OPSEU/SEFPO CAATS Lunch ‘n’ Learn Series

Employment Stability and Your Rights under the Collective Agreement

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Agenda

• Where to Find Your Rights in our Collective Agreements
• Employment Stability Committee (E.S.C.)
• Layoff and Bumping Procedures
• Layoff Entitlements
• What You Can Do to Help

Where to find your rights under the FT Collective Agreement.

Article 14 Job Security

• Covers probation, seniority rules
• Creates a joint Employment Stability Committee to PRO-ACTIVELY meet and develop strategies to avoid layoffs
• Governs spending of Employment Stability Fund

Where to find your rights under the FT Collective Agreement.

Article 15 Layoff / Recall Process

• Governs appropriate notice to Unions and employees, and activities of Employment Stability Committee
• Governs when and if employees can “bump” into other jobs
• Outlines layoff, severance and recall rights

Where to find your rights under the PT Collective Agreement.

Article 18 Layoff / Recall Process

• Governs appropriate notice to Union
• Governs when and if employees can “bump” into other jobs
• Outlines layoff, severance and recall rights

Employment Stability Committee�(E.S.C.)

Three (3) members from College:

Andrea Emile-Dodge

Sara Shantz

Carolyn Galvin

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Three (3) members from Local Union:

Vikki Poirier

Scott Jones

Anne Vermeyden

Prime Directive of the E.S.C.

(FT Article 15.3.3)

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“It shall be the duty of the ESC to consider the matter and to make recommendations to the President of the College with respect to any or all of the alternatives listed below which might be resorted to in order to prevent or minimize the dislocation of employees.”

Alternatives considered may include:

• Creation of vacancies
• Conversion of other support positions
• Use of retirements, voluntary leaves or transfers
• Training or retraining
• Investigation of alternate employment
• Use of temporary vacancies

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Part-Time Alternatives

(PT Article 18.4)

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“In order to assist in the limitation of the number of required layoffs or to minimize the effects of position redundancies, the College may transfer employees under potential notice of layoff to like regular part-time positions in areas of need at the same wage rate prior to commencing the bumping procedure.”

No Committee or inclusion of Union.

Definitions

Redundancy: A position the College no longer needs or chooses to maintain

Bump: The act of moving an employee from one position into another position, as a result of Layoffs (Article 15)

Displaced Employee: An employee who is bumped by another employee

Art. 15.4 Layoff Procedure

When alternatives have been exhausted and the College determines that there will still be a reduction in staff, they must follow the procedures in Article 15.4.

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The Union is usually invited to witness the procedure to ensure adherence to the Collective Agreement and to support the member

Bumping Rights

• Employees on probation have no rights to bumping, notice, severance or recall
• Employees are bumped based on their home position, not current position
• When more than one employee is involved, Article 15 is applied in order of seniority

FT: Who Can Bump Whom?

A displaced employee can bump into a vacancy or a position

• held by a more junior employee,
• at the same payband or lower,
• Provided “he/she can satisfactorily perform the core duties and responsibilities of the job”

(Art. 15.4.3)

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PT: Who Can Bump Whom?

A displaced employee can bump into:

• a vacant RPT position at College;
• an RPT position held by a probationary employee at college;
• An RPT position held by the least senior employee in their department (same supervisor);
• All above, provided they “can satisfactorily perform the core duties and responsibilities of the job”

(Art. 18.5)

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Why Seniority?

• All employees accrue seniority at the same rate, regardless of gender, age, race, religion, family status etc. It guards against nepotism, cronyism, favouritism, or other forms of bias.
• Using seniority keeps the process consistent and reduces potential for perceived bias

PT and FT Considerations

• Shift is not a consideration.
• Location is not a consideration. However, if an employee is bumped to a position that is more than 40 km away from their former position, they can ask to be bumped again.

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• For PT, neither Pay nor Hours are a consideration

FT Order of Bumping

1. To a Vacancy in the same payband
2. To a position held by a more junior employee at the same payband, beginning with the least senior employee in that payband and then moving up
3. To a Vacancy, one payband lower
4. To a position held by a more junior employee one payband lower…..and so on.

for example, if Will Riker were to be declared redundant…

for example, if Will Riker were to be declared redundant…

Start

Here

for example, if Will Riker were to be declared redundant…

Cannot speak multiple languages

for example, if Will Riker were to be declared redundant…

Does not have Psychology Degree

for example, if Will Riker were to be declared redundant…

Does not have more seniority

for example, if Will Riker were to be declared redundant…

Does not have Class AZ Starship Helmsperson License

for example, if Will Riker were to be declared redundant…

Does not have more seniority

for example, if Will Riker were to be declared redundant…

Position Identified

Limit: 4 Bumps per Redundancy

• A in position made Redundant
• Employee A bumps Employee B

(B is 1^st Displaced Employee)

• Employee B bumps Employee C

(C is 2^nd Displaced Employee)

• Employee C bumps Employee D

(D is 3^rd Displaced Employee)

• D is laid off.

To Bump or Not to Bump?

FT Employees have five (5) calendar days from notice of reassignment to elect layoff instead of bumping

To Bump or Not to Bump?

PT Employees have two (2) calendar days from notice of reassignment to elect recall or layoff instead of bumping

FT Layoff Package

• 90 calendar days notice (continued pay). The College has the right to require the employee to work during those 90 days
• Severance of one (1) week’s pay per year of service, pro-rated
• Tuition for regulated and approved programs at Conestoga, at $20 per course, for 3 years
• Employment Counseling

PT Layoff Package

• 21 calendar days notice (continued pay). The College has the right to require the employee to work during those 21 days
• Severance of one (1) week’s pay per year of service, pro-rated

FT Recall Rights

• Employees with < 24 months of service can be recalled to vacancies at their payband or lower for a period of one (1) year
• Employees with > 24 months of service can be recalled…for a period of 18 months
• If an employee refuses an offer of recall, they lose their recall rights
• Employees who ELECT layoff lose recall rights

PT Recall Rights

• Employees can be recalled to RPT vacancies for a period of one (1) year
• If an employee refuses an offer of recall, they lose their recall rights

Severance and Recall

• All employees with 5 or more years service are entitled to severance if laid off, regardless of whether the service is part-time, full-time or a combination of both.
• Employees with less than 5 years service only get severance if they waive recall within twenty-one (21) calendar days of notice of layoff.

Most Important

• Involuntary job loss significantly impacts mental health, often leading to grief, depression, anxiety, and reduced well-being (van Eersel et al., 2021)
• Practice empathy, validate feelings, and show solidarity; an injury to one is an injury to all

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Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)

• Homewood Health
• Confidential
• Immediate
• Professional