PSRC Meeting
February 3, 2005, 13:00
Attending: Roman Ruegg, Curtis Ballard, John Drozdoff, Andy Hurst, Phil Jones, Anne Trude
- Roman Ruegg began the meeting by welcoming all members-at-large. It was decided to fill the positions of Vice-chair and Secretary by an informal election and show of hands.
- Curtis Ballard was subsequently elected as Vice-chair and John Drozdoff as Secretary.
- There was considerable discussion about a possible reorganization of TRIUMF and the number of senior people—some at the Division Head level—that will be leaving in the next year or two. A request by Ewart Blackmore sent to Controls and Electronic Shop groups leaders for feedback on the implications of consolidating their operations could be seen as an indicator of the type of reorganization that might occur.
- It was agreed that some kind of letter should be sent to management making them aware that the PSRC would like to be somehow involved in the reorganization process on behalf of its membership. The letter should ask if any time frame for a reorganization existed, if a list of goals and priorities had been identified, and if any organizational models were to be copied. It was further agreed that such a letter should be sent to the Director and copied to Ewart Blackmore.
- Despite all attempts to avoid it there was some confusion over the wording in the PSRC elections ballot, specifically how votes for Chair and Member-at-large positions were tallied for individuals who stood for both positions. It was agreed that the confusion could be eliminated by holding an election for Chair first, then holding an election for Members-at-Large later.
- Andy Hurst will provide a report on the possibility of voting by email and whether or not the required security can be ensured.
- Phil Jones volunteered to take over maintenance of the PSRC web site from Roy Moore and will investigate the security issues associated with posting photos of PSRC members.
- The matter of salaries and compensation was discussed in light of the upcoming PPR results and the modest increases provided over the last few years.
- Roman Ruegg and Curtis Ballard will discuss PSRC concerns with Jim Hanlon.
The meeting was adjourned at 14:20
Roman Ruegg February 28, 2005
Addendum to the PSRC Minutes of February 05, 2005
With Respect to Item # 1: Phil has updated the PSRC Home Page.
With Respect to Item # 2: I took the liberty of having a brief conversation with Alan before the Federal budget on February 23. We discussed four subjects: time frame, goals, priorities, and models. Alan noted that, in general, there has been little effort devoted to re-organization due to the efforts required to secure funding for the five-year plan. Once we know our funding we will be able to set goals and priorities. Alan expects that the time frame for this is in late summer or early fall. Management could then look at models for achieving these goals. Alan noted that staff would be kept informed of the progress as well as being asked for input. Transition to a new system would likely be ‘evolutionary’ rather than revolutionary.
I would expect that with our budget being less than anticipated our goals and priorities will be somewhat different, but that reorganization will still need go ahead in the near future.
With Respect to Item # 3: Andy e-mailed PSRC members with a response from Glenn Jones as to electronic voting, this idea seems to be easily accomplished. We should discuss this at our next meeting, agree on a plan, and pass it on to the general membership for approval (via e-mail).
With Respect to Item # 5: (Pre Federal budget) Jim anticipated that TRIUMF would attempt to maintain compensation increases as was done last year until such time as the new five-year plan and internal restructuring are more detailed. TRIUMF recognizes that we are somewhat less than competitive for a number of position types.