News Briefs

B.C. Medical Professionals Settle

Agreement abides by fiscal mandate

A tentative agreement was reached on December 23 for the 17,000 health science professionals in British Columbia represented by the Health Sciences Assn. of B.C. (HSABC), the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Health Employees’ Union (HEU). Ratification of the new contract with the Health Employers Assn. of B.C. (HEABC) is scheduled to be complete in early February.

According to the HSABC’s summary, “from the outset, we recognized this was going to be a difficult set of negotiations. Our members are critical members of the modern healthcare team, and the government imposed a strict ‘net zero’ bargaining mandate.” Cost-savings were achieved by delaying a vacation milestone by one year and by reducing responsibility premiums.

The deal provides enhanced benefit coverage, improved professional development opportunities, a new job security process, salary improvements through classification reviews, and joint committees to study disability management and broader planning for the healthcare system.

Post Office Bargaining Gets Serious

Union alleges divide-and-conquer tactics

Canada Post has fleshed out some of its demands in the current round of negotiations with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) for urban operations. On October 28, Canada Post presented the union with the broad outline of its position and those included a two-tier wage and benefit structure. On December 16, CUPW summarized more of the details of the demands for its members. According to CUPW, Canada Post wishes to replace the current sick leave credits with a short-term disability plan, replace current retiree benefits with a healthcare sending account and eliminate the seventh week of vacation. As well, language changes would allow supervisors to work, weakens the grievance procedure, eliminates some union rights in workload assessment and increases the use of employees’ vehicles for transporting mail, again according to the union. For new hires, seniority would be eliminated for temps when applying for a full-time position, the entry level wage would be reduced, vacation would be reduced and a defined-contribution pension introduced.

Release Time Dispute Resolved

Privileges of local officials clarified

A settlement has been reach between Ontario’s air ambulance operator, Ornge, and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) over allegations of discrimination against union officials (see LVI 3920, October 25, 2010). The memorandum of settlement provides that the local president will be paid for hours representing members, five new positions will be posted, the employer acknowledges the importance of unions leaves of absence for training, discipline relating to union business during working hours has been withdrawn and the parties will work to define the limits of union activity, and layoffs of two union officers have been rescinded. The matter was settled prior to a hearing at the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Nurses’ Premium Challenges Solidarity

Quebec common front embarrassed

The extra 2.0 per cent lump sum wage increase achieved by the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), which represents 58,000 nurses and professionals, is not sitting well with their colleagues in the public service common front. FIQ continued bargaining after the provincial tentative agreement was reached in June. It had been ratified when the FIQ tentative agreement, including 15 minutes of paid time for overlap in shifts and a 2.0 per cent premium for employees who did not profit from the 15 minutes, was reached in November. Voting will take place until early February.

Other unions in the common front are now claiming that their members in similar situations should also receive the annual lump sum. There is the suggestion that signature of the other collective agreements might not take place if the government is unwilling to address the issue. In its report, Radio-Canada refers to the premium as Pandora’s box and suggests that it will have repercussions during the next open season for union raiding.

Doctors Ratify Fee Schedule

Newfoundland physicians achieve parity

Doctors in Newfoundland and Labrador ratified a new agreement with the province by over 95 per cent on December 22. According to Dr. Patrick O’Shea, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Assn., the deal provides complete parity in salaries and fees for service with physicians across Atlantic Canada for the first time in the association’s history. A fund of $3.2 million will be created for retaining rural physicians and general practitioners; $570,000 will be added to retention bonuses for Labrador physicians. An earlier bonus for oncologists and pathologists will be extended to other specialists. Tom Marshall, Minister of Finance, called the negotiations “arduous.”

Quebec Resort Workers Settle

Hours to be maximized in new contract

On December 22, the 1,300 employees of the ski report Station Mont-Tremblant voted 91 per cent in favour of a new collective agreement. The deal provides 10 per cent in wage increases over five years, plus an increase from 2.0 per cent to 2.5 per cent in the employer’s contribution to the pension plan. The union, an affiliate of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), claims to have made gains against precarious employment: the company will endeavour to maximize weekly hours for all permanent employees. To this end, students will be permitted to work only on weekends, allowing more weekends off for permanent employees.

Ontario Tribunal Employees Ratify

New employee indoctrination eased

The roughly 90 employees of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal ratified a new collective agreement on December 23. Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), they will see 2.0% in each of the first three years of a five-year agreement. Mileage and shift premiums will increase and unclassified employees will accrue seniority for the purpose of bidding on permanent jobs. And, the employer will inform the union of new hires, relieving the union of the burden of finding them.

Nickel Giant Returns to Table

Move comes as provincial report due

On the final day of 2010, Vale and the United Steelworkers announced that they were returning to the bargaining table for a contract for the Voisey’s Bay mine, where a strike has dragged on since August 2009. The company had reportedly seen an advance copy of the provincial industrial inquiry report that had been commissioned in October. It was scheduled to be made public on January 7.

Health Support Talks Stalled

Parties hung up on monetary terms

The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) has applied for conciliation after six fruitless months of negotiations with the Capital District Health Authority. The union, on behalf of 8,350 support workers, had settled some language issues but been unable to reach agreement on any monetary proposals. The employer is offering 1.0 per cent per year, according to the NSGEU.

Quebec Municipal Workers to Strike

Both stoppages temporary

On December 21, the 500 bus drivers employed by the Société de transport de Laval (STL) announced that they would stage a one-day strike on January 10. According to the union, a deal was close when the employer presented a final offer that included its principal demands and excluded the essence of the union’s demands. The Essential Services Commission has yet to rule on what level of service must be offered during the strike.

And, starting on Boxing Day, the 400 blue-collar workers of the City of Sherbrooke are not collecting garbage or plowing the streets unless over 10 centimetres of snow falls. The union claims that “there is no conflict on the issue of wages, there is a fundamental problem with human resources and labour relations.” Part of this may be the fact that nearly half of the city’s outside employees have temporary status. On the monetary side, there is disagreement as to what has been offered, but it falls between 2.4 per cent and 3.1 per cent over seven years.

Both bargaining units are represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

Union Leader Vows to Battle Right

Sees hidden agenda in tax and service cuts

In her New Year’s message to the membership, president Claudette Carbonneau of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) has pledged that her union will “fight the rise of the right” in Quebec. Among the evidence she cites for disquiet are right-wing responses to the fiscal crisis, a medical centre allocated to a public-private partnership (PPP) based on a secret report and the appearance of several new right-wing organizations with political agendas, Réseau Liberté Québec, for example.