Dear CAPE Members,
It is with great pleasure and honour that I now begin my three-year term as your President, working for CAPE members along with our new National Executive Committee.
As I stated during my candidacy, I have been a career public servant and long-serving President of CAPE’s local at Statistics Canada and have met with, helped, and worked on behalf of hundreds of members to deliver innovative solutions and advocate for important issues.
I look forward in the days and weeks ahead to meeting each of the locals and as many members as possible. While I am supported by a strong team here at the National Office, it is a priority for me to have an “open door” policy. I invite members to feel free to contact me and share their views and ideas so that I can best serve the union.
As we stand at the beginning of a new year, it is natural to think strategically about our goals and objectives for the future. We will work to diligently protect members, faithfully negotiate fair collective agreements and strengthen our communication outreach. It also means looking ahead and proactively investigating issues that may impact members in years to come, such as improvements to benefits, and ensuring the quality of our pension plans. We are also vigilant in protecting members’ retirement income through lobbying against Bill C-27, a bill that could impact the income of retirees.
Protecting and defending members is also about than helping in the present moment with day-to-day issues such as performance, pay issues, or harassment. Many of you continue to be affected by errors in the Phoenix pay system, spending your valuable time and energy on trying to untangle missed, irregular, short or over payments. We have four active grievances registered in complaint of chronic Phoenix problems and adding to those actions launched by other fellow unions. With dedicated staff working solely on these issues we stand ready to assist you on an individual basis, if at all possible.
My mandate is based on my desire to look out for your best interests and my dedication to ethics and integrity in all that we do. As a statistician, I will be sure to keep an eye on metrics and develop our strategies supported by evidence-based data. I invite you to check our website on a regular basis to see the current status of these issues and others, to check out events on our calendar, and to find resources for stewards and members.
I look forward to bringing my passion for serving CAPE’s membership to the national level, and making sure that the voice of our membership is heard loud and clear.
Sincerely,
Greg Phillips
National President
