ARCHIVED - Public Service Staffing Tribunal

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page

This page has been archived.

Section I:  Overview

Chairperson’s Message

The fiscal year 2006-2007 marked the first full year of operations of the Public Service Staffing Tribunal, a year that saw a significant rise in the number of complaints submitted to the Tribunal as well as continued improvement of the Tribunal’s complaint process and procedures.

From the outset, the Tribunal adopted an approach that would allow parties to a complaint to resolve their differences as informally and expeditiously as possible.  Our approach is in keeping with one of the main objectives of the Public Service Modernization Act (PSMA) adopted in 2003 – namely, build effective labour-management relations in the federal public service through communication and sustained dialogue. 

Similarly, the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), a key component of the PSMA, calls for a public service “characterized by fair, transparent employment practices, respect of employees, effective dialogue and recourse aimed at resolving appointment issues.” 

For this reason, the Tribunal, through its Regulations and Procedural Guide, has chosen to provide several opportunities in the complaint process for parties to come to a resolution without having to proceed to a hearing. 

First, the parties are required under the Regulations to share all relevant information about the complaint with one another in an effort to come to a resolution through a better understanding of the process and each other’s concerns. 

Once the exchange of information has taken place, the complaint is referred to the Tribunal’s mediation services unless one of the parties declines to participate.

If the complaint is not withdrawn following mediation or the exchange-of-information stage of the process, a pre-hearing conference will be held to not only discuss the proceedings themselves but also to narrow the issues before the Tribunal or, in some cases, explore the possibility of rendering a decision based on written submissions from the parties. 

The Tribunal’s informal processes have been very effective.  Of the 273 files that were closed during the period from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007, 86% were resolved without an oral hearing, either through mediation or at another step in the complaint process.

While the Tribunal recognizes that not all complaints can be settled through informal means, we also believe that the best solution to a workplace dispute or conflict is one in which the parties come to an agreement on their own, rather than one where a decision is imposed upon them by an outside third party. 

In the months following the establishment of the Tribunal, we set out to develop practices that would help managers and employees resolve their differences through constructive dialogue.  I am proud to report that those practices are now in place and are proving to be successful.  The Tribunal is committed to fostering effective labour-management relations in the federal public service, thereby doing its part to improve the ability of the public service to serve and protect the public interest.

Guy Giguère
Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer

Management Representation Statement

I submit for tabling in Parliament, the 2006–2007 Departmental Performance Report for the Public Service Staffing Tribunal.

This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2006–2007 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:

• It adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board Secretariat guidance;
• It is based on the Tribunal’s Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture approved by the Treasury Board;
• It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and reliable information; 
• It provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
• It reports finances based on approved numbers from the Estimates and the Public Accounts of Canada.

Guy Giguère
Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer

Summary Information

Raison d’être

The Public Service Staffing Tribunal (PSST) officially commenced its operations as an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal on December 31, 2005 with the coming-into-force of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA).  The PSEA was enacted to modernize staffing in the public service by giving a new meaning to merit and creating new arrangements for staffing recourse. 

Mandate

In accordance with subsection 88(2) of the PSEA, the mandate of the PSST is to consider and dispose of complaints related to internal appointments, the implementation of corrective measures ordered by the Tribunal, the revocation of an appointment and lay-offs. 

In addition, the PSST may provide mediation services at any stage of its proceedings in order to resolve a complaint and may interpret and apply the Canadian Human Rights Act in determining whether a complaint against an internal appointment or lay-off is founded.

Mission

The mission of the PSST is to contribute to a competent, non-partisan and representative public service through the impartial and timely disposition of disputes related to internal staffing and lay-off processes in the Government of Canada.

Financial Resources ($ Thousands)

2006–2007
Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
$ 5,244.0	$5,022.8	$3,215.9

Human Resources

2006–2007
Planned 33 FTEs	Actual 22 FTEs	Difference 11 FTEs

Public Service Staffing Tribunal Priorities

2006-2007
Strategic Outcome	Impartial and timely disposition of disputes related to the internal staffing and lay-off processes in the Government of Canada
Alignment to GOC Outcomes	Contributes to a competent, non-partisan and representative public service
Program Activity	Processing of complaints relating to the appointment, revocation and lay-off provisions of the Public Service Employment Act
Expected Results	Sound and well-reasoned decisions Processing of complaints in a timely manner Timely results of alternate dispute resolution (ADR) interventions Access to Tribunal services and information

 

Priorities		Status	Planned Spending ($ Thousands)	Actual Spending ($ Thousands)
No. 1 New	Be ready to hear complaints	Met	654	433
No. 2 New	Be ready to mediate	Met	825	311
No. 3 New	Establish registry and information management systems	Met	245	101
No. 4 New	Establish internal and external communications	Met	398	270
No. 5 New	Ensure tools are in place for HR management	Ongoing	256	143
No. 6 New	Establish corporate and management practices	Ongoing	431	220

Context and Operating Environment

Although the Public Service Staffing Tribunal officially commenced its operations on December 31, 2005, the first complaint was not received until February 6, 2006 and the overall volume of complaints remained relatively light into the early part of fiscal year 2006-2007.  However, the number of complaints for the entire fiscal year 2006-2007 rose sharply to 438 from a total of 15 for the period from December 31, 2005 to March 31, 2006. 

Not surprisingly then, one of the greatest challenges facing the Tribunal was, and continues to be, the unpredictability of the size of the caseload. 

The second important challenge faced by the Tribunal in its first year was obtaining long-term funding.  Funding was provided on a yearly basis only following a Treasury Board (TB) submission.  Discussions with TBS officials with respect to a permanent source of funding continued. 

The financial situation coupled with the difficulty in predicting the volume of complaints resulted in the Tribunal taking a cautious approach with respect to decision-making, particularly in the area of staffing.  Although the Tribunal intends to staff 33 full-time equivalents (FTEs) once the caseload has stabilized, the number of employees has been kept to a minimum (22 FTEs) in order to avoid both unnecessary expenditures and the possibility of laying staff off due to a smaller workload than anticipated. In addition, a deliberate effort was made to recruit and retain individuals with a wide variety of experience, knowledge and skills so as to ensure that the Tribunal’s resources were used in the most cost-effective manner possible.

Another factor considered by the Tribunal in preparing to enter into its first full year of operations was the expectation among stakeholders that, under the provisions of the new PSEA, staffing complaints would be handled “as expeditiously and as informally as possible”, a challenge made greater by the newness of the Tribunal and the resulting unfamiliarity with the new complaint process. 

From the beginning, the Tribunal chose to promote mediation as the most effective means of resolving staffing complaints both quickly and informally.  Convincing the parties to consent to mediation, however, was challenging during the first few months of the Tribunal’s operations as there appeared to be some scepticism on the part of the Tribunal’s stakeholders about the value of mediation in resolving staffing complaints.

Much of the focus of the Tribunal’s activities during the year was on ensuring that the Tribunal’s stakeholders had ready access to information about the Tribunal’s role, the complaint process, including mediation, and associated procedures.  Establishing and maintaining ongoing communications with its stakeholders remains critical to the functioning of the Tribunal.

Despite the numerous challenges faced during the year, the Tribunal realized a number of significant achievements in the processing and mediation of complaints:

• Of the 438 complaints received in 2006-2007, over half of the files were closed.
• 86% of all closed files were resolved without having to proceed to a formal hearing.
• Over a quarter of all complaints were referred to mediation with the parties’ consent.*
• Of the 49 complaints where mediation took place in 2006-2007, a settlement was reached in 71% of the cases.

The Tribunal considers that, given the number of complaints processed in its first full year, its main objective for the period – that is, be ready to hear and mediate complaints – was achieved.

Alignment with Government of Canada Strategic Outcomes

In providing transparent, impartial and sound decision-making as well as the necessary support to help parties resolve staffing disputes through mediation, the Tribunal strives to be accessible and responsive to its stakeholders, thereby contributing to the effective management of human resources to the benefit of federal public service departments and agencies, managers, employees and Canadians at large. 

Benefits to Canadians

The Tribunal benefits Canadians by ensuring a competent, non-partisan and representative public service through the impartial and timely disposition of staffing complaints in the Government of Canada.

Overall Description of Tribunal Performance

 The Public Service Staffing Tribunal officially began its operations on December 31, 2005 with the coming-into-force of the new PSEA.  The Tribunal was created as an independent, quasi-judicial body to consider and dispose of complaints filed by Government of Canada employees regarding internal appointments, lay-offs, the implementation of a corrective measure ordered by the Tribunal or the revocation of an appointment.

The Tribunal has one strategic outcome:  The impartial and timely disposition of disputes related to the internal and lay-off processes in the Government of Canada. 

Similarly, the Tribunal has one program activity:  The processing of complaints relating to the appointment, revocation and lay-off provisions of the PSEA. 

In 2006-2007, the Tribunal was still in the building process.  Its main focus, therefore, was on having the people and processes in place to hear and mediate complaints.  To this end, complaint procedures were developed, implemented and improved and Tribunal members and staff were provided training on the Tribunal’s role, its process for rendering decisions, mediation in the staffing context, legal issues and precedents and in other areas, as required.

Getting ready to process complaints also required the development and implementation of supporting infrastructure – that is, a registry and information management system, human resources tools, internal and external communications and corporate and management practices.

The Tribunal considers that much was accomplished in these areas during the past year.  A case management system (WebCims) was implemented and continues to be customized as the need for detailed and accurate information to document the progress and outcome of complaints increases. 

The Tribunal filled a number of positions critical to the processing of complaints and also developed a number of human resources policies and procedures – for example, a labour relations policy, including a grievance procedure, and an Informal Conflict Management System – designed to foster a harmonious and productive work environment.

A key component of the Tribunal’s communications strategy was the development of a short-term communications plan involving the development and launch of the Tribunal’s own Internet site and other communications products to ensure that stakeholders had ready access to information about the Tribunal’s role and its complaint process. 

With the focus being on the Tribunal’s readiness to handle complaints, the development of corporate policies and procedures, including performance measures, was limited to only those essential to the day-to-day operations of the Tribunal. However, plans have been drawn up for the implementation of a performance measurement framework and other related activities and work in these areas is ongoing.

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
• Next Page