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Memorandum of Agreement: 2007

May 31, 2007
Memorandum of Agreement

Between
Hydro One Inc.
hereafter referred to as the Company

- and -

The Society of Energy Professionals


Now, therefore, the parties herein agree the following constitutes full settlement of all matters. This Memorandum of Agreement is subject to ratification by both parties before the following shall constitute full and final settlement of all matters.

The parties also agree that this Hydro One Inc. - Society Collective Agreement shall include the terms of the April 1, 2005 - March 31, 2008 Hydro One Inc. - Society Collective Agreement provided, however, that all matters set out in the attached statement of Agreement are incorporated.

 
 
 
 
 
For the Union
   
 
 
 
 
 
For the Company

 

Date
It is jointly agreed that the Collective Agreement covering the period of April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2008 will be amended as follows. All changes will be effective July 1, 2007 unless otherwise dated. The parties herein agree that the term of the Collective Agreement shall be from April 1, 2008 - March 31, 2013.

  1. Term
    1. Five year term, from April 1, 2008 - March 31, 2013. The parties will jointly seek early termination of the current Collective Agreement before the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
  2. Compensation
    1. Wage Schedules
      1. Increase all schedules by 3.0% on April 1, 2008, April 1, 2009 and April 1, 2010. Increase all schedules by 2.5% on April 1, 2011 and April 1, 2012.
    2. Escalator Clause
      1. The current Escalator Clause formula as described in Article 24 of the Collective Agreement will apply in the third, fourth and fifth years. For the fourth and fifth years, a 2.5% increase in the Ontario CPI will activate the escalator clause.
    3. Salary Progression
      1. Effective October 1, 2007 delete Article 31 and replace the performance pay plan with a new progression plan as per below. For clarity, the normal minimum performance plan payout of 1.0% of base pay for the performance year 2007 will not be made at the end of 2007.
      2. A new progression plan will be implemented on October 1, 2007 that includes the following features:
        1. Three salary schedules will be created, recognizing 35-hour, 37.5-hour and 40-hour work weeks. The 35-hour schedule will replace Schedule 01, the 40-hour schedule will replace schedule 08 and the 37.5-hour schedule will replace schedule 02. Current prorating pay treatment for base hours as per Article 68 remains unchanged with the exception of those covered under LOU #5.
        2. The current job evaluation plans will continue to apply.
        3. Progression will be on an annual basis.
        4. The MP1 salary band will be eliminated and MP2 through MP6 salary bands will remain.
        5. Salary ranges for all salary bands shall be equivalent to current 70% - 100%.
        6. Progression from 70% to 100% shall be as follows:
          1. 70% to 80% in 5% steps
          2. 80% - 88% in 4% steps
          3. 88% to 100% in 3% steps
        7. Schedule 04 is eliminated as it is incorporated into the initial steps of MP2. All new grads will be hired at either 70% or 75% of MP2. Article 25 will be amended and/or obsoleted as required.
        8. Employees will automatically progress to the next step on their anniversary date of appointment to their position unless withheld by management.
      3. Amend Article 66.2.2 and delete Article 66.2.3
        1. (66.2.2) A promoted employee will be placed at the step which reflects a reasonable expectation of his/her performance in the new or revised job.
      4. Delete Article 19.4 and replace with the following:
        1. If an employee fails to make satisfactory progress, his/her progression may be withheld for a period of six months.
        2. In taking this action, the Employer shall provide the employee with one month's notice with written reasons for withholding the progression and what is required to rectify the unsatisfactory performance.
        3. The performance of an employee whose progression has been withheld as above will be reviewed within six months. If progress and general performance are found to be satisfactory, progression shall be granted and the review date becomes the employee's new anniversary date. However, if progress and general performance are not satisfactory, the employee shall be either transferred or dismissed.
        4. If six months after the review his/her performance has continued to be satisfactory, he/she may be granted the next step in his/her progression. This will then re-establish his/her original progression status.
      5. Transition:
        1. Effective October 1, 2007, all current employees will be mapped to the step nearest in the applicable salary band that is not less than their current pay.
        2. All employees paid above the rate for the highest step in their salary band will be "green circled" i.e. will continue to be eligible to receive economic increases.
        3. October 1 will become the "anniversary date" for employees except as follows
          1. For employees who are appointed to a different position or persons hired into Society-represented positions subsequent to the implementation date, their anniversary date will become the date of appointment to this new position.
  3. The Society's Unfair Labour Complaint (ULP) and Union Discrimination Grievance are withdrawn subject to the following:
    1. The parties agree to the settlements contained in Appendix C.
    2. Staffing:
      • By the end of Year 4 of the contract, a minimum of 20% of the regular workforce will be regular Society-represented staff
      • Failure to meet the 20%, in cases of force majeure or extraordinary circumstances, will trigger discussion and/or mediation/arbitration
      • By the end of the contract, 20% - 25% of the regular workforce will be regular Society-represented staff. Management may, at its discretion, exceed the 25% level if deemed appropriate.
      • Movement within the 5% range will be determined by the approved work program and/or resource mix requirements. Disagreements on this will trigger discussions and/or mediation/arbitration
      • The Operations Committee will meet with the Society on an annual basis to review the approved work program and resource mix requirements
      • The Problem Solving Committee will monitor this entire process
      • This agreement, which shall not be reproduced in the Collective Agreement, expires at the end of this Collective Agreement (March 31, 2013)
    3. Jurisdictional Issues
      1. The jurisdictional grievances listed in Appendix "A" are withdrawn and will not be re-filed by the Society. This withdrawal is without prejudice to the Society's position in any future jurisdictional dispute
      2. The parties agree that the jurisdictional landscape, as of the date of signing, will remain "frozen" for the term of the collective agreement (except as outlined in (iii) below). Specifically, Hydro One will not alter or amend any existing Society represented jobs such that as a result they fall outside the Society's jurisdiction. Hydro One can introduce newly created MCP jobs, which will be processed in accordance with the new exclusion process (iv) that follows, during the term of the collective agreement. Also, Hydro One can replace individuals who leave existing MCP jobs during the term of the collective agreement or add additional positions to existing MCP jobs. 
      3. 16 of the challenged excluded positions will be returned to the Society's jurisdiction and where vacant, posted and filled. The remainder shall remain as MCP. The selection of the 16 positions shall be at Management's discretion.
      4. Article 2.5 (2) and (3) will be replaced with the following:
        • (2) If a new or changed job is excluded from the Society's jurisdiction and the Society has concerns with the exclusion, the parties will meet within 15 days of the exclusion request to attempt to resolve any outstanding issues.
        • (3) If the parties are unable to resolve the issues, the Society can request that the dispute be submitted to expedited arbitration. A hearing will be held within 30 days of the referral, and a decision will be rendered within 15 days of the hearing. Management cannot implement the exclusion until the Arbitrator's decision. The Society must inform Hydro One of their intent to request arbitration within 10 days of the meeting taking place. If the Society does not request arbitration, Hydro One is free to implement the excluded position. 
      5. Exclusion Criteria:
        1. The parties agree to delete the 335 point exclusion criterion and appoint a committee to create a new exclusion criterion to replace 335.
        2. For the sake of clarity:
          1. The new exclusion criterion will only apply to persons who do not meet the "other exclusion criteria", e.g. persons who are not:
            • Performing managerial functions as opposed to supervisory functions; or
            • Employed in a confidential capacity with respect to labour relations; or
            • Represented by another trade union
          2. The "other exclusion criteria" (all except for 335) are unchanged by the Memorandum
          3. This replacement criterion only applies to first-level MCP positions (i.e. the first reporting level above Society-represented employees). The intent of this restriction is to ensure that no MCP person reports to a Society-represented employee.
        3. The committee will also determine which excluded jobs will be subjected to Article 2.5 (2) and (3) outlined above
        4. In developing the replacement criterion, the parties will attempt to develop criteria to determine when the inclusion of a person within the Society's bargaining unit is likely to result in a conflict of interest with respect to the nature of and extent of a job's accountabilities and authorities for business decisions, confidentiality and/or impact on the company.
        5. The committee will complete their discussions within six months of the date of ratification and at that time will report back to their respective bargaining teams. Failing agreement on the new exclusion criteria and/or exclusion process, the matter shall proceed to mediation/arbitration in front of Kevin Whitaker. Mediator/Arbitrator Whitaker will utilize the principles outlined above in rendering his decision.
      6. The parties agree to jointly request PWU concurrence with and participation in a tripartite expedited dispute resolution process to resolve Society-PWU jurisdictional grievances, including those listed in Appendix "B". If the PWU declines to participate, the Society retains the right to refer these grievances to the existing arbitration process.
    4. Standard Hours / Inflexible Hours
      1. Any and all issues associated with Standard Hours / Inflexible hours are withdrawn and will not be re-filed by the Society, based on the parties' belief that this issue has generally resolved itself and in recognition of item 7 (a) below.
    5. Contracting Out / Use of Contractors
      1. The grievances listed in Appendix "D" are withdrawn and will not be re-filed by the Society:
      2. Article 67 will be suspended for the term of the Collective Agreement save and except for the last bullet which reads "No employee will be laid off as a direct result of contracting out"
      3. The parties agree to establish a sub-team to review the Society's "dependent contractor" policy grievance (HYDO-2005-2384). This review will be completed by September 15, 2007. Failing agreement between the parties, the Society may refer any unresolved issues to mediator-arbitrator Robert Herman. For clarity, only the merits of this issue can be discussed and if needed, arbitrated. No issues of anti-union animus, discrimination, etc. can be raised throughout this process.
  4. Pensions
    1. Article 22.9:
    • Employer will ensure affected employees are notified of their election options, including the default selection and the fact that the default option does not afford the employee the option to buy-back service. The Employer will copy the employee's Society Unit Director on this notice.
  5. Benefits
    1. Increase eyeglass coverage to $475 (per person, 2 year period) effective January 1, 2009 and to $500 (per person, 2 year period) effective January 1, 2011.
    2. Language will be added to the Benefit Book to reflect the following:

      Pensioners and surviving spouses of pensioners who enter into marriage or common-law marriage are precluded from adding their new spouse and/or new children as dependents on the Hydro One Health and Dental Plan.

      Surviving spouses of employees who enter into marriage or common-law marriage are precluded from adding their new spouse and/or new children as dependents on the Hydro One Health and Dental Plan.

    3. Life Insurance:

      Effective April 1, 2008, the Employer will no longer subsidize the cost of optional Life Insurance.

  6. Problem Solving Committee
      7. A Problem Solving Committee shall be established and constituted of the Hydro One Operations Committee and the Society VP and Unit Directors. The Problem Solving Committee shall meet quarterly.
    1. The Problem Solving Committee Oversight Committee shall consist of the President and CEO of Hydro One and the President of the Society and shall meet bi-annually. The Oversight Committee may request the assistance of Kevin Whitaker as required.
  7. Hours of Work
    1. The start time window is established, to allow a flexible start-time, between 7 am - 9 am
  8. Society Representative Release Time
    1. For the term of the Collective Agreement, the parties agree to continue the agreements with respect to Unit Director and Vice President
  9. Security Clearances
    1. The Society acknowledges and agrees that the Employer has the right to perform appropriate Personal Risk Assessments (PRA) on existing, regular employees when required for valid reasons. Where the Employer has reasonable cause to remove an employee from his/her position as a result of an employee's inability to pass a PRA, the employee will be transferred to an equivalent position for which a PRA is not required with no loss of salary.

  10. Vacancies

    1. a. Amend Article 66.6:
      • For voluntary demotions, the employee will take the rate of the lower-rated position except as follows:
        • Where employee involuntarily demoted pursuant to Article 64, "red-circling" will continue until employee's new pay rate exceeds frozen level, regardless of number of appointments
  11. Flexibility and Bureaucracy within the Collective Agreement
    1. The parties agree to form a committee to examine ways to improve upon the flexibility and reduce the bureaucracy of the Collective Agreement
  12. Finalization of the New Collective Agreement
    1. The parties agree to incorporate, as applicable, the relevant terms of this Memorandum of Agreement into the collective agreement within 90 days of its ratification. In the event the parties are unable to resolve any disputes arising from this process, either party may refer unresolved items to Kevin Whitaker for expedited final and binding arbitration.

    APPENDIX "A"

  13. The individual contributor grievance
  14. OGCC Pre-Strike Exclusions (HYDO-2005-2395/2389)
  15. Grid Operations Manager (HYDO-2005-2374)
  16. Senior Financial Advisor - Financial Systems (HYDO-2006-2398)
  17. Senior Financial Advisor - Financial Planning & Analysis (HYDO-2006-2399)
  18. Senior Financial Advisor - External Financial Reporting (HYDO-2006-2400)
  19. Senior Financial Advisor - Corporate Accounting (HYDO-2006-2401)
  20. Senior Financial Advisor - CF&S (HYDO-2006-2402)
  21. Senior Financial Advisor - Internal Financial Reporting (HYDO-2006-2403)
  22. Senior Advisor - Emergency Preparedness (HYDO-2006-2409)
  23. Manager - P&C Technical Services (HYDO-2006-2407)
  24. Facilities Manager (HYDO-2006-2410)
  25. Senior Health, Safety and Environment Advisor (HYDO-2006-2416)
  26. Forestry Technician Manager (HYDO-2006-2417)
  27. Manager, Conservation Demand Management (HYDO-2006-2421)
  28. Performance Manager (HYDO-2006-2429)
  29. Team Lead - Stations Engineering (HYDO-2006-2432)
  30. Systems Support Manager (HYDO-2006-2433)
  31. Team Lead - Lines Engineering (HYDO-2006-2434)
  32. Team Lead - P&C&M Engineering (HYDO-2006-2436)
  33. Team Lead - Telecom Engineering (HYDO-2006-2435)
  34. Grid Operations Planning Manager (HYDO-2006-2441)
  35. Customer Operations Manager (HYDO-2006-2442)
  36. Manager, Customer and Business Services (HYDO-2006-2443)
  37. Manager, Field Administrative Services (HYDO-2006-2444)
  38. Grid Operations Field Manager (HYDO-2006-2445)
  39. Sustainment Manager (HYDO-2006-2446)
  40. Transmission Planning Manager (HYDO-2006-2467)
  41. WM&TS band 6 jobs (HYDO-2006-2484)
  42. Manager, Financial Services Corporate Controller
  43. Manager Data Manager (HYDO-2006-2404)
  44. Integrated Process Manager (HYDO-2006-2405)
  45. HSE Engineering Technical Specialist (HYDO-2006-2408)
  46. Training Manager (HYDO-2006-2415)
  47. Senior Treasury Operations Advisor (HYDO-2006-2422)
  48. Senior Advisor - Load Data Management (HYDO-2006-2426)
  49. Senior Advisor - Load Forecasting (HYDO-2006-2427)
  50. Manager, Financial Business Services (HYDO-2006-2430)
  51. Senior Financial Advisor - Business Controls (HYDO-2006-2431)
  52. Senior Advisor - Pricing and Rates (HYDO-2006-2407)
  53. Senior Advisor - Regulatory Policy & Client Support (HYDO-2006-2437)
  54. Manager - Business & Strategic Planning (HYDO-2006-2438)
  55. Standards Development Advisor (HYDO-2006-2466)
  56. Special Studies Manager (HYDO-2006-2468)
  57. Manager - Interconnections (HYDO-2006-2469)
  58. Distribution Generation Connection Planning Manager (HYDO-2006-2470)
  59. Reliability Standards Manager (HYDO-2006-2489)
  60. Forestry Manager (HYDO-2006-2510)
  61. Forestry Superintendent - Business Services (HYDO-2006-2511)
  62. Manager, Meter Relay and Data Acquisition Services (HYDO-2006-2501)
  63. Manager, MSP Services (HYDO-2006-2500)
  64. Distribution Technician Manager (HYDO-2006-2503)
  65. Manager, Financial Services - Remotes (HYDO-2006-2411)
  66. Programs Support Manager (HYDO-2006-2465)
  67. Senior Regulatory Financial Advisor (HYDO-2006-2447)
  68. Team Lead - Environmental Engineering (HYDO-2006-2472)
  69. Commercial Agreements Manager (HYDO-2006-2473)
  70. Program Integration Manager (HYDO-2006-2493)
  71. Customer Services Manager (HYDO-2006-2412)
  72. Senior Advisor - Regulatory Policy and Client Support
  73. Manager, Business and Strategic Planning (HYDO-2006-2504)
  74. Customer Program Manager (HYDO-2006-2439)
  75. Business Systems and Support Manager (HYDO-2006-2413)
  76. Work Methods Manager (HYDO-2006-2414)
  77. Manager, Development and Deployment (HYDO-2006-2418)
  78. Manager, Customer Contracts and Programs (HYDO-2006-2419)
  79. Manager, Financial Planning and Reporting (HYDO-2006-2420)
  80. Senior Treasury Advisor (HYDO-2006-2424)
  81. Senior Advisor, Regulatory Research and Admin (HYDO-2006-2425)
  82. Manager, Business Planning (HYDO-2006-2438)
  83. Manager, Financial and Accounting Services (HYDO-2006-2505)
  84. Senior Advisor - Decision Support (HYDO-2006-2513)
  85. Support Networks Manager (HYDO-2006-2423)
  86. Principal Advisor - P&C Policy Standards (HYDO-2007-2026)
  87. Principal Advisor - P&C Sustainment (HYDO-2007-2026)
  88. Principal Advisor - Revenue Metering (HYDO-2007-2026)
  89. Principal Advisor - Telecommunications Sustainment (HYDO-2007-2026)
  90. P&C Strategies and Sustainment Manager (HYDO-2007-2026)
  91. Data Quality & Change Control (HYDO-2006-2428)
  92. Desktop Support Services (HYDO-2006-2440)
  93. Manager Financial Services (HYDO-2006-2491)
  94. Any other jurisdictional grievance filed as of the date of this Memorandum of Agreement and/or any jurisdictional issue that arose prior to the date of this memorandum

    95. APPENDIX "B"

    The PWU-Society Jurisdictional grievances:

    • UTS grievance (HYDO-2006-2492)
    • Outage Response Technician (HYDO-2006-2454)
    • Senior Planning Technician (HYDO-2006-24560
    • Grid Operations Area Leader (HYDO-2006-2455)
    • Operations Support Technician (HYDO-2007-2528)
    • GIS Systems Support Technologist (HYDO-2006-2488)

    APPENDIX "C"

    The parties agree all Removal from Role, Overtime, On-Call and Discrimination grievances are settled as follows and on a without prejudice or precedent basis.

    1. REMOVAL FROM ROLE

    GRIEVANCES HYDO-2006-2458, HYDO-2006-2449, HYDO-2006-2498, HYDO-2007-2521, HYDO-2006-2461, HYDO-2006-2464, HYDO-2005-2393, HYDO-2006-2480, HYDO-2005-2383 and HYDO-2006-2474 are resolved on the following basis:

    1. The parties agree that the above-referenced grievances encompass the employees contained in confidential attachment "E":
    2. These employees will be offered the opportunity to avail themselves of Article 85. In order to participate, affected employees must notify Keith McDonell, Human Resources in writing within 30 calendar days of ratification of this collective agreement. The formula for payment is three weeks per year of service to a maximum of 52 weeks.
    3. For those employees who do not avail themselves of option (b) above, the Society and Hydro One shall meet within 60 days of ratification to determine the appropriate treatment of those remaining. The parties will make an offer to the employees from one of (i), (ii) or (iii) within 60 days of ratification.
      1. Reinstatement in the position from which he or she was removed if the successor MCP job returns to the Society's jurisdiction and the position is vacant.
      2. Conversion of the current assignment into an on-going position with an appropriate job document (to be developed if necessary)
      3. "Waive" an employee into a vacant, equivalent ongoing position
        iv. If (i), (ii), or (iii) are not appropriate or the employee refuses an offer, the employee will continue in his/her current assignment. In addition, when deemed qualified by management, will have a "selection priority" ahead of 65.6.3 (f) for a period of two (2) years from the date of ratification.
      4. v. OVERTIME / ON-CALL

      GRIEVANCES HYDO-2006-2462, HYDO-2006-2396 AND THE UNION DISCRIMINATION GRIEVANCE are resolved on the following basis:

      1. Generic Overtime Issue
        1. There is no current nor past direction from Hydro One Senior Management that prohibits Society members from working overtime or taking on-call.
        2. The parties acknowledge that the utilization of OT and on-call is at management's discretion and must be managed in accordance with the collective agreement.
        3. The Society has brought forward allegations that certain Managers have inappropriately applied the collective agreement as it pertains to overtime and/or on-call for Society members.
        4. Without acknowledging the voracity of the Society's claims as outlined in number 3 above and without acknowledging any violation of the collective agreement, Hydro One Senior Management will issue a clarification to all Management staff to ensure that overtime and on-call are managed in line with the collective agreement and are based upon appropriate business requirements.
        5. By issuing this clarification, this generic issue is removed from the ULP and deemed settled. 
      2. Specific Overtime Issues:
        1. The settlements to the above-referenced grievances are contained in confidential attachment "E"
          1. UNFAIR TREATMENT / DISCRIMINATION GRIEVANCES

      GRIEVANCES HYDO-2006-2452, HYDO-2006-2509, HYDO-2006-2464 AND HYDO-2006-2482 shall be resolved on the following basis:

            1. The settlements to the above-noted grievances are outlined in confidential attachment "E"

    APPENDIX "D"

    • Former Temps rehired as "External Contractors" (HYDO-2005-2383)
    • Guelph Cedar TS and Belle River TS (HYDO-2005-2369/2373)
    • Project Management of Telecom/SCADA Projects (HYDO-2006-2448)
    • Any other grievance associated with contracting out / use of contractors filed as of the date of signing this memorandum and/or any issue that arose regarding contracting out / use of contractors prior to the date of this Memorandum except for the dependent contractor grievance as noted in Item 3 (e) (iii) on p. 7.