Labour Relations - Frequently Asked Questions
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Am I obligated to join the Union/Association if I become an employee? You are not obligated to join either ECSSA or AUPE. Membership is voluntary. However, since you will receive the benefits of any negotiated changes, you are required to pay regular Union dues and initiation fees as may be directed by their Constitution. Please see bullets 2 and 3 for more details on Union dues. If you are a Teacher, you are obligated to become a member of the ATA. This obligation originates in the Schools Act http://www.qp.gov.ab.ca/Documents/acts/S03.CFM and the Collective Agreement (Article 1.1 (a)) and applies to all Teachers and Principals. How much do I pay in dues? Do my dues increase as my pay increases? The following are the current formulas for dues deductions:
Casuals and Temporary ECSSA and AUPE staffs are not required to pay dues. Normally dues increase with your wages. Unions and certified Associations have the right under the Labour Relations Code http://www.qp.gov.ab.ca/Documents/ACTS/L01.CFM to establish dues and to have employers deduct deductions from employee pays and to remit those deductions to the Union/Association. Unions and Associations also have the right to adjust the rates of dues deductions as may be required. Who do I talk to if I have a reluctance to pay dues? You have the right not to have Union/Association dues deducted from your pays under the condition that you have a reasonable and supportable reason for not doing so. As an example, if your Religious Beliefs prohibit you from supporting a Union/Association, you may, following consultations with the Union/Association, apply to the Alberta Labour Relation Board http://www3.gov.ab.ca/alrb/ for a waiver of dues deductions. You will need to support your case very clearly. The Labour Board's purpose is to determine if your request for a waiver of union dues has merit and is consistent with the intent of provincial labour legislation. In other words, the Board will attempt to evaluate the integrity and purpose behind your claim. The Union/Association have the right of objection to your claim to not pay union/association dues. The Board of Education is not a participant in these proceedings because the issue is between the member and the union/association. The Labour Board will provide a decision to everyone and give direction to the Board of Education. The Board of Education is obligated to follow the directions of the Labour Board. If you are successful in your application, the Labour Board will direct the Board of Education to deduct a similar amount from your cheques and remit those dues to a Charity. Reluctance to pay dues does not permit you the option of not paying anything. What do I do if I want something changed or included into the Collective Agreement? ECSSA, AUPE and the ATA http://www.teachers.ab.ca/ all have bargaining preparation meetings to develop bargaining proposals. These meetings are normally held at least 3 months prior to the conclusion of the current Collective Agreement. This allows time for your bargaining committee to prepare proposals for amendments to the Collective Agreement. Each Union/Association publish regular meeting notices and within these, future meeting dates and subject matter is published. Bargaining preparation is conducted and completed according to the respective constitutions. The Board of Education is not privy to any of these meetings nor do they have a voice in what is presented. You are encouraged to speak to your local representative at any time about any matter that you find offensive, unfair or unreasonable. Your Health Benefits are provided by the Board of Education on a shared cost basis which is negotiated by your Union/Association. These benefits include Life Insurance, Dental Plans, Long Term Disability, Sick Leave, Drug Prescriptions and Pensions. You may visit the appropriate section on this web page for a complete listing of my group's Health Benefits and Pension Plan. What are my vacation entitlements and when can I take them? Your annual vacations are provided by the Board of Education and negotiated by your Union/Association. In all cases, vacation entitlements meet or exceed those provided by the Employment Standards Code http://www.qp.gov.ab.ca/documents/acts/E09.cfm Please refer to your Collective Agreement for details and the conditions under which they may be taken. Your Vacation schedule is dependent on not only your employee group but also the length of your work and also on your full time equivalent. The following will show you the vacation schedule for your group. ECSSA
AUPE
Employees in twelve-month positions may take their vacations in conjunction with departmental needs. Ten month employees are required to take their vacations at times when school is not in session such as Christmas, March Break and other non school/non statutory holidays. ATA Vacations for Teachers are determined through a combination of Collective Bargaining and the School Act. What statutory holidays do I have as per legislation? The Employment Standards Code http://www.qp.gov.ab.ca/Documents/ACTS/E09.CFM covers basic employment rights enjoyed by all Albertans. Within the Code are found the basic Statutory Holidays that we all receive. In all cases, our Unions and Associations have negotiated additional Statutory Holidays that you receive with pay. You may visit your bargaining unit's section ATA, ECSSA or AUPE to review all of the Statutory Holidays you are entitled to take. There may be conditions associated with your taking these Holidays. Please be sure to read the entire section to ensure that you are entitled to them and under what conditions. The following are those provided through legislation: New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day and Christmas Day. Does Teachers' Convention apply to me and when is it? If you are a Teacher or Principal, this Convention automatically applies to you. If you are a School Secretary or a Teacher's Aide, you will be most likely be required to report to your school as you would any other day. However, you may be given instructions to report to another location. Your job responsibilities will change on that day simply because there will be no students in the classroom. Twelve Month employees will be required to attend to work since it is considered a normal workday. Ten-month employees are not required to attend to work that day but may take a vacation day to ensure earnings consistency. As a Teacher, the ATA will provide directions to you through normal channels. You may also wish to access the ATA's web page http://www.teachers.ab.ca for instructions. If you are a Teacher or Principal, the timing of the Convention will be provided to you through the ATA's web page and through normal communications channels. Does Spring Break apply to me and when is it? Spring Break affects all staff within the school. Those who are employed on a ten-month school year basis may take this time in the form of a vacation. Teachers take this time with pay while twelve-month employees continue their work as usual. The timing of the Spring Break varies from year to year but usually occurs in the third week of March. Please see your Supervisor if you are still unsure whether Spring Break applies to you. When is my next wage increase and how much will it be? Your next wage increase is determined according to your Collective Agreement. In many cases, wage increases are timed to occur when either a new Agreement has come into being or on the anniversary dates of the agreement in place. In many cases, additional increases are achieved through the provisions of the respective Collective Agreement. As an example, in addition to negotiated increases, Teachers can achieve additional increases as their qualifications and service with the Board grows. Support Staff, in addition to negotiated increases, can achieve additional increase as their service with the Board grows. What goes on at Union/Management Liaison Meetings? Items of general interest to each union/association are discussed at these meetings. Monthly meetings are held with the Alberta Teachers' Association, Alberta Union of School Employees and with Edmonton Catholic Support Staff Association. Either the Board or the particular union/association can bring items forward. These are not bargaining sessions and as a result, agreed upon items are not included into the Collective Agreement. However, unclear items from the Collective agreement can be clarified at these meetings. Most often, issues are day to day items that one side or the other feels are important enough to be discussed in an open forum. Nothing prevents anyone from bringing an issue raised at a Liaison Meeting forward at negotiations. If you wish to see the minutes of the liaison meetings, you may do so by double clicking on your union/association as follows: What is discussed at bargaining and who attends these sessions? Each Union/Association prepares bargaining items or proposals each time that a Collective Agreement is open for renegotiations. This occurs usually every two years. The Board and/or the Union/Association is free to put forward any item provided only that the proposal does not contravene legislation, is not immoral, unsafe and it is acceptable to the parties' principals. A union's/association's principals (approval group) are the members while the Board's principals (approval group) is the elected Board itself. Typical items brought forward have included wage and benefit improvements, revised job posting procedures, revised vacations and revised lay off procedures. Who do I contact if I have a question as to the interpretation of the Collective Agreement? It is inappropriate for the Board to provide
commentary to any employee on the proper interpretation of the Collective
Agreement. Employees who are members of a bargaining unit should contact
their local representative for advice. Contacts are as follows: When are my Union/Association's Local's Meetings? You may contact your local union/association representative for details as follows: What's the difference between a ten-month and twelve-month employee? A twelve-month employee is contracted to work a full calendar year. Their vacations are predetermined with their supervisor and can be taken by mutual agreement. A ten-month employee is employed on a school days only basis. Their vacations are taken during the Christmas Break, Spring Break and other days taken as school holidays with the exception of Statutory Holidays. As well, twelve-month employees are employed on a continuous basis while ten-month employees are employed based on the needs of the school, which exclude times such as Spring Break and Teacher Conventions. The term of the school year is generally from September 1 of one year to generally June 30 of the following year. What do I do if there is a difference between the
Collective Agreement and the law? This difference is not permitted where the Collective Agreement provides a lesser benefit than legislation. The law serves as a foundation for Collective Agreements. The parties to the Collective Agreement are breaking the law where the Collective Agreement provides a benefit that is less than legislation. Interpretation differences in the past have resulted in perceptions that the Collective Agreement is providing a benefit less than the law. Where you feel this may be the case, ask you local union/association representative for assistance: Where can I find out about a piece of legislation? Legislation can be obtained through local Provincial Government outlets at a cost of usually around $5.00 per copy. You can also access the sum of the province's legislation on the internet at http://www.qp.gov.ab.ca/display_acts.cfm It is inappropriate and a violation of the Collective Agreement to make a special arrangement with your Supervisor that contravenes the Collective Agreement. You can make an arrangement with your Supervisor if the Collective Agreement is silent on the issue. Yes, you can call your Supervisor or Human Resources Services to obtain a copy. What is the Job Classification Committee and can
I be a part of it? The Job Classification Committee is a committee of both Union/Association representatives and representatives of the Board who meet on a periodic basis to evaluate jobs within that Union/Association. This committee also meets to reevaluate jobs that are felt by the employee or supervisor to be misevaluated. Any bargaining unit member in good standing can sit on the committee. Elections to this committee are conducted at Local meetings at predetermined times. Contact your local representative for further information. What do I do if I feel that my rights under the Collective Agreement have been violated? You have an option if you feel there has been a violation of the Collective Agreement. You may point out the problem to your local representative and ask for an opinion. Your representative may point out the correct interpretation or may accompany you in a meeting with your Supervisor. A grievance may be filed. As an option, you may meet with your Supervisor if you feel that the issue can be reviewed and resolved in this meeting. Of importance for you to remember is that special arrangements with your Supervisor are not permitted. Your local representative may frown upon compromises with your Supervisor. Please be cautious in your decisions. In this case, please let your Supervisor know how you feel immediately pointing out your areas of concern. It may be that your Supervisor is unaware of what happened and your pointing out to them your feelings may resolve the problem. If you do not receive a satisfactory answer, you do have the option of approaching Human Resources with your concerns. If you do approach Human Resources Services, please advise your Supervisor. Whether you are a Teacher being harassed by a parent or an employee who has been discriminated against, you are protected under Human Rights legislation and Board Policy. There is no employment obligation on you to accept discrimination of any kind especially on any of the legislated grounds or harassment as defined in legislation. Please visit our Human Rights web page if you have any questions. This page will provide you with the details you need in order to either resolve the issue or forward your complaint appropriately. In any case, you always have the option of processing a claim through the Human Rights Commission. They may be reached at 427-7661. Visit our web page on Protocol if you receive a Human Rights complaint or are approached about a Human Rights issue. You can view details of your Pension Plan by accessing Human Resources' Pension web page. As well you can call the Pension Facilitator at 441-6051 for more details. Where do my donation contributions go? Upon the death of a fellow employee, an automatic one-dollar deduction is made from your cheques and given to the employee's family. Subrogation is defined as the School Board's ability to reclaim sick leave payments made to you where as a result of a legal claim against another (usually from a car accident) you receive compensation for lost income. You have not lost any income since the Board has continued to pay you usually through sick leave, provided always that you have sufficient days in your sick leave bank. Once repaid, you would be reimbursed for the sick leave days you used. Yes, you can see your personal file in Human Resources. Please give at least a day's notice so that we can ensure that a representative can meet with you to see your file. If you are union/Association represented and there is or may be a grievance involved, you may bring a union/Association representative with you. Nothing may be removed from the file but if you find an error, you can provide corrective documentation, which will serve to correct your file. |
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Contact Info:
Tel: (780)
441-6000
Fax: (780) 441-6147
Address: 9807 - 106 Street,
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 1C2
Email: hrs@ecsd.net