Innovative workplace practices

Third quarter 2011

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The Labour Program publishes a quarterly overview of innovative workplace practices.[1] This overview is based on 105 collective agreements ratified between April to June 2011 inclusively. A number of innovative practices were observed in the second quarter of 2011.

Severance package

The Royal Canadian Mint and the Public Service Alliance of Canada, locals 50057 and 70024, negotiated a new way of cashing out severance packages. Full-time employees appointed for an indeterminate period have the chance to cash out their accumulated severance package at the rate of one week’s pay per year of continuous service. Those who decide to do this will have two options: either cash out their package right away at their current pay rate, or a portion of their package right away at their current pay rate and the rest on the separation date, at the pay rate in effect at that time.

Employees who choose not to cash out their severance package at this time will be grandfathered, and their severance package in the event of retirement or resignation will continue to grow and will be paid at the time of their departure, in accordance with the provisions in the previous collective agreement. With the exception of these grandfathered employees, the severance package in the event of retirement or resignation stops growing as of June 22, 2011.

Leave

The Université du Québec à Rimouski and the Fédération nationale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec have negotiated a new agreement on jury/witness duty leave. In fact, when an instructor is assigned to a case that he/she is not a party to or involved in, he/she incurs no salary loss while performing those duties. However, he/she must issue the institution the equivalent of the amounts received from the Ministère de la Justice for those assignments. If those amounts are higher than his/her pay, the institution issues him/her the difference.

Compensation

The Regional Municipality of Waterloo and the National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada, Local 4304, negotiated a new premium for the employees working in the Tire Service. Due to the fact that the province of Ontario regulates and requires that all persons who handle refrigerants must have an Ozone Depletion Prevention certification, three full-time employees will be given a premium of 24¢ per hour above their basic rate for holding a certificate and performing such task.

Working-time management

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, Ontario and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1750, have agreed to replace the attendance credits by wellness days. Effective January 1, 2012, all probationary and permanent staff employees will no longer accumulate attendance credits but will be entitled to nine wellness days at the beginning of each calendar year. Employees hired on or before December 31, 2011, with three or more years of service, will receive a cash payout of 50% of their unused attendance credits, at their current rate of pay to a maximum of 26 weeks. New and permanent part-time employees will have their wellness day pro-rated based on their work schedule. Wellness days will be used for various absences such as employee’s marriage, religious holidays, volunteerism, inclement weather. Absences in excess of three consecutive working days will require a medical report. Upon termination of employment, unused days have no cash value.

Previous articles on innovative workplace practices are available under Innovative workplace practices.


Note:

1. The Workplace Information Division, Labour Program, defines innovative workplace practices as being a creative and new idea collectively bargained between a union and an employer. Included in this overview are innovations found in settlements covering 500 employees or more within provincial jurisdictions and 100 employees or more under federal jurisdiction.

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Date Modified:
2012-01-25