FPSLREB Decisions
Decision Information
Application for extension of time to notify incumbents of designated positions - Subsection 78.1 (3) of the Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA) - Veterinary Medicine Group - in an earlier decision, the Board had designated, pursuant to subsection 78.1(6) of the PSSRA, the positions which the parties had agreed have safety or security duties: (1998) 34 PSSRB Decisions 41 - pursuant to section 78.5 of the PSSRA, the Board had authorized the employer to inform of the designation the incumbents of these positions and directed the employer to do so within the time limit and pursuant to the procedure specified in section 60 of the P.S.S.R.B. Regulations and Rules of Procedure, 1993 - subsequently, the employer applied for an extension of time to notify of the designation the incumbents of these positions - the Board was surprised that the employer had not complied with the time limit set in the earlier decision and that the application for an extension of time had been made one month after the expiry of that time limit - in view of the fact that the employer's application had the support of the bargaining agent, the Board, pursuant to section 6 of the Regulations, extended the time, within which the incumbents of these positions were to be informed of the designation, to a period of 30 days from the date of a request for conciliation under section 76 of the PSSRA - the Board reminded the parties of the importance of respecting time limits imposed by legislation, regulation or order and that time-limit extensions should be requested in a timely manner. Application allowed.
Decision Content
Files: 181-32-436 Public Service Staff Before the Public Service Relations Act Staff Relations Board BETWEEN THE PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF CANADA Bargaining Agent and CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY Employer
RE: Designated Positions - Veterinary Medicine Group
Before: Yvon Tarte, Chairperson
(Decided without an oral hearing)
Page 1 DETERMINATION DESIGNATING POSITIONS A decision was issued by the Board on August 10, 1998, pursuant to subsection 78.1(6) of the Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA), designating the positions in the Veterinary Medicine Group bargaining unit which have safety or security duties. Diskette CFIA-P~1.XLS identified in that decision contains a list of all of the positions which the parties had agreed have safety or security duties as of that date. Furthermore pursuant to an authorization given under section 78.5 of the PSSRA the employer was required to inform the employees occupying the positions in question (and all subsequent occupants of those positions) of the designation within the time limits and pursuant to the procedure specified in subsection 60(1) of the P.S.S.R.B. Regulations and Rules of Procedure, 1993. By letters dated October 22, 1998, the employer applied for an extension of the limitation periods to implement the Board’s decision of August 10, 1998 to allow the parties to agree on a process for informing the employees in designated positions.
The parties further requested that the Board exercise its power pursuant to section 27 of the Public Service Staff Relations Act, and section 6 of the Regulations to amend its decision of August 10, 1998 by granting an: ... extension of the limitation periods identified in section 60 of the P.S.S.R.B. Regulations and Rules of Procedure, 1993 to allow for the delivery of the Form 13 Notice within 30 days of the receipt of an official request for conciliation by the Board.
As further grounds for this application, the parties rely on the Public Service Staff Relations Board decision in Public Service Alliance of Canada v. Treasury Board, File number 125-2-68 to 70 as rendered on February 11, 1997.
The Board was surprised to learn that the employer had not complied with the August 10, 1997 decision ordering it to inform the employees within the time limits and pursuant to the procedure specified in subsection 60(1) of the Regulations. Moreover, the Board notes that the employer submitted its request for an extension of time more than one month after the expiry of the time limits provided for in subsection 60(1) of the Regulations.
Public Service Staff Relations Board
Page 2 In view of the fact that the employer and the bargaining agent have jointly requested the extension of time limits, the Board hereby grants the request of the parties and extends the time specified in subsection 60(1) of the Regulations within which an employee is to be informed of the fact that he or she occupies a designated position to a period of 30 days from the date of a request for conciliation pursuant to section 76 of the Act.
For this purpose the Board has previously provided the employer with a Form 13 for each designated position containing all the information required, with the exception of the name of the employee occupying the designated position and the "Dated at..." portion of the Form, which is to be completed by the employer prior to notification.
The Board draws the employer's attention to its responsibility under subsection 60(2) of the Regulations that, on the notification of an employee who occupies a designated position, it is to provide forthwith a copy of the notice referred to in subsection 60(1) to the bargaining agent.
Finally, the Board must remind the parties of the importance of respecting time limits imposed by legislation, regulation or order of the Board and that time limit extensions should be requested in a timely manner.
Yvon Tarte Chairperson
OTTAWA, December 14, 1998
Public Service Staff Relations Board