Progress in negotiations has been slow because of COVID-related delays, but we are now on the right track to getting the collective agreement you deserve. We’re pleased to report we’ve signed off on most of our non-monetary items.
Since September, 2021, we’ve met with the employer four times. Below are the signed-off articles:
Articles with improvements and amendments:
- Article 2 – Definitions (addition of Chapter Chair)
- Article 3 – Recognition
- Article 6 – Respectful Workplace
- Article 8 – Probationary Period
- Article 9 – Seniority
- Article 12 – Hours of Work
- Article 22 – Sick Leave
- Article 29 – Health and Safety
- Article 24 – Leave of Absence
- Article 28 – Bulletin Board Space (Addition of an information binder on each floor)
The most significant improvements we made to our non-monetary language is contained in the Health and Safety article, which now includes a Workplace Violence Protection clause. Workplace violence is a serious problem in healthcare, and you made it clear that fixing this epidemic is one of your top priorities. Thanks to your determination, we’ve secured language that takes significant steps towards tackling this issue in the industry.
Articles with current language:
- Preamble Article 4 – Union Membership and Dues Checkoff
- Article 5 – Management Rights
- Article 10– Performance Appraisals
- Article 21 – Benefit Plan
- Article 23 – Workers’ Compensation ATTACHMENT #1
- Article 25 – Pension Plan
- Article 30 – Copies of the Collective Agreement
- Article 32 – EMAC
- Article 35 – Employment Insurance Premium Reduction
- LOU 1 - Uniforms and Protective Apparel for Maintenance Employees
- LOU 2 – Severance
- LOU 5 – Workload Appeal Process
Most of our conversations at the latest meetings, on Dec. 13 & 14, revolved around current language in the collective agreement. While we have several existing protections that are very solid, the employer has not always followed them to a T. We brought these concerns to the employer and discussed how they are currently applying provisions in our collective agreement — specifically, provisions that are supposed to ensure extra shifts are offered by seniority and staff are paid for missed breaks. There have also been several reports of members getting bypassed for work opportunities.
The employer listened to our concerns and showed a genuine willingness to improve. They’ve also suggested they might compensate employees who were overlooked for work opportunities; we’re going to keep advocating for a fair outcome.
On other non-monetary matters we’ve reached an impasse, so the plan is to address monetary items at our next meetings scheduled in March 2022. If you have any questions or concerns before then, please reach out to us!
Your Negotiations Team
Sherry Galbraith – sherrygalb@yahoo.ca
Amber Daub – amberdaub@hotmail.com
Nancy Seymour – gogirlnance@hotmail.ca
AUPE Resource Staff
Christian Tetreault, Negotiator c.tetreault@aupe.org
Jon Milton, Communications j.milton@aupe.org