HN2100 Collective Agreement Administration With Paul Tilley Unit 8 Collective Agreement Clauses – Part 3

Seniority Clauses Seniority clauses help ensure that an employees job security increases in proportion to his/her length of service. Therefore, in the event of a layoff, employees shall be laid off in reverse order to their bargaining unit wide seniority. An employee about to be laid off may ‘bump’ an employee with less seniority in his/her work grade, or lower, provided the employee exercising the right is qualified to perform the work of the employee with less seniority. Likewise, in the event of recall, employees shall be recalled in order of their seniority.

Seniority Clauses There are four areas where acquisition and relinquishment of seniority may be covered in a collective agreement: Probationary Employees Accumulation of Seniority Super-seniority Loss of Seniority

Seniority Clauses: Probationary Employees Most collective agreements stipulate that employees are to be on "probation" before they acquire the rights of a full seniority employee. This provision is in place to allow the employer the opportunity to determine if the employee is suitable for the position and to assess their performance on the job, and to give the employee an opportunity to adjust to their new position. There are three ways that probationary periods are measured. Which method is used will be determined by the wording of the article relating to probationary employees in the collective agreement. Number of days worked Calendar days Working days

Seniority Clauses: Accumulation of Seniority There is generally a clause in collective agreements stating that once seniority status is attained, seniority will accumulate until the end of employment.

Seniority Clauses: Super-seniority Collective agreements provide those with the most seniority, the most security in times of layoffs. However, if the collective agreement contains a "super-seniority" clause, union officials (such as shop stewards and those holding executive positions) will have seniority preference over those that may have more seniority than them, in the case of a layoff. The purpose of such clauses, as stated in your text, "is usually said to be to maintain effective union representation for employees where the size of the workforce is reduced by layoffs."

Seniority Clauses: Loss of Seniority There are three clear situations where employees can lose their seniority: where they are discharged for cause upon voluntary resignation when they are promoted out of the bargaining unit (ie promoted to supervisor-as described above)

Health and Safety Clauses For most unionized workers, safety and health is a “mandatory subject of bargaining.” Their unions have the right to bargain for higher safety and health standards and for anything else that contributes to better safety and health conditions. And safety and health covers a lot of territory – it includes stress, and all the things that cause it, such as staffing levels, line speed and mandatory overtime. A contract can be used to control hazards that are not regulated, or to control hazards that are covered by regulations that are inadequate. A contract can require an employer to pay for safety and health activities of the union. A contract can require an employer to release employees, with pay, to do safety and health work. A contract can give the union the authority to enforce safety and health contract language on the spot, without waiting for an inspector to respond to a complaint.

Reporting/Call-in Clauses The purpose of the reporting pay provision is to ensure that all employees who are called in to work, where there are no regularly scheduled hours or outside their regularly scheduled working hours, receive equitable compensation for the out-of-pocket expenses and other costs incurred by having to report to work.

Benefit Clauses - General The Employee Benefits clause in employment agreements cover benefits available unionized employees. According to Canada Revenue Agency: A benefit is a good or service you give, or arrange for a third party to give, to your employee such as free use of property that you own. A benefit includes an allowance or a reimbursement of an employee’s personal expense. The clause typically states that the employee is entitled to participate in all employee benefit plans made available to employees. In addition, the clause may detail specific benefits or perks. Vacation Insurance Automobile/Travel Relocation Expense

Benefit Clauses – Vacation pay To qualify for a paid annual vacation, the Labour Standards Act stipulates a person must have been working for the same employer at least 12 months and have worked at least 90% of the available hours. Minimum vacation time is 2 weeks and the employee may choose to take it in either 1 two week period, or 2 one week periods. An employee must be permitted to take this vacation within 10 months of qualifying for it. An employer is permitted to give an employee at least 2 weeks written notice of when vacation is to commence. Calculating Vacation Pay An employee who has worked for an employer 5 days or more is entitled to receive vacation pay. Employees must receive vacation pay at least one day before starting their vacation, or within 1 week following termination of employment. Vacation pay may be paid each pay period, as long as the employee is advised and the amount of vacation pay is indicated in the employer’s payroll. Vacation pay is calculated at 4% of gross wages for persons who have worked under 15 years continuous service with the same employer. The rate must be calculated at 6% for those who have worked 15 years or more of continuous service for the same employer. Vacation pay is subject to statutory deductions, including Employment Insurance premiums, income taxes, and Canada Pension Plan contributions.

Benefit Clauses – Holiday Pay In NL, statues guarntees 6 paid public holidays per year: 1.New Year's Day. 2.Good Friday. 3.Memorial Day (Canada Day) 4.Labour Day. 5.Remembrance Day. 6.Christmas Day. When an employee works on a paid public holiday they are entitled to choose one of the following: To receive wages at twice their regular rate for the hours worked on the holiday, or an additional day off with pay within 30 days of the holiday, or an additional paid vacation day.

Benefit Clauses – Wages/Salaries Newfoundland and Labrador has a 40 hour standard work week, and time worked in excess of these hours must be paid at an overtime rate (with the exception of agricultural employees). With some exceptions, 14 hours is the maximum number of hours an employee may work in a day. Employers must pay workers not less frequently than half monthly (ie at least twice per month), as stipulated by the Labour Standards Act. All wages owing must be paid within one week of the end of a pay period. A statement of earnings (ie cheque stub) must be issued to an employee each pay day. It should indicate the start and ending dates of a pay period, rates of pay, the number of hours worked at each rate of pay, gross wages, and net wages paid. All deductions should be listed individually.

Benefit Clauses – Bereavement Pursuant to the Labour Standards Act, an employee who has been working continuously for a period of at least 30 days, is entitled to 1 day paid leave and two days unpaid leave in event of the death of that person’s spouse, child, grandchild, mother, father, brother or sister, grandparent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.Labour Standards Act

Benefit Clauses – Leave Provincial regulations stipulate minimum requirements for paid and unpaid leave. Organizations may provide more generous benefits, but this should be written into a policy document and distributed to all employees.

Technological Change Clauses Technological change in the workplace has the potential to affect the terms and conditions or security of employment for a significant number of the employer’s employees A Technological Change clause in a collective agreement compels the employer to give the union notice of the technological change at some time prior to the date on which the technological change is to be effected.

Term of Agreement Clauses A Term clause in a collective agreement typically notes the timeframe for which the collective agreement is in effect.