During our National General Assembly held last week in Calgary, delegates from 49 institutions voted overwhelmingly in favour of an agreement reached with Treasury Board. The purpose of this agreement is to compensate Correctional Officers for the problems caused by the Phoenix pay system.
This agreement, which covers the period 2016-2020, includes:
- The granting of 5 vacation leave credits of 8 hours each, including four within 150 days of the signing of the agreement. Any member employed one day in a fiscal year between 2016 and today will receive these 5 credited days. Those hired as of the signature of the agreement and by March 31, 2020, will also benefit.
- Renewed commitment to the reimbursement of expenses, financial losses and damages related to payroll errors that the employer has already committed to repay. These expenses are, for example, interest charges, bank charges, tax impacts, etc. The reimbursement of sick leave or other leave related to the Phoenix fiasco.
- Additional compensation to the granting of 5 vacation credits, for «damages» over $1500. This concerns members who have suffered significant harm in connection with Phoenix. In particular, there are compensation clauses for:
The loss of non-speculative investment revenues;
Losses associated with RRSP contributions;
Discriminatory effects pursuant to the Canadian Human Rights Act;
The sick leave used following the difficulties experienced because of Phoenix
Anxiety or other serious personal difficulties;
Bankruptcy, credit rating and security clearance, career impact, resignation.
The employer is expected to pay interest for late payment of pension, severance pay or pay.
If a member is dissatisfied with the compensation offered by the employer, he or she retains the right to grieve and may challenge the employer’s decision in arbitration.
-
GRIEVANCES
All the grievances concerning the failures of the Phoenix system already filed will have to be indexed and analyzed by the Union.
The «damage» portion of the policy grievance will be settled according to this agreement.
If the «damages» are settled but the main claim is not, the grievance is not withdrawn. Take for example a member who did not receive his salary for a month. The month of unpaid salary has not yet been paid, but the person has been reimbursed for the interest she had to pay because of the loan incurred to survive during her month without pay.
The damages are therefore settled, but the grievance is not withdrawn until the member has received his month of salary.
Once the damages and the main claim are settled, the grievances will be withdrawn.
-
An oversight committee will be established, which will work to establish the expedited adjudication process, to allow officers to benefit from their compensation faster. UCCO-SACC-CSN asks to be part of the committee to ensure that we are looking after our interests.
-
It should be noted that any prejudice suffered regarding the Phoenix pay system as of the signature of the agreement to March 31 2020 will be treated according to this agreement.
-
After March 31 2020, the agreement can be renewed. If it is not, it will always be possible to file a grievance according to the normal procedure. By signing this agreement, members do not give up their appeals if Phoenix continues to create problems in the future.
Members who didn’t file grievances and who were affected by Phoenix have a two year period to do it, as of the signature of the agreement.
The agreement finally states that the employer still has the obligation to stabilize the pay system as quickly as possible.
In the highly unlikely event that another union secures improvements to this deal, the employer has committed to making those same improvements to this deal.
If you have any questions regarding the agreement, please contact the members of your delegation who attended last week’s NGA in Calgary.
To read our press release : https://ucco-sacc-csn.ca/assets/uploads/2019/05/Comm_PHENIX_May_14_ENG-1.pdf