As workload continues to grow, resources and support to our members is dwindling.
Recently, in response to increasing work demands and unreasonable requirements for in-office presence, Parole Officers in Quebec united to put an end to the voluntary supervision of field placement students. Despite failing to address the root cause of the Parole Officers’ concerns, CSC was quick to respond to the Quebec POs with threats of discipline. While the program is voluntary to POs in that they need to apply to become internship supervisors, once a PO agrees to take on the responsibility of supervising field placement students, CSC believes that it can pursue discipline if they feel that the PO has failed in their supervisory duties.
The supervision of these students is a serious and time-consuming responsibility. It requires, among other things, constant meetings with the student, ongoing coaching, the development and implementation of a learning plan and regular evaluations. While the CSC may state that they can reorganize the work tasks of POs to allow them to properly ensure their mandate as an internship supervisor, history shows that in most cases they do not and, even when they do, it is simply a matter of taking duties from one overworked Parole Officer and assigning them to another overworked Parole Officer. POs are expected to do their full job and supervise and account for the field placement students.
As we ready for further cuts to government spending budgets, USJE anticipates that departments such as CSC are going to continue to demand that our members do more with less.
For the above reasons, USJE strongly urges all CSC Parole Officers to no longer agree to take on the added role of CSC Internship Supervisor. While those who are currently in the middle of an internship should complete it, it is believed that Parole Officers are exposing themselves to further chances of operational workplace injuries and potential mistakes by continuing to take on more responsibilities.
USJE acknowledges and recognizes that there is an increasing demand on productivity by Parole Officers and that CSC’s unreasonable in-office presence requirement has further exacerbated an already stressed workforce. We encourage members to think twice before applying and agreeing to take on responsibilities that open them to discipline and that do not offer any form of additional compensation. We also encourage all members to implement the prioritization of tasks discussions with their supervisors. More information on this can be found here.