AUPE seeks fairness for SAIT members who worked on Sept. 30

SAIT’s mishandling of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation caused confusion for support staff and led to an inconsistent and unfair treatment for some workers.
 
Now, we need to hear from members who had to work that day (Sept. 30) so we can push to get you what you deserve.
 
What happened?
 
Like last year, SAIT left it to the last minute to decide whether it would recognize the day as a statutory holiday. To make matters worse, it reversed its approach from 2021 and decided the day would not be a statutory holiday.
 
SAIT said students would be given the day off to reflect on truth and reconciliation, but support staff were expected to work. There would be no overtime pay or time off in lieu for those who worked on. Sept. 30. 
 
AUPE members were told that they could attend reconciliation events, but they needed to inform their managers what those events were and needed to be at work for the rest of the day.
 
Understandably, this led to push back from your union.
 
AUPE issued a media release about SAIT’s decision. This generated some media attention including this report.
 
Unfortunately, SAIT’s response led to even more confusion.
 
While it seems the employer was now going to allow more workers to take the day off, it was still unclear who was expected to work and whether they would be paid overtime or given time off in lieu of the day worked.
 
Not all who worked that day may have been treated the same. This is unfair.
 
What happens now?
 
There are options open for us to push for fairness for all those who worked on the day.
 
We can file group or individual grievances on behalf of members.
 
To do that, we need to hear from members who were ordered to work on Sept. 30. We need to know what you were told by your manager.
 
When were you told you would be required to work on Sept. 30?
 
Were you told that you would or would not be getting overtime pay for working?
 
Were you told you would get a day off later for working on Sept. 30?
 
We need you to act now!
 
The collective-bargaining agreement we have with the employer stipulates that we have 10 business days to file grievances.
 
That means we have 10 days from the day you were told you were required to work to gather our information, prepare our case and file the paperwork.
 
This means it’s important that we hear from you immediately.
 
If you were told to work on Sept. 30, please contact your Membership Services Officer (MSO) Blaine Vandekerkhove now.
 
He can be reached by calling the Member Resource Centre at 1-800-232-7284 or by clicking here.