September 5, 2017
Reno Vaillancourt
Vice President, Human Resources & Labour Relations
Bell Canada
1 carref. Alex.-G.-Bell, Aile A-2
Verdun QC H3E 3B3
Reno,
We are writing to you today to raise a very important issue that has become increasingly tense over the course of the last number of months with our members who work for the various Bell companies.
As we know you are aware, grievances regarding the various performance management systems, their current utilization and the increased monitoring by the various Bell companies are beginning to pile up and if things continue it will only get worse. Clearly that is reason for all parties to be concerned.
Our members, Local Union Presidents and our National Representatives are all of the opinion that this is a major issue which Unifor must take on and we could not agree more. The programs take on multiple forms and are called different things, but in the end the fact remains, we must come together to discuss the utilization of performance management systems, their purpose, the parameters in which members are evaluated and the course of corrective action that is most appropriate in the circumstance. One thing is for sure, Unifor will not agree to a one size fits all approach to performance management that fails to properly evaluate things that are out of the control of workers. We do recognize that Bell has the right to manage its employees and to implement measures to increase customer service, but there is ample case law that demonstrates the fairness in which these types of programs must have built in to them.