ACOA Consultation Team Terms of Reference
Preamble
It is a PIPSC policy that all consultation teams have approved internal Terms of Reference (TOR), which shall outline processes to nominate a new team president and alternate, as well as to select the members of the consultation team.
When the ACOA consultation team’s internal TOR document is finalized; approved; and signed by the team members, the following shall take place:
1) The ACOA national consultation team president ( team president ) shall submit the proposed TOR to the chair of the Working Group on Consultation ( chair of WGC ).
2) The chair of WGC shall review the proposed TOR document and refer it back to the team president if there are any concerns.
3) If satisfied with the proposed TOR document, the chair of WGC shall submit it to PIPSC’s executive committee for approval.
4) If the TOR document is approved by the executive committee, that approval shall be communicated back to the chair of WGC and then to the team president.
5) The TOR document shall subsequently be posted on the PIPSC website
Recommended Selection Process for National Consultation Team President
A new selection process shall start approximately two (2) years after the previous process. In the case of ACOA, the new process shall commence around March 15, 2011 to ensure that a smooth transition takes place by the time the new consultation team president assumes his/her duties on May 1, 2011.
The selection process of the new team president shall be done by secret ballot. There shall be six voting regions and all stewards conducting consultation in those regions shall have the right to vote. The voting regions shall be the National Capital Region (Ottawa office), NS region, NB region, Head Office (Moncton), PEI region and NL region.
Notification of the new process shall be sent by the team president around March 15, 2011 to all PIPSC stewards conducting consultation (team members) at ACOA in the six voting regions. Any one of these stewards may apply to become team president and shall submit by email a statement of interest to all the other stewards conducting consultation. A vote by the stewards conducting consultation shall take place shortly after the notification and the votes shall be emailed for tabulation to the employment relations officer (ERO) in Halifax responsible for ACOA. The ERO shall then notify, as soon as possible, the relevant parties of the outcome of the election. In the event of a tie for president, a run-off election shall take place. The team president shall ask for a volunteer to act as an alternate to attend meetings when required and on a rotating basis, if possible.
Composition and Structure
At the national level, the team president is the point of contact for all consultation issues at ACOA and speaks on behalf of PIPSC. National UMCC meetings shall be led by the team president (or an alternate) who shall be the only person authorized to speak on behalf of PIPSC unless otherwise asked by the president or by the alternate.
The national consultation team shall be comprised of the team president and all PIPSC stewards at ACOA who conduct consultation in their respective regions. They may attend national UMCC meetings at the discretion of the team president and in accordance with PIPSC policy on travel status (maximum three on travel status).
Each voting region shall have one steward conducting consultation who shall either be elected by the other active stewards in each respective region (if there are more than one) or appointed by the team president (if there is only one) and on a biennial basis. In the event of a tie, the team president shall have the deciding vote. Regional UMCC meetings shall be led by the steward conducting consultation in that region and who shall be the principal point of contact to speak on consultation matters on behalf of PIPSC in that region subject to the authority of the team president.
Positions and Appointments
The team president shall be appointed by the Institute, with the appointment reviewed biennially, taking into consideration the recommended selection process made by the consultation team.
Appointments to other bona fide UMCC committees shall be made by the team president after having has discussions with the team members.
Budget
The team president shall prepare a team budget for consultation activities with the input of the stewards conducting consultation in the regions and submit it to PIPSC headquarters in Ottawa for approval by June 1st of each year. The team president shall be responsible for managing the budget.
Communications
It is expected that the bulk of communications among team members shall take place by phone or by email. In-person team meetings may take place but no more than once annually and will require the preparation of a separate budget by the team president for approval by PIPSC headquarters.
The team president shall communicate regularly with the PIPSC employment relations officer (ERO) assigned to ACOA.