The Board team presented their initial positions for Articles 9 (Personal Files) and 22 (Grievance and Interpretation).
The ULFA negotiating team presented a response on Schedule R (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) and their initial proposal on Article 17 (Personnel Committees).
There was also discussion of ULFA’s April 8th “Article XX package” (Evaluation), and some general discussion on the status of Articles and Schedules with respect to initial and response presentations.
Board proposal on Article 9 (Personal Files)
The Board proposal for Article 9 consists of one addition to the current Article. This addition would allow for the inclusion of notes created under Article 24 (Supervision and Discipline) within a Member’s Personal File. This proposal has generated some discussion and feedback from members of ULFA’s Grievance Committee.
Board proposal on Article 22 (Grievance and Interpretation)
The Board’s Article 22 proposal involves some reordering of current language and some revisions to procedures and timelines. The Board also proposes to change the name of this article to `Interpretation, Dispute Resolution, and Grievance.’ Both parties agree that the current grievance process can be time-consuming and difficult. Any changes to this process must recognize the power imbalance between employer and employee in labour disputes and allow for ULFA to provide both timely and thoughtful redress to violations of the Collective Agreement.
The proposal specifies three categories of grievance: individual (affecting 1 Member), group (affecting 2 or more Members), and policy (affecting all Members). Along with a variety of modifications to some details of the process, it affirms ULFA’s carriage rights in the grievance process and indicates that Article 22 does not give Members unrestricted rights to dispute grievances through arbitration.
The proposal includes significant changes to the timelines for grievances. It would reduce the current time limit of 60 working days to 20 working days from the time an incident takes place (or the date by which the potential violation should have become known) to the initial filing of a grievance. The current timeline allows for a fullsome exploration of the issues in advance of formal notification. The time allowed for a response to a grievance notice to the subsequent investigation and report from the other Party extends from 10 days to 20 days in the proposal. In discussion after the presentation, ULFA flagged that the reduction in the initial reporting timeline from 60 days to 20 days could result in more grievances being filed as individual notices may not have time to be grouped and less time is available for detailed exploration of the issue(s).
Discussion on ULFA proposal for Article XX (Evaluation)
The Board team orally provided thoughts in response to ULFA’s “Article XX package” presented on April 8. The Board indicated modest acceptance for some of the restructuring proposed, yet indicated in general their feeling that the proposed Article XX was trying to do too much at once by encompassing both language changes and organizational changes in a large package. The ULFA team expressed disappointment and noted that the Board has had plenty of time to become familiar with the details of this proposal as the concept for Article XX (Evaluation) was proposed in a very similar format in the last round of negotiations, and that restructuring the Collective Agreement to include an article on Evaluation was agreed to in principle for this round of negotiations by both Parties as demonstrated by very specific details in Schedule S of the 2018-2020 Collective Agreement (see S.07 and S.08). These changes are part of ULFA’s bargaining mandate, which received 94% approval by the membership.
ULFA proposal on Schedule R (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion)
The ULFA response for Schedule R / Article YY included specifications for the implementation and oversight of equity studies, and accommodation principles. Language in the ULFA proposal largely affirmed elements of the ULFA bargaining mandate. Key considerations presented include the need for regular equity studies, including pay equity, corrective actions resulting from EDI studies, ensuring no salaries are reduced as a result of equity studies, defining the scope of any documentation required for accommodations, and the relationship between the Joint Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JCEDI) and the director of EDI, emphasizing that the committee is independent, and not subservient. The Board expressed concern with potential for over-reach within the Collective Agreement, and this was discussed briefly. Both the Board and ULFA have indicated that this Article is a high priority and are interested in seeing it come to agreement.
ULFA proposal on Article 17 (Personnel Committees)
The presentation of Article 17 (Personnel Committees) was the first presentation of the Article in this round of negotiations and included three main areas of revision. A requirement that Personnel Committee Members receive bias training has been added. Confidentiality requirements have been affirmed, with penalties for breach of confidentiality specified, and a whistle-blower clause added so that either the Board or Association could be informed of something questionable without breach of confidentiality. The proposal also provides for documentation to be provided to ULFA to allow it the information required to support Members through these processes. The proposal also involves some reorganization of existing language.
Two more negotiation sessions will be held in June. After that, the teams have been unable to find mutually agreeable times to meet over the summer with the exception of a single session planned for early August.
The next negotiating session will be held on June 10. Articles 24 (Supervision and Discipline), 25 (Financial Emergency), and 33 (Leaves), and Schedule A (Salary Schedules and Stipends) have yet to be presented at the table, and are scheduled for presentation at the June 10th session. You can follow the status of all Articles opened during this round of negotiations here.
On May 31, representatives of the Board and ULFA held their eighth bargaining session since the exchange of full proposals on January 18, 2021.
The Board team presented their initial positions for Articles 9 (Personal Files) and 22 (Grievance and Interpretation).
The ULFA negotiating team presented a response on Schedule R (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) and their initial proposal on Article 17 (Personnel Committees).
There was also discussion of ULFA’s April 8th “Article XX package” (Evaluation), and some general discussion on the status of Articles and Schedules with respect to initial and response presentations.
Board proposal on Article 9 (Personal Files)
The Board proposal for Article 9 consists of one addition to the current Article. This addition would allow for the inclusion of notes created under Article 24 (Supervision and Discipline) within a Member’s Personal File. This proposal has generated some discussion and feedback from members of ULFA’s Grievance Committee.
Board proposal on Article 22 (Grievance and Interpretation)
The Board’s Article 22 proposal involves some reordering of current language and some revisions to procedures and timelines. The Board also proposes to change the name of this article to `Interpretation, Dispute Resolution, and Grievance.’ Both parties agree that the current grievance process can be time-consuming and difficult. Any changes to this process must recognize the power imbalance between employer and employee in labour disputes and allow for ULFA to provide both timely and thoughtful redress to violations of the Collective Agreement.
The proposal specifies three categories of grievance: individual (affecting 1 Member), group (affecting 2 or more Members), and policy (affecting all Members). Along with a variety of modifications to some details of the process, it affirms ULFA’s carriage rights in the grievance process and indicates that Article 22 does not give Members unrestricted rights to dispute grievances through arbitration.
The proposal includes significant changes to the timelines for grievances. It would reduce the current time limit of 60 working days to 20 working days from the time an incident takes place (or the date by which the potential violation should have become known) to the initial filing of a grievance. The current timeline allows for a fullsome exploration of the issues in advance of formal notification. The time allowed for a response to a grievance notice to the subsequent investigation and report from the other Party extends from 10 days to 20 days in the proposal. In discussion after the presentation, ULFA flagged that the reduction in the initial reporting timeline from 60 days to 20 days could result in more grievances being filed as individual notices may not have time to be grouped and less time is available for detailed exploration of the issue(s).
Discussion on ULFA proposal for Article XX (Evaluation)
The Board team orally provided thoughts in response to ULFA’s “Article XX package” presented on April 8. The Board indicated modest acceptance for some of the restructuring proposed, yet indicated in general their feeling that the proposed Article XX was trying to do too much at once by encompassing both language changes and organizational changes in a large package. The ULFA team expressed disappointment and noted that the Board has had plenty of time to become familiar with the details of this proposal as the concept for Article XX (Evaluation) was proposed in a very similar format in the last round of negotiations, and that restructuring the Collective Agreement to include an article on Evaluation was agreed to in principle for this round of negotiations by both Parties as demonstrated by very specific details in Schedule S of the 2018-2020 Collective Agreement (see S.07 and S.08). These changes are part of ULFA’s bargaining mandate, which received 94% approval by the membership.
ULFA proposal on Schedule R (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion)
The ULFA response for Schedule R / Article YY included specifications for the implementation and oversight of equity studies, and accommodation principles. Language in the ULFA proposal largely affirmed elements of the ULFA bargaining mandate. Key considerations presented include the need for regular equity studies, including pay equity, corrective actions resulting from EDI studies, ensuring no salaries are reduced as a result of equity studies, defining the scope of any documentation required for accommodations, and the relationship between the Joint Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JCEDI) and the director of EDI, emphasizing that the committee is independent, and not subservient. The Board expressed concern with potential for over-reach within the Collective Agreement, and this was discussed briefly. Both the Board and ULFA have indicated that this Article is a high priority and are interested in seeing it come to agreement.
ULFA proposal on Article 17 (Personnel Committees)
The presentation of Article 17 (Personnel Committees) was the first presentation of the Article in this round of negotiations and included three main areas of revision. A requirement that Personnel Committee Members receive bias training has been added. Confidentiality requirements have been affirmed, with penalties for breach of confidentiality specified, and a whistle-blower clause added so that either the Board or Association could be informed of something questionable without breach of confidentiality. The proposal also provides for documentation to be provided to ULFA to allow it the information required to support Members through these processes. The proposal also involves some reorganization of existing language.
Two more negotiation sessions will be held in June. After that, the teams have been unable to find mutually agreeable times to meet over the summer with the exception of a single session planned for early August.
The next negotiating session will be held on June 10. Articles 24 (Supervision and Discipline), 25 (Financial Emergency), and 33 (Leaves), and Schedule A (Salary Schedules and Stipends) have yet to be presented at the table, and are scheduled for presentation at the June 10th session. You can follow the status of all Articles opened during this round of negotiations here.
