2018 Annual Report of the Commission de la fonction publique de Montréal

47 complaints submitted regarding hiring of personnel by the Ville de Montréal

MONTRÉAL, May 15, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Julie Pepin, Chair of the Commission de la fonction publique de Montréal (CFPM), has tabled the Commission's 2018 annual report. It presents the results of the activities of the CFPM whose primary mission is to handle complaints regarding staffing processes and labour management of the Ville de Montréal. During the past year, the Commission handled 47 complaints.

"For the CFPM, the year 2018 was marked by the deployment of three major initiatives," said Ms. Pepin. "We implemented an internal and external communication campaign, including the launch of the Commission's very first website. The organization also published a major comparative study of staffing practices in seven large Canadian public and parapublic organizations, including the Ville de Montréal. Finally, a new complaints procedure was introduced."

Of the 47 complaints processed, 15 were subject to an in-depth investigation whose conclusions were presented at the council meeting. Given that some complainants provided more than one reason for filing their complaint, a total of 19 allegations were subject to a ruling by the commissioners regarding their merits. The majority of these complaints, 79%, involved unfairness or bias perceived by candidates during one of the stages of the recruitment or selection process. Of the 19 allegations analyzed, none were deemed to be founded.

It was at the eligibility stage, which mainly includes screening of CVs based on job requirements, that complainants felt the most aggrieved (42% of complaints), followed by their interview (37% of complaints). It should be noted that, as part of its processes leading to hiring, the Ville de Montréal proceeds in stages. These are: the elimination stage, which usually includes analysis of CVs, a knowledge or skills test, and a structured interview.

An equal number of complaints involved management, white-collar and professional positions at  the Ville de Montreal, namely one-third each. None of the complaints analyzed was for a blue collar, firefighter or police officer job.

Study: Hiring Practices
The CFPM published a comparative analysis of the staffing practices of seven Canadian public and parapublic organizations, including four of Québec's five largest municipalities. The study highlights the fact that the Ville de Montréal has recruitment and labour management practices that are generally in line with those recommended by the experts to ensure the fairness and impartiality of the staffing process. However, the CFPM is making recommendations to the Ville's Human Resources Department regarding, among other things, its application processing system, which would benefit from being updated to better handle the more than 200,000 applications that the Ville receives annually.

Note that the Ville de Montréal is the third largest employer in Québec, with about 28,000 employees.

About the CFPM
The Commission de la fonction publique de Montréal was created in 2003 with a mandate to ascertain the impartiality and fairness of the staffing rules and other labour management policies in effect at the Ville de Montréal. Governed by the Charter of the Ville de Montréal, the Commission reports to city council, is independent of the city's administration, and enjoys neutrality in its decision making. To view the 2018 Annual Report and visit the website: www.cfp.montreal.ca

SOURCE Commission de la fonction publique de Montréal