Tuesday, September 19, 2017
The Attendance Support Management Program (ASMP) was repealed as part of the latest contract that AMAPCEO negotiated with the Ontario Public Service Employer—an important win against an unfair and much-loathed policy.
Though the current ASMP will no longer apply to AMAPCEO members as of January 1, 2018, the Employer is now in the process of drafting a replacement to the policy. Earlier this month, President Dave Bulmer provided his detailed thoughts to Assistant Deputy Minister Marc Rondeau on what needs to change to meet the concerns of AMAPCEO’s membership.
Among his arguments, President Bulmer reminded Mr. Rondeau that excessive absenteeism has never been an issue for AMAPCEO members, and as such, it is the union’s position that a replacement program is unnecessary. However, should the Employer move to implement one, the program must:
- Be specific to AMAPCEO and its members: any replacement should be designed for the public service professionals it will impact
- Address the root causes of absenteeism: any replacement must shift from a punitive, individualistic approach to one that helps uncover and address underlying systemic issues
- Have a fair threshold: the ASMP threshold was excessively low and unreasonably strict; a replacement must have a higher threshold to be effective.