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I am pleased to present the 2007-2008 Report on Plans and Priorities for the Public Service Staffing Tribunal (the PSST).
The coming-into-force of the new Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) marked the beginning of a new staffing regime in the federal public service, with a new definition of merit and new arrangements for recourse before an independent body, the PSST. The PSST received its first complaints filed under the provisions of the new PSEA in February 2006. The day-to-day operations of the PSST began to take shape as complaints, were filed, mediation sessions, pre-hearing conferences and formal hearings were scheduled and complaints were resolved through mediation or a decision of the PSST.
Given the importance placed on effective dialogue to resolve appointment issues by the new PSEA, the PSST created a mediation program specific to staffing complaints which consists of a training component for employer and employee representatives as well as the mediation services offered by PSST members and staff.
As the PSST enters the second year of implementation of the new PSEA and the number of complaints continues to rise, it will schedule and hold an increasing number of mediation sessions, pre-hearing conferences and formal hearings. However, with the development of jurisprudence regarding appointment issues, it is expected that a number of complaints will be resolved without a formal hearing through pre-hearing and settlement conferences.
While the PSST's main priority is the consideration and disposition of complaints, there is also a need to ensure that its primary stakeholders - bargaining agents, departments and agencies - have a clear understanding of the staffing process and recourse under the new Act. Accordingly, the PSST will continue to refine its procedures, maintain an up-to-date procedural guide on its web site and work with the Canada School of the Public Service to develop an education program for the public service.
In order to ensure that the needs of its stakeholders are met as much as possible, the PSST will continue to hold regular meetings with a representative group of departments, agencies and bargaining agents, and will consult its stakeholders more broadly as part of its review of the PSST Regulations and general procedures.
Other priorities include the ongoing development of internal corporate services and management practices, particularly in communications, planning, reporting, audit and evaluation, and labour relations.
As a quasi-judicial and independent body, the PSST remains committed to its role in ensuring that Canada continues to benefit from a public service that strives for excellence, is based on merit and non-partisanship, is representative of Canada's diversity and is able to serve Canadians in the official language of their choice.
Guy Giguère
I submit for tabling in Parliament, the 2007-2008 Report on Plans and Priorities 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 2007-2008 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:
Guy Giguère
Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer
Public Service Staffing Tribunal
The Public Service Staffing Tribunal (PSST) is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal established by the Public Service Modernization Act (PSMA) as part of the new arrangements for recourse with respect to staffing complaints.
The mandate of the PSST is to consider and dispose of complaints related to internal appointments, lay-offs, the implementation of a corrective measure ordered by the Tribunal or the revocation of an appointment.
The PSST may provide mediation services at any stage of a proceeding in order to resolve a complaint.
In considering whether a complaint against an internal appointment or lay-off is founded, the PSST may interpret and apply the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA).
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 the internal staffing and lay-off processes in the government of Canada. This includes:
By providing transparent, impartial and sound decision-making and support to help parties resolve staffing disputes, the PSST will be accessible and responsive to stakeholders, and contribute to the effective management of human resources to the benefit of federal public service departments and agencies, managers, employees and Canadians.
The PSST benefits Canadians by helping to ensure that appointments to the public service are based on merit and made in accordance with the values contained in the preamble of the PSEA.
2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 1 |
---|---|---|
$4,960 | $4,960 | - |
2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 1 |
---|---|---|
35 FTEs | 35 FTEs | 37 FTEs |
In 2006-07, the Public Service Staffing Tribunal will address the priorities listed in the following table.
Strategic Outcome: Contribute to a competent, non-partisan and representative public service through impartial and timely disposition of disputes related to the internal staffing and lay off processes in the government of Canada. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Priority | Type of Priority | Planned Spending | ||
2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | ||
Consider and Pending approval dispose of complaints | Ongoing | 2,270 | 2,270 | Pending approval of funding |
Provide mediation services | Ongoing | 880 | 880 | Pending approval of funding |
Fully inform and assist clients | Ongoing | 200 | 200 | Pending approval of funding |
Fully develop corporate services | Ongoing | 1,110 | 1,110 | Pending approval of funding |
Enhance management framework | Ongoing | 500 | 500 | Pending approval of funding |
This section provides details on specific initiatives identified for the planning period that support the PSST's sole strategic outcome: Contribute to a competent, non-partisan and representative public service through impartial and timely disposition of disputes related to the internal staffing and lay-off processes in the government of Canada.
Like all federal institutions, the PSST faces the challenge of carrying out its statutory responsibilities and fulfilling the increasing requirements for transparent and accountable reporting, while at the same time spending public funds wisely. As a very small organization, the PSST must accomplish its many tasks with a limited number of staff.
Due, in large measure, to its small size, one of the main challenges facing the PSST is predicting the number of complaints to be handled on a yearly basis. Under the former appeals process contained in the previous legislation, the Public Service Commission handled approximately 1,100–1,200 appeals during fiscal years 2003–2004 and 2004–2005.
In its first eight months of operation, the PSST received 120 complaints. Nearly all of these were received over a period of 26 weeks; the number of complaints received during the first eight weeks of its existence was almost nil.
Given the rapid increase in the number of complaints this fall, now at over 300, the PSST can reasonably expect to receive 300-600 cases a year. For planning purposes, the PSST has therefore estimated the average number of complaints to be dealt with at 400 per year.
However, the PSST must prepare itself for the possibility that the number of complaints or the demand for mediation services could be greater than is currently anticipated. The unpredictability of the PSST's caseload continues, therefore, to be a complicating factor in its planning process.
Other areas of concern include:
The PSST will need to meet the expectations of its stakeholders, including:
Government Affairs
In providing services to all governments department and agencies, the PSST operates at arm's length to resolve staffing complaints in the public service, thereby protecting the integrity of the appointment process in the government of Canada.
In so doing, the PSST contributes to the building of a representative and non-partisan workforce fully capable of delivering quality services in the main outcome areas of the government of Canada: economic affairs, social affairs and international affairs.