Status of Women Committee on Feb. 14th, 2013

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Kers, for being here today.

My questions are with regard to training. In particular, what is your organization's level of involvement with the joint learning program?

[Robin Kers]

The joint learning program is a Public Service Alliance of Canada initiative, not a component initiative. That said, all components at varying times will have certain levels of involvement, by either contributing to the writing of training programs or facilitating training programs, depending on their availability.

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

I'm sorry, what's a component issue?

[Robin Kers]

The Public Service Alliance of Canada is the actual bargaining agent, but it's composed of 18 components, one of which is ours, which is the Union of Solicitor General Employees. But the agreement is between PSAC and Treasury Board. It's not between the components and Treasury Board.

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

You'd say you don't have much involvement at all with the joint learning program?

[Robin Kers]

I'm saying that the JLP is a program and function of the PSAC. Our contribution as a component would be when assistance is required or requested in the design of a particular training program or when there's a need for facilitators for a particular training session. That would be our involvement as a component.

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

Not in the development of it per se, but your employees would use it?

[Robin Kers]

Use it?

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

They would be trained using this method.

[Robin Kers]

The concept behind JLP is that it provides training jointly to management and employees, so to the extent that budget, timing, resources, size of the room, etc., permit, there will be, in theory, roughly an equal number of managers and employees on any JLP-delivered session.

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

Does the Union of Solicitor General Employees encourage their employees to participate in anti-harassment training? Do you recommend providers? How do you encourage employees to make use of these available resources?

[Robin Kers]

Once again, just for clarity for the record, we're not referring to our employees, but the employees of the federal government who we represent.

We certainly encourage all of our membership across the country to take advantage of any training, be it harassment or be it any subject that's being offered by the federal government or that department. We certainly don't discourage people from taking harassment training.

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

Or encouraging people to take a half a day off in order to attend the training, let's say. Would that be an encouragement, or letters and flyers and e-mail—that kind of encouragement?

[Robin Kers]

In consultation at a local level and a regional level and a national level with various departments, we take part, to the extent that we're permitted, in developing and encouraging employees to take whatever training is available.

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

That concludes the second part of this meeting.

Thank you very much, Mr. Kers, for agreeing to appear before our committee again. It was very interesting.

[Robin Kers]

You're welcome. It was a pleasure.

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

Thank you.

We will now continue the meeting in camera to deal with committee business.

I will suspend the sitting for two minutes.

[Proceedings continue in camera]