CUPE MB School Division Sector

CUPE MB School Division Sector

Master Collective Agreement

2016

Note: This document is not all-inclusive to a standard Collective Agreement, but rather based on existing language provided by groups affiliated with CUPE MB SDS and subject to change. The articles contained herein may be adapted as deemed fit by individual Locals. Numbering or organization within this document does not necessarily correspond with numbering within the quoted collective agreements. Notes contained in square brackets [ ] have been inserted through conversation ensuing during the Annual SDS Conference “Master collective agreement review activity”.

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Contents

PREAMBLE

MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

RECOGNITION AND NEGOTIATION

DEFINITION

PROBATION

PERSONNEL FILE

TEMPORARY REPLACEMENT

TEMPORARY STAFF

SENIORITY

HOLIDAYS

VACATION

LONG SERVICE

LEAVES

SICK LEAVE PROVISIONS

SICK LEAVE VESTING

BEREVEMENT LEAVE

COMPASSIONATE LEAVE

FAMILY LEAVE

MATERNITY/PARENTAL/ADOPTIVE LEAVE

UNION BUSINESS

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

JURY AND WITNESS DUTY

DISCRETIONARY LEAVE (Personal Leave with Pay)

PERSONAL LEAVE (Without Pay)

RELIGIOUS LEAVE

LEAVE TO WRITE EXAMS

BENEFITS

PENSION

RRSP PLAN

GROUP LIFE

EXTENDED HEALTH BENEFITS

SALARY CONTINUANCE

EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

PROMOTIONS AND STAFF CHANGES

LAYOFFS AND RECALLS

FRENCH LANGUAGE SKILLS REQUIRED

RETIREMENT POLICY

RETIREMENT INCENTIVE PLAN

TUITION FEES AND TRAINING & COURSE PAYMENTS

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND

JOB SECURITY

CONTRACTING OUT

AMALGAMATION, REGIONALISATION AND MERGER PROTECTION

WORK STOPPAGE

EXTRA CURRICULAR LEAVE

SAFETY

FREEDOM FROM VIOLENCE

SEXUAL HARRASSMENT

PAY GRADES

OTHER LANGUAGE OF NOTE

Retroactive Pay Adjustments

Technological Change

PREAMBLE

Language:[1]

It is the desire of both parties to this Agreement to maintain the existing harmonious relations between the Division and the Union, to promote cooperation and understanding between the Division and its employees, to recognize the mutual value of joint discussions and negotiations in all matters pertaining to working conditions, hours of work and scale of wages, to encourage economy of operation and elimination of waste, and to promote the morale, well-being and security of all the employees included in the bargaining unit represented by the Union.

It is now desirable that methods of bargaining and all matters pertaining to the working conditions of the employees be drawn up in a Collective Agreement.

MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

Language:[2]

The Union recognizes and acknowledges that it is the exclusive function of the Division to manage, direct and conduct the affairs of the Division and to exercise all prerogatives of management and without in any way limiting or affecting the generality of the foregoing to maintain order, discipline and efficiency and to extend or curtail operations, determine the size of and direct and allocate the work of the work force and to hire, promote, suspend, demote and transfer employees subject to the right of the employee concerned to lodge a grievance in the manner herein set forth. The Union recognizes the exclusive right of the Division to discharge, suspend or discipline employees for just cause. All matters concerning the operation of the Division, not specifically dealt with herein, shall be reserved to the Division and be its exclusive responsibility. The Union also recognizes and acknowledges that the Board can delegate these and any other management prerogatives to the Chief Superintendent and/or designate(s).

RECOGNITION AND NEGOTIATION

Language:[3]

The Division recognizes the Canadian Union of Public Employees and its Local X as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all employees of the Division set forth in the Manitoba Labour Board Certificate No. X dated X and for those employees for whom the Division and the Union from time to time mutually agreed upon.

No employee shall be required or permitted to make a written or verbal Agreement with the Employer or their representative which may conflict with the terms of this Collective Agreement.

The Division agrees that the bargaining unit shall have the right to assistance from representatives of the Canadian Union of Public Employees when negotiating or dealing with matters concerning the Agreement. Such representatives shall, with the prior approval of the Division, be given access to the Division's premises at a time mutually agreed upon.

(a) Union representatives shall be granted necessary time off with basic pay to meet with the Division for the purpose of conducting negotiations subject to a maximum cost to the Division of maintaining salaries for up to seven (7) employees so engaged.

(b) Union representatives shall be granted necessary time off with basic pay to meet with the Division for the purpose of processing grievances subject to a maximum cost to the Division of maintaining salaries for:

(i)one (1) shop steward so engaged when meeting with management in accordance with the grievance procedure (Article x) and, should it be required, one Union executive member may attend provided that the cost of salary and benefits is paid by the Union for the Union executive member.

(ii)six (6) employees so engaged when meeting with the Board of Trustees.

The term "employee" shall, for the purpose of this Agreement be deemed to include all employees of the Division in the following groups: xxx

DEFINITION

Language 1:[4]

(a)Regular Full Time Employees

are those employees not designated as a Temporary or Casual who are working as per Article X (Hours of Work) of this Agreement, and who have satisfactorily completed one hundred twenty (120) working days of employment as a Probationary Employee or one hundred fifty (150) working days in the instance of part time employment as a Probationary Employee.

(b)Regular Part Time Employees

(c)Regular Employees

who are transferred or promoted pursuant to Article X remain as a Regular Employee of the Division but are considered as on a trial period with respect to the transfer or promotion and are subject to the trial provisions of Article X. Where the term “Regular Employee(s)” is used, it shall mean both Regular Full Time and Regular Part Time Employees.

(d)Wherever in the Agreement the term “Regular Employees” is used, that term shall include Regular Full Time Employees and Regular Part Time Employees. Where the term “Employee” is used it shall mean Regular, Temporary, and Probationary Employees.

(e)Temporary Employees

are those engaged to perform a specific task, or for a specific period of time or until the occurrence of a specific event. Where the continuous period of temporary employment exceeds one hundred and fifty (150) working days, that Employee shall be deemed to be a Regular Employee as set out in sub-paragraphs (a) or (b).

Where a Temporary Employee becomes a Regular Employee by virtue of the passage of time, pursuant to this sub-paragraph, seniority shall commence from the first day of continuous temporary employment. Also, benefits accrued during that period shall continue into the period of regular employment. Where a temporary employment ends prior to completion of a continuous period of one hundred and fifty (150) working days, accrued benefits under this Agreement shall subsist only during the duration of the temporary employment and once that temporary employment terminates and the Employee is again classified as a Casual or is no longer employed at all, the benefits that had been accrued shall cease to be.

Where the terms and conditions of benefit plans are underwritten by an Insurance Company or other external carriers the terms and conditions of the benefit plans shall govern eligibility.

(f)Regular Full Time, Regular Part Time and Temporary Employees

shall, subject to sub-paragraph (e) be eligible to claim all benefits incorporated in this agreement, except that Temporary Employees shall not have recourse through the grievance and arbitration procedure in the case of discharge.

(g)Casual Employees

are those engaged on an irregular or unscheduled basis. Casuals shall not be covered under the provisions of this Agreement. If and when a Casual Employee is continuously employed for more than twenty (20) consecutive working days then that Casual Employee will be designated as a Temporary Employee.

A Casual Employee will be paid the rate of pay, identified in Schedule “X” for the classification in which the Casual Employee is engaged to provide service.

(h)Probationary Employees

are those employees of the Division who are in the process of fulfilling the initial one hundred twenty (120) working days probationary requirement as set out in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) or one hundred fifty (150) working days in the instance of part time employment as a Probationary Employee.

With the exception of Temporary Employees who become Regular Employees by virtue of the passage of time as covered in sub-paragraph (e), prior service as a Temporary or Casual shall not count as part of the probationary period leading up to regular employment.

At any time during the probationary period the Employee may be terminated by the Division in its sole and exclusive discretion, and not withstanding any provisions of this Agreement such termination shall not be grievable nor arbitrable and shall be deemed to have been for just cause.

[Struck out as this is not optimal language but included to provide continuity with this transcription of the entire article.Other locals have better practice. See “Probation” below]

(i)Students

employed during the period commencing May 1st and terminating September 30th in any year, are not included within the scope of this Agreement.

Language 2:[5]

In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires, the expression “employee” signifies a person who is employed by the Division as provided for in Schedules A, B, and C of the Agreement. Furthermore,

a)"full-time employee" means an employee who regularly works the full prescribed hours of work per week;

b)"part-time employee" means an employee who is scheduled to work less than the full prescribed hours per week on a regular and recurring basis;

c)"term employee" means an employee hired for a specific period of time or for the completion of a specific job or until the occurrence of a specified event. This period of time shall not exceed (six) 6 months. This period of time may be extended by mutual agreement between the parties in writing. An employee hired under this definition shall receive a letter indicating the length of time that employee is expected to be employed. A copy of the letter will be sent to the Union President. Seniority provisions of this agreement do not apply to a person hired on a term basis, except where a term employee goes to a full-time or part-time position without a break in service, in which case seniority shall be backdated to date of last hire.

d)The 6 month time limit within the definition of term employee shall not apply to term employees hired for maternity or parental leaves. These employees shall be classified as term until the return of the regular employee they have been hired to replace.

e)"casual employee" means an employee who is employed on an irregular and unscheduled basis. A casual employee is not covered by this Agreement. The rate of pay for a casual employee shall be Clerk A, Step 1.

f)The rate of pay for a term and/or casual employee shall be effective from the pay period following signing of the Agreement.

PROBATION

Language:[6]

Every employee hired shall be placed on probation for a period of sixty (60) working days from the date upon which employment commenced. Probationary employees shall be entitled to all rights and privileges of this agreement except they shall have no recourse through the grievance procedure. At any time during this probationary period the employee may be suspended or dismissed by the employing authority with just cause and notice being given and notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement there shall be no appeal against such suspension or dismissal. Upon completion of the probationary period, seniority shall be retroactive to the original date of employment.

PERSONNEL FILE

Language 1:[7]

An employee may at a mutually agreed time review their personnel file after submitting a written request for such review to the Director of Human Resources or designate. An employee shall have the right to respond in writing to any document contained in the personnel file and the Division will have its representative present when the employee is examining the personnel file.

Following written assessment of an employee's performance, the employee will be given an opportunity to review the assessment and to acknowledge having read the contents of the assessment. Within two (2) working days of reviewing the assessment, the employee will be provided with the opportunity to place their own comments on the assessment form, and, the employee will receive a duplicate copy for their records.

The Division will not introduce as evidence at any Arbitration Hearing and an Arbitration Board shall not accept as evidence any document which is disciplinary in nature, unless the employee has been previously advised of the nature of the discipline and has been provided with a copy of such document on request.

TEMPORARY REPLACEMENT

Language 1:[8]

If an employee in any classification is designated by the Division to replace temporarily another employee in a higher paid classification in the same group, the employee shall receive pay at the rate paid during the first year of employment of the classification of the employee being replaced for work done for any period provided that the employee shall not receive less than their own regular rate of pay. No employee shall be required to perform the duties of an employee in a higher rated position unless that employee is so designated by the Division.

Language 2:[9]

When a designated Employee is assigned to relieve another Employee in a higher paid classification, they shall receive the higher rate of pay for all hours so worked providing they are performing substantially all of the duties in the higher paid classification.

TEMPORARY STAFF

Language:[10]

Employees in any group who have not been appointed to the permanent staff pursuant to Article X.

(a)Temporary Project Employees shall be employees hired for a specified period of time, or, for the completion of a specific job, or, until the occurrence of a specified event. Employees under this designation will not normally work for more than eight (8) months; however, in the event such a requirement exists, the Union shall be notified of any duration in excess of eight (8) months. (Employees shall be paid the minimum rate of pay in the classification that they are hired into).

(b)Substitute X are temporary employees hired as replacements for staff or to provide temporary service.

(c)General Labourers (High School Students) are temporary employees hired as temporary replacements for staff or to provide temporary service to the Division.

(d)Seasonal Labourers (University Students) are temporary employees working on grounds and/or doing miscellaneous duties normally performed by utility staff. It is understood that during inclement weather, Seasonal Labourers may be assigned to “other” duties. Seasonal Labourers may be employed in the months of March through December.

(e)Temporary Project Employees, General Labourers, Seasonal Labourers and Substitute Caretakers/Substitute Cleaners shall be entitled to all rights and benefits of the Collective Agreement, subject to the conditions established by the master contracts for benefit plans, except temporary project employees, General Labourers, Seasonal Labourers and Substitute Caretakers/Substitute Cleaners shall have no seniority rights.

SENIORITY

Language:[11]

Seniority is defined as the length of service in the bargaining unit. In the event an employee resigns and is rehired, that employee's seniority shall be the date of last hire. Seniority shall be used in promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, permanent reduction of the workforce, and recall, as set out in other provisions of this Agreement. Seniority shall operate on a bargaining unit-wide basis subject to Article x of this Collective Agreement.

A copy of the seniority list shall be posted in the X Room of each building and in all shops by X of each year. In addition a copy of the seniority list shall be forwarded to the Secretary of the Union and the Union Representative by X of each year.

An employee shall lose seniority and their name shall be removed from the seniority list for any of the following reasons:

(a)Voluntary termination of employment;

(b)Discharged for just cause and not reinstated;

(d) Failure to return to work following an authorized leave of absence unless through illness or other such reason acceptable to the Division;

(e) Absence for more than two (2) consecutive working days without notifying their School/Building Administrator or District Maintenance Manager/Supervisor;

(f) Failure to contact their School/Building Administrator or District Maintenance Manager/Supervisor within three (3) working days after receiving notice of recall from lay-off by registered mail to do so unless through illness or other such reason that is acceptable to the Division. The employee shall not be required to return to work following lay-off earlier than fifteen (15) working days after receipt of the above notice unless through mutual agreement of the employee and the Division. The onus is on the employee to inform the Division in writing of their current address;

(g) Laid-off for more than eighteen (18) consecutive months;

(h) Is employed in an out of scope position within the Division and has completed their probationary period. With the exception of (h) above, an employee who has lost seniority as a result of the application of this clause shall be notified that their employment is terminated and where such notice is given, it shall be considered as just cause for termination.

[Question: Is it better to have no language about how to lose seniority?Is this more management?]