ARCHIVED - Public Service Staffing Tribunal - Report

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Chairperson’s Message

The 2009-2010 fiscal year marked the fifth year of operations for the Public Service Staffing Tribunal. Since the new staffing regime came into effect in December 2005, the Tribunal has been offering innovative approaches to help parties come to a mutually satisfactory resolution of their issues. In order to optimize the use of resources and maintain the cost of services at its current level, the Tribunal launched a 12-month settlement conference pilot project in January 2010. The project's results and effectiveness will be assessed after the trial period. We hope that this new tool will prove useful in resolving complaints in situations where mediation has been declined but settlement is still possible.

During the year, the Tribunal processed 1,156 files which included 752 new complaints in addition to 404 files carried over from the previous fiscal year. The Tribunal also had to cope with the departure of three of its five full-time members. Replacing them took several months. This situation could have led to delays in the processing of motions and applications for orders from parties and in the number of pre-hearing conferences and hearings held.

Measures were taken to prevent a backlog of cases that would have been difficult to clear up even with the arrival of new members. With only two full-time members and with the help of temporary members and staff, the Tribunal was able to issue 1,070 letter decisions, close 681 files of which almost 80% were closed within nine months of receiving the complaint. The Public Service Employment Act provides that the Tribunal may decide a complaint without holding an oral hearing. The Tribunal made use of this provision to dispose of 96 cases on the basis of the parties' written submissions, thus processing the complaints more rapidly. The Tribunal held 27 hearings and rendered 27 interim and final Reasons for Decisions. Due to the reduced number of full-time members, it took more time to issue these decisions. At the end of the year, the Tribunal had a full complement of members which will enable it, in future, to reduce the time required to issue its Reasons for Decision.

These figures indicate that the vast majority of complaints are resolved at different stages of the process, without an oral hearing, thanks to an approach that focuses on three factors: exchange of information, real dialogue and alternative dispute resolution. By taking these factors into account, the Tribunal is constantly able to develop practices to resolve disputes in a constructive and objective manner, thereby promoting a healthy, productive and effective workplace, a sign of a competent, non-partisan and representative public service.

Section I: Departmental Overview

Raison d’être

The Public Service Staffing Tribunal is an independent, quasi-judicial body established under the Public Service Employment Act to deal with complaints related to internal appointments and lay-offs in the federal public service. To resolve the complaints it receives, the Tribunal conducts hearings and provides mediation services.

Responsibilities

The Public Service Staffing Tribunal was established with the coming-into-force of the new Public Service Employment Act on December 31, 2005 as part of the new arrangements for staffing recourse. The legislative mandate of the Tribunal is to consider and dispose of complaints dealing with internal appointments, lay-offs, revocation of appointments, and the failure of corrective action ordered by the Tribunal. Under the Act, the Tribunal is also authorized to provide mediation services at any stage of a proceeding.

Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)

Strategic Outcome

Fair and impartial resolution of disputes related to internal appointments and lay-offs in the Government of Canada

Program Activity

Adjudication and mediation of complaints under the Public Service Employment Act

Expected Results

Tribunal decisions are timely, sound and well reasoned Optimal utilization of Tribunal’s dispute resolution services by parties

Outputs

Complaints processed Mediation sessions conducted Mediation training courses delivered

Summary of Performance

The Tribunal's financial resources had a direct impact on its ability to achieve its strategic outcome and deliver its activities. The following sections will highlight the Tribunal's performance and demonstrate linkages between resources and results.

At the outset of the 2009–2010 fiscal year, the Tribunal's planned spending was $5.5 million. Through Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates, the department was allocated total authorities of $5.7 million and its actual spending was $4.9 million. The increase in authorities came from funding for the operating budget carry-forward and for wage increases.

2009-2010 Financial Resources ($ thousands)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
5,478	5,714	4,885

2009-2010 Human Resources (FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
37	37	0

Performance Summary

Strategic Outcome: Fair and impartial resolution of disputes related to internal appointments and lay-offs in the Government of Canada

Performance Indicators	Targets	2009–10 Performance
Percentage of complaints referred to judicial review on the grounds that the Tribunal failed to observe a principle of natural justice, procedural fairness or other procedure	3%	The Tribunal exceeded its target in that, of the 120 final decisions (24 Reasons for Decision and 96 Letter Decisions) issued, one judicial review application was made to the Federal Court on the grounds that the Tribunal failed to observe a principle of natural justice, procedural fairness or other procedure. This represents 0.8% of all final decisions.

Program Activity	2008–09 Actual Spending ($ thousands)	2009–10				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		Main Estimates ($ thousands)	Planned Spending ($ thousands)	Total Authorities ($ thousands)	Actual Spending ($ thousands)
Adjudication and mediation of complaints filed under the Public Service Employment Act	4,810	1,579	4,000	4,065	3,264	Well-managed and efficient government operations.
Internal Services: Human Resources, Finance, Information Management, Communications, Information Technology and Administrative Services	– *	–	1,478	1,649	1,621
Total	4,810	1,579	5,478	5,714	4,885

* Commencing in the 2009–10 Estimates cycle, the resources for Program Activity: Internal Services are displayed separately from other program activities; they are no longer distributed among the remaining program activities, as was the case in previous Main Estimates. This has affected the comparability of spending and FTE information by Program Activity between fiscal years.

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome

Given its very specific mandate, the Tribunal has a sole strategic outcome – The fair and impartial resolution of disputes related to internal appointments and lay-offs in the Government of Canada – and a single program activity – The adjudication and mediation of complaints under the Public Service Employment Act. The Tribunal's three main operational priorities are directly related to both its strategic outcome and program activity.

Operational Priorities	Type	Status	Links to Strategic Outcome
1. Implementation of settlement conferences	New	Met All documents and procedures for the settlement conferences have been prepared, approved and communicated to stakeholders, cases have been selected and settlement conference sessions have been scheduled for the beginning of the next fiscal year.	Settlement conferences will provide the Tribunal with another tool to achieve the fair and impartial resolution of complaints as informally and as expeditiously as possible. This is another opportunity offered by the Tribunal for alternative dispute resolution.
2. Rationalization of operational policies and procedures	Ongoing	Met A new policy regarding the postponement of hearings was implemented to improve case management. The complaint form may now be filled out on-line and forwarded directly to the Tribunal. Preliminary work began on the replacement of the Tribunal's Case Management System. A needs analysis was completed and talks began with other organizations to determine whether there are systems that could be used or adapted.	Improving policies and procedures and planning for a new Case Management System will ensure the Tribunal has the information required for better case management and decisionmaking to support its strategic outcome.
3. Enhancement of external communications	Ongoing	Met The Stakeholder Consultation Group, composed of representatives from bargaining agents, large and small departments, Treasury Board Legal Services and the Public Service Commission, was re-established and the terms of reference were reviewed. More than ten presentations focussing on the Tribunal's complaint process, jurisprudence and its dispute resolution services were given across Canada to groups which included bargaining agents, government departments, and universities.	Understanding the needs of our stakeholders and obtaining feedback from them allows the Tribunal to address any deficiencies in its communications strategy and its processes, and assists in the implementation of new procedures. Having stakeholders who better understand the complaint process and the other options open to them to resolve their complaints assists the Tribunal in its mandate which is linked to its strategic outcome.

Management Priorities	Type	Status	Links to Strategic Outcome
1. Internal Communications	Ongoing	Met The Tribunal completed the review of its policy suite and posted it on its intranet. Work continued on the development and implementation of the Tribunal's three-year strategic plan for its information management system. The PSST is in the process of implementing the classification of records management including paper and electronic format.	Having a solid infrastructure in place provides a foundation for the Tribunal to be able to fulfill its mandate.
2. Strengthen human resources management	Ongoing	Met The Tribunal sought input from its staff on how to improve the format of its all-staff meetings. A number of recommendations were implemented. A retreat which focussed on communications issues and team building was held in June. The Tribunal updated its Integrated Human Resources and Business Plan and its Learning and Development Program. The Tribunal developed and implemented a Long Service Award Program; an ergonomic guideline for workstations; a Business Continuity Plan; an Employee Assistance Program initiative through a seasonal newsletter and an employee orientation kit.	A satisified workforce and a healthy workplace lead to greater productivity and thus contribute to the accomplishment of the Tribunal's objectives.

Risk Analysis

In 2005, it was envisioned that the Tribunal would process approximately 400 complaints per year. In the last three years, the number of complaints received has been on average 772 per year. This is probably a good indication of the number of cases the Tribunal can expect to receive. There was a slight decrease in the number of complaints received in 2009–2010, from 821 in 2008–2009 to 742.

It remains difficult to predict whether or not the caseload will increase significantly. If there is an increase in the number of staffing actions or collective staffing, there could be a rise in the number of complaints. If, due to economic circumstances, there are lay-offs in the public service, that could also result in an increase in the number of complaints received.

The Tribunal is encountering challenges in the implementation of a funding transfer flowing from the Horizontal Strategic Review of Human Resources Organizations, but it is working with the Treasury Board Secretariat to resolve this issue. Until it is resolved, the Tribunal faces increased risks to effectively fulfill its mandate requirements.

When the Tribunal was initially set up, because of time constraints and immediate operational needs, a temporary Case Management System (CMS) was put into place to allow for tracking of complaints. Over the years, the system has been improved but remains inadequate in providing the relevant information needed for sound decision-making. At present, a number of things must be tracked manually and it is not possible to extract reports in a timely fashion.

In 2009–2010, meetings were held with other organizations who have recently implemented CMSs to discuss "lessons learned" and assess whether some of the work they have produced can be shared. Our research has determined that costs for a CMS can vary from $1M to $5M and the final product usually takes three years to be fully tested and implemented. Resolution of the funding transfer issue would permit the Tribunal to renew its CMS and continue refining its processes and implement new initiatives to ensure the fair and impartial resolution of the staffing complaints.

A challenge that was also identified in the 2008–2009 Departmental Performance Report continued in 2009–2010. For a significant portion of the fiscal year, only two permanent members remained to issue letter decisions, conduct hearings and render decisions. The delay in the appointment of new members in order to restore the full complement of five to seven permanent members had a significant effect upon the time it took the Tribunal to issue decisions. This situation was improved with the arrival of a newly appointed permanent member in July 2009 and a new Vice-Chairperson at the end of September 2009. Two additional permanent members were appointed in February and March 2010.

To mitigate the risks identified above, the Tribunal implemented a human resources strategy whereby two new positions were created to support the two remaining members.

Another risk identified as having a possible impact on the Tribunal's operations during 2009–2010 was the cap on travel, hospitality and conference expenses provided for in Budget 2010. The Tribunal's mandate requires it to hear cases and conduct mediation sessions across Canada. There was some concern mid-way through the year that hearings and mediation sessions in February and March would have to be cancelled because the Tribunal would have reached its spending cap limit. Weekly monitoring of those expenses by the Tribunal's Corporate Services was required. Because a number of cases were either settled or withdrawn, the Tribunal did not exceed the spending cap and was not required to cancel any hearings or mediations. Hearings and mediations are always difficult to schedule due to parties' availability. Cancelling already scheduled mediations and hearings would have been viewed as an extremely poor business practice and would not be in keeping with paragraph 98(1) of the PSEA which directs the Tribunal to proceed as informally and expeditiously as possible.

To aid with the pressures created by the spending cap on travel expenses, the Tribunal completed the framework for its settlement conferences and developed a pilot project whereby 25% of the mediations it conducts will be done over the phone or via videoconferencing. These pilot projects will be fully implemented in fiscal year 2010-2011.

Work on the legislatively mandated review of the Public Service Modernization Act (PSMA) began with the creation of a committee by Treasury Board Secretariat to conduct the review. Various stakeholders, including the Tribunal, were asked to provide feedback and recommendations. The Tribunal consulted internally to identify deficiencies in the PSEA with respect to matters affecting its operations. Its final recommendations will be presented to the committee in 2010-2011.

Expenditure Profile

The Tribunal's actual spending was $4.9 million in 2009–2010. The Tribunal's expenditures have increased since the PSEA came into force in December 2005 because the number of complaints filed with the Tribunal rose sharply. Since its establishment in 2005, the Tribunal has steadily built up its capacity and invested in its infrastructure to deliver its activities.

The Tribunal was originally established with a planned expenditures budget of $5 million on the assumption that approximately 400 complaints would be submitted per year. This number was reached in the Tribunal's second year of operations (2006–2007). An average of 772 complaints has been received in the last three fiscal years (April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2010). Despite the significant increase in the number of complaints, the Tribunal has continued to operate within the resources that were originally allocated. The number of complaints received in 2009–2010 was 752 which represents a slight decrease from the three-year average.

The chart below shows the Tribunal's spending trend over a five-year period including planned spending for the fiscal year 2010-2011.

Voted and Statutory Items

Voted or Statutory Items		2007–08 Actual Spending ($ thousands)	2008–09 Actual Spending ($ thousands)	2009–10 Main Estimates ($ thousands)	2009–10 Actual Spending ($ thousands)
105	Program expenditures	3,902.0	4,325.0	1,567.0	4,327.0
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	402.0	485.0	12.0	558.0
Total		4,304.0	4,810.0	1,579.0	4,885.0

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