboratevideo.net/rcea-aecr/. The meeting will have simultaneous translation, and questions and discussion items may be submitted online during the meeting.
We are pleased to have François Beaudry as our guest speaker. François is NRC’s first Informal Conflict Resolution Practitioner. An Informal Conflict Management System, or ICMS, is a systematic approach to managing and resolving conflicts in the workplace quickly and constructively. An ICMS supports a culture of effective conflict management that emphasizes honest discussion and collaborative problem solving. This process involves the participation of employees, management and bargaining agents. François will discuss his new role and answer questions. He may be contacted by phone or email at any time for confidential and individual meetings. While at the Royalmount campus François will be available for meetings on Tuesday, October 8.
The RCEA annual audit, conducted by McCay Duff, was completed in August 2019. We are fortunate to have Chartered Accountant, Mario Navas, join us at the AGM to report on the audit and answer any questions. For a copy of the financial audit please contact office@rcea.ca.
I am delighted to report that all six collective agreements have been signed by NRC VP Emily Harrison and myself. Pay adjustments are retroactive, and new changes to the agreements are effective on date of signing, August 20, 2019. All members received economic increases and wage adjustments and a lump sum payment of $400.
A Phoenix Damages Memorandum of Agreement was signed by NRC and myself on June 19, 2019. A Bargaining Agent and Treasury Board subcommittee worked for over 2 years on this agreement. Throughout most of this process separate employers, such as NRC, were not included. I was adamant that RCEA members be included in this agreement. I am happy to report that you now are. If employed in most Public Service departments and/or agencies since 2016 you will receive 4 days now and the 5th day will be deposited in the new fiscal year of 2020. To be eligible for these annual days there are various restrictions and conditions. All this information may be found on the www.rcea.ca website.
It continues to be my honour and privilege to serve you and the Association.
Cathie Fraser, President