Bargaining for improvements begins in September
In the process of preparing for collective bargaining, your negotiating team identified a number of areas where management had not implemented the current collective agreement properly.
Optima representatives have confirmed that they are working to correct the following:
- Casual employees should not be regularly scheduled for extended periods of time. If you are casual but have been regularly scheduled (more than just short-term coverage), please get in touch (contact information is listed below)!
- Part-time employees are eligible for benefit coverage. Anyone who is not enrolled in benefits but would like to be, please get in touch!
- Signs will be posted on residents’ doors if they have surveillance cameras installed.
- LPNs working 15 hours or more per week are eligible for a $200 reimbursement for annual registration fees as well as two paid professional development days, retroactive to 2019, if applicable. Submit proof of registration/enrollment to General Manager, Nadine Ternovoy, at nadine.ternovoy@optimaliving.ca.
- Employees who are on a meal break but are expected to be readily available for duty (i.e., if they carry a work phone), should be paid for their break time at their regular rate of pay. If the employee is recalled to work from a break and no other break is scheduled later in their shift, they should be paid at time and a half. Management will communicate how this requirement will be put into practice (for example, a schedule to hand off phones during breaks and/or a method to indicate that employees should be paid for their break time).
- Employees who work on a holiday have the option to take a lieu day off within 30 days, or be paid out for the holiday (in addition to pay at time and half for all hours worked on the holiday). Management will provide information on how to make such requests, and the process will be in place by September 15.
- Employees should be eligible for increased vacation in the fourth year (15 days or 6%), tenth year (20 days or 8%), and 20th year (25 days or 10%). Management will be auditing employees’ vacation accruals to ensure they have been calculated correctly, and compensating them for past vacation owed if necessary.
- Management will communicate information on how to enroll in the RRSP matching program. The employer will pay up to 2.5% of your earnings as matching dollars if you contribute to RRSPs through their group plan. If you are interested in contributing for past tax years (and receiving the matching funds), please get in touch!
- Employees are entitled to earn sick leave at a rate of 5% for each hour worked, up to a maximum of 45 days. Also, the employer will reimburse the cost of proof-of-illness documentation.
If you have any questions or concerns about these or other issues, please contact both the General Manager, Nadine Ternovoy (nadine.ternovoy@optimaliving.ca) as well as your AUPE Membership Services Officer, Steven Cowtan (s.cowtan@aupe.org) with the details of your concern.
We had planned to begin bargaining in August to improve the collective agreement, but last-minute personnel changes at Optima led to an unexpected delay. Bargaining has been rescheduled to September 25 and 26, and we will update you on our progress after that time.
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – YARROW/OPTIMA WILDROSE
Stella Diaz
sbangalisan.24@gmail.com or 780-721-6496
Inna Tarady
innataradai53@gmail.com or 780-884-6280
Praveena Naidu
praveena.narayan@hotmail.com or 780-721-3841
AUPE RESOURCE STAFF
Merynn Edwards, Negotiations
m.edwards@aupe.org
Steven Cowtan, MSO
s.cowtan@aupe.org
Michelle Szalynski, Organizing
m.szalynski@aupe.org
Communications
co@aupe.org