CUPE Bargaining Update – January 9, 2014
Bargaining Updates
CUPE Bargaining Update – January 9, 2014
09-Jan-2014
SAHO and Employer bargaining committee representatives met with the provider unions (SGEU, SEIU and CUPE) September 23 to September 26, 2013 for a second week of common table bargaining.
SAHO and Employer bargaining committee representatives met with the provider unions (SGEU, SEIU and CUPE) September 23 to September 26, 2013 for a second week of common table bargaining.
During that week, the Ministry of Health and designated Employer reps continued to discuss a partnership agreement that would also lead to a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), effectively settling the three collective agreements. At the same time the SAHO/Employer bargaining committees continued to meet with each of the unions at side tables to discuss outstanding language issues. As a result of the partnership discussions, each union was offered a five year partnership agreement and MOA including the following:
- Economic increases (with full retroactivity) of:
April 1, 2012 – 2.0%
April 1, 2013 – 1.5%
April 1, 2014 – 1.5%
April 1, 2015 – 1.55%
April 1, 2016 – 1.95%
- A monthly car allowance for employees who are required to use their vehicle for work purposes on a continuing basis (effective April 1, 2014) in the amount of $50 per month plus $9 per day, to a maximum of $100.
- Improvements in the areas of premiums and differentials:
- Shift premium – an immediate increase from $2.10 to $2.43 per hour, and a further increase to $2.75 per hour effective October 1, 2014
- Weekend premium – an increase from $1.80 to $2.25 per hour effective April 1, 2015
- Standby – an immediate increase from $2.19 to $3.15 per hour for a regular working day, and from $4.12 to $4.25 per hour for days off and Designated holidays
- OTFT EMS employees receive an immediate increase in standby pay from $4.12 to $5.00 per hour (the minimum payment of 8 hours remains)
- Professional Fees – effective April 1, 2014, the maximum reimbursement is increased from $175 to $200 or the amount established by the professional association as of April 1, 2012, whichever is greater.
- All items previously agreed to by both sides at the bargaining table were to be incorporated into the collective agreement.
- Each union was asked to agree to the remaining Employer proposal:
- SEIU was asked to agree to changes related to their contracting out language and in exchange they received improved training and severance options.
- SGEU and CUPE were asked to agree to language that set out a process for dealing with errors made in the scheduling process. If an Employee with seniority is inadvertently missed for a shift (an overtime shift for CUPE or a regular shift for SGEU), the Employer would offer the Employee an opportunity to choose an alternate shift to work. This would be in compensation for the missed shift, as opposed to receiving a direct pay-out. This process is referred to as “work for pay”.
- The resulting collective agreement would be part of an overall partnership that would involve the unions, health regions and the Ministry working within a framework to promote collaborative discussions respecting the delivery of health services.
SEIU and SGEU agreed to the terms of the partnership and MOA as outlined above, and agreed to take the offer to their members for ratification. CUPE did not agree to these terms.
CUPE has asked to resume collective bargaining, and further bargaining dates are being considered.
CUPE is also meeting with their membership in January, and will be holding strike votes at various facilities throughout the regions. Voting is expected to conclude on January 22, 2014.
If you have any questions, feel free to call your Employer bargaining committee representative, or SAHO.
