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SECTION II: ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITY BY STRATEGIC OUTCOME

Detailed Analysis by Program Activity

The PSLRB has one strategic outcome and one program activity, under which fall three distinct areas of service: adjudication services, mediation services and compensation analysis and research services. The PSLRB’s program and services are carried out in support of harmonious labour relations in the federal public service and in the institutions of Parliament.

Description of Program Activity

Adjudication services

Board members render decisions on complaints and labour relations applications, and act as adjudicators in grievance hearings under the PSLRA and the PESRA.

Grievances are referred to the PSLRB mainly as a result of "rights disputes" that relate to:

• the interpretation of collective agreements and arbitral awards;
• disciplinary action resulting in termination, demotion, suspension or financial penalty;
• demotion or termination for unsatisfactory performance or for any other non-disciplinary reasons; and
• deployment without an employee’s consent.

If a public service employee presents a grievance within a department or agency and it reaches the end of the internal grievance process without having been resolved to the employee's satisfaction, he or she may refer the grievance to adjudication before the PSLRB if the subject matter falls within the areas mentioned above.

Complaints cover:

• unfair labour practices; and
• reprisal actions taken for raising an issue under Part II of the Canada Labour Code.

Applications cover:

• certification and revocation of certification;
• determination of successor rights;
• determination of managerial or confidential positions;
• determination of essential services agreements;
• review of prior PSLRB decisions; and
• requests for extensions of time to present grievances or to refer grievances to adjudication.

Mediation services

The PSLRB provides a range of mediation services, which include:

• assisting parties through conciliation and arbitration in the negotiation and renewal of collective agreements;
• assisting parties in handling issues arising from the implementation of collective agreements;
• helping parties work together to resolve grievances and complaints referred to the Board and thus avoid a formal adjudication hearing.

The PSLRB offers a two-and-a-half-day interactive training session at the national level on interest-based negotiations and mediation, which is geared specifically to labour relations in the federal public service. The high demand for such training, along with the joint union-management approach used, makes this training program a unique and critical activity for the PSLRB’s clients.

The training familiarizes the parties with the benefits of mediation and interest-based conflict resolution and supports the culture change that is often needed to make use of those approaches to resolve cases. The expected results are that the parties will become more comfortable with, and make greater use of, these approaches, which have proven to be very effective and critical to the PSLRB in its ability to manage—and reduce—its caseload.

Compensation Analysis and Research Services

The PSLRB is charged with establishing and delivering a compensation analysis and research function that will generate compensation data to be used by parties engaged in the collective bargaining and compensation determination processes in the federal public service as well as by other public and private organizations and individuals.

Specifically, the PSLRB collects, analyzes and disseminates impartial, accurate and timely information on rates of pay, employee earnings, conditions of employment, benefits and related practices prevailing in the public and private sectors to meet the needs of bargaining agents and employers in the Public Service of Canada. The survey and research results, aggregated to protect the confidentiality of respondents, are disseminated to the more than 50 parties to the collective bargaining process in the federal public service, as well as to other public sector institutions, private sector organizations and the general public.

Other services

As required by the PSLRA, the PSLRB provides physical and administrative support services to the National Joint Council (NJC), an independent consultative body of employer and employee representatives. The NJC exists to determine public service-wide issues that do not lend themselves to unit-by-unit bargaining. The PSLRB houses the NJC but plays no direct role in its operation.

Under an agreement with the Yukon government, the PSLRB administers the collective bargaining and grievance adjudication systems under the Yukon Education Labour Relations Act and the Yukon Public Service Labour Relations Act.When performing these functions funded by the Yukon government, the PSLRB acts as the Yukon Teachers Labour Relations Board and the Yukon Public Service Labour Relations Board, respectively.

Performance Measurement Framework

The PSLRB’s performance measurement framework was developed and finalized in 2007-2008 as part of its strategic planning process. The framework sets out expected results for the PSLRB as well as key performance indicators, targets and dates to achieve targets.

In the future, data to measure performance will come from the PSLRB Client Satisfaction Survey conducted every three years, the case management system, service-specific databases and manual data collection.

Recognizing that performance data has not been collected in many of these areas for the 2007-2008 fiscal year, the PSLRB has attempted to include as much existing performance data as possible to serve as a baseline for comparisons with future years.

2007-2008
Program Activity: Adjudication, mediation, and compensation analysis and research
Expected results	Key performance indicators, targets and dates to achieve targets
Harmonious labour relations in the federal public service and in Parliament	Performance indicator: Percentage of clients who are satisfied with (a) the PSLRB's ability to improve labour relations in the federal public service and Parliament through impartial and open processes and (b) the quality of assistance, reports and educational tools the PSLRB provides.
	Performance data: (a) Ability to improve labour relations 67% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with the PSLRB’s ability to improve relations between parties by ensuring that all processes are impartial and open. 53% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with the assistance provided by the PSLRB to the parties and its decisions, believing they provide useful guidance to the parties on the conduct of their ongoing and future relationship. 63% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with the PSLRB’s ability to foster collaboration between parties by assisting them, where possible, to resolve their differences on their own. 59% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with the PSLRB’s ability to develop and deliver educational tools, such as mediation training and topic-specific presentations at conferences, which promote collaborative methods for resolving disputes. Data source: 2007 Client Satisfaction Survey.1 (b) Quality of assistance, reports and tools Adjudication services 80% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with the overall hearing process. 85% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with the opportunity to present their case.   79% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with procedural fairness. 75% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with timeliness of information provided by the Registry. 72% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with usefulness of decision. 68% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with the clarity of the decision. Mediation services 82% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with grievance/complaint mediation services. 90% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with preventive mediation. 86% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with collective bargaining mediation. 95% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with training in interest-based negotiation and mediation. PSLRB website 90% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with the PSLRB’s website overall. Data source: 2007 Client Satisfaction Survey.1
	Target: 75%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2011
Parties before the PSLRB receive a timely and fair resolution of their case	Performance indicator: Percentage of clients who are satisfied with the PSLRB’s services with respect to timeliness and fairness.
	Performance data: 57% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with scheduling of hearings. 60% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with postponements. 45% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with the timely issuing of decisions. 75% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with timeliness of mediation services. 75% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with timeliness of information provided by the Registry. 85% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with the opportunity to present their case. 79% of clients were satisfied/very satisfied with procedural fairness. Data source: 2007 Client Satisfaction Survey.1
	Target: 75%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2011
Disputes are resolved through mediation interventions	Performance indicator: Percentage of mediation efforts in relation to grievances or complaints that fully resolve issues.
	Performance data: Grievance and complaint mediations: 89% of cases fully resolved* *Calculated as percentage of total number of completed mediation cases (899) that were settled or withdrawn (807).
	Target: 80%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2009
	Performance indicator: Success rate of preventive mediation cases (defined as a case not related to an adjudication case before the Board).
	Performance data: 91%* *Calculated as percentage of total number of preventive mediation cases (74) that were settled or withdrawn (68).
	Target: 85%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2009
The PSLRB’s compensation data improves the process of collective bargaining	Performance indicator: Percentage of PSLRB interventions with respect to collective bargaining (mediations, public interest commissions, arbitration boards) that use the PSLRB's compensation data, when such data is available.
	Performance data: Data not available.
	Target: 80%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2010
Outputs	Performance indicators, targets and dates to achieve targets
Decisions on applications, complaints and grievances	Performance indicator: Percentage of decisions issued within four months of the last day of the hearing or other proceeding.
	Performance data: 50%
	Target: 75%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2009
	Performance indicator: Among decisions sent for judicial review, percentage of challenges upheld in relation to the total number of decisions issued over a five-year period.
	Performance data: 1.7%* *12 applications were allowed out of 698 decisions rendered over the five-year period running from April 1, 2003  to March 31, 2008
	Target: 2%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2009
Management of cases	Performance indicator: Compliance rate with service standards for case management.
	Performance data: Data not available
	Target: 80%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2009
	Performance indicator: Percentage of adjudication cases closed during a year over the total number of new cases received during the same year.
	Performance data: -5% for all cases  (indicates that 5% more cases were opened than closed in 2007-2008)* By type of case Grievances: 15% Complaints: -7% Applications: -35% *Calculated as percentage difference between cases closed and cases opened in a fiscal year.
	Target: 10% more cases closed than new cases opened
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2009
Mediation in the negotiation and renewal of collective agreements, the management of relations resulting from the implementation of collective agreements, and in relation to grievances, complaints and other proceedings	Performance indicator: Percentage of grievance and complaint cases where the parties involved agreed to proceed with mediation efforts.
	Performance data: Parties agreed to proceed with mediation in 32% of new cases received in 2007-2008*. *Calculated as percentage of total number of new 07-08 cases (1533) in which parties agreed to mediation (491). Data not available for all active previous-year cases.
	Target: 60%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2009
	Performance indicator: Percentage of collective bargaining mediations that reduce outstanding issues.
	Performance data: 100%* *In 2007-2008, there were three collective bargaining mediations. All three (100%) reduced outstanding issues.
	Target: 50%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2009
Training sessions on interest-based negotiation and mediation	Performance indicator: Number of registrations per year.
	Performance data: 195
	Target: 500
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2010
	Performance indicator: Percentage of training sessions with a full house (more than 20 participants)
	Performance data: 78%* *7 courses with more than 20 participants, 2 courses with fewer than 20.
	Target: 80%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2010
	Performance indicator: Percentage of survey respondents who took the course who were satisfied with the quality of training.
	Performance data: 95% (11 out of 12 clients)
	Target: 80%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2010
Outputs	Performance indicators, targets and dates to achieve targets
Conciliation and arbitration services	Performance indicator: Percentage of processes to establish public interest commissions and arbitration boards that are initiated within five business days of receiving all appropriate documentation.
	Performance data: 100%
	Target: 100%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2009
Data on compensation prevailing in the public and private sectors	Performance indicator: Percentage of times that compensation information is available in time for negotiations.
	Performance data: Data not available
	Target: 100%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2010
	Performance indicator: Percentage of errata issued in relation to the number of reports issued over a three-year period.
	Performance data: Data not available
	Target: 5%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2010
	Performance indicator: Percentage of clients who indicate that data meets their needs.
	Performance data: Data not available
	Target: 80%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2011
	Performance indicator: Percentage of clients who are satisfied with methodology.
	Performance data: Data not available
	Target: 80%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2011
	Performance indicator: Percentage of clients who are satisfied with consultation and processes.
	Performance data: Data not available
	Target: 80%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2011
Outreach material	Performance indicator: Percentage of clients who are satisfied with outreach material produced by the PSLRB.
	Performance data: Percentage of clients satisfied/very satisfied with the accuracy of information on the website: 93% Percentage of clients satisfied/very satisfied with the clarity of information on the website: 91%. Percentage of clients satisfied/very satisfied with FAQs: 90%, Fact sheets: 91% Practice notes: 84% Guides: 84%. Percentage of clients satisfied/very satisfied with the website overall: 90%.  Note: This Client Satisfaction Survey reflects client views on the PSLRB website before it was substantially redesigned and updated in early 2008.
	Target: 85%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2011
	Performance indicator: Percentage increase in visits to PSLRB’s website in relation to benchmark year (2007-2008).
	Performance data: Visits in benchmark year (2007-2008): 471,542
	Target: 5%
	Date to achieve target: 31/03/2009

¹The Client Satisfaction Survey, which was conducted in 2007, measures the extent to which clients are satisfied with PSLRB services and helps identify areas for improvement. The survey was administered to 376 clients who had an interaction with the Board during the 18-month period covered by the survey (January 2006 to June 2007). Clients included employer representatives/third party employer representatives, bargaining agent representatives/third party bargaining agent representatives and third party representatives for applicants.

With 234 surveys completed and compiled, the survey’s response rate of 82.9% was high, yielding valid results. Respondents were given an opportunity to indicate how satisfied they were with such key services as adjudication, dispute resolution and registry operations. The largest numbers of survey respondents had accessed the PSLRB website, used mediation services for grievances or complaints, and appeared in person at an adjudication hearing. Full results are available at www.pslrb-crtfp.gc.ca.

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