| 24 |
ESCALATOR CLAUSE |
| 24.1 |
In the event that NSS and The Society negotiate a Collective Agreement for a term of more than one year, a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) escalator clause shall become part of such an Agreement and shall be applicable to all employees covered by that Agreement. |
| 24.2 |
The parties have agreed for the term of this agreement to include an escalator clause in the last year of the agreement. This provision will terminate as of March 31, 2006 and will not be automatically renewed. This escalator clause is designed to generate a maximum of one wage increase on April 1, 2005 and none thereafter. |
|
In the second year of the agreement namely April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006, the following formula will apply: |
|
|
An increase of more than 1.875% in Canada All Items Index (Total CPI) (1992 = 100) published by Statistic Canada for February 2005 (published in March 2005) over the index for November 2003 (published in December 2003) will activate the escalator clause. |
|
|
On April 1, 2005 base rates will be further increased by an amount equivalent to the amount by which the increase in the Index exceeds 1.875% in the 15 month period specified above but in no case shall the amount of such further increase exceed 1.875%.
|
| 25 |
PAY AND BENEFITS TREATMENT OF STAFF PAID FROM SALARY SCHEDULE 04 - MANAGEMENT AND PROFESSIONAL (M&P) DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE |
| 25.1 |
Pay Treatment |
|
Salary Schedule 04 will be used for: |
|
a) |
the hiring and progression of all employees hired for Management and Professional (M&P) work, when they have less than the following applicable experience requirements after Bachelor graduation:
| Job Level |
Applicable Experience Requirements |
| MP1 |
1.5 years |
| MP2 |
2 years |
| MP3 and over |
2.5 years | |
|
|
or; |
|
b) |
as a bridging salary schedule for employees who are appointed to entry M&P positions from non-M&P salary schedules where such employees are not fully qualified or do not meet the minimum experience requirements for the position. |
| 25.2 |
Individuals with advanced degrees or some applicable experience may be given an appropriate time credit when they are placed on Salary Schedule 04. |
| 25.3 |
Salary Schedule 04 will consist of six steps. Step 6 will be equivalent to 80% of MP2 Reference Point, and Step 2 will be established at the estimated average community hiring rate for new engineering graduates. Intervening steps will be in equal dollar increments rounded to the nearest whole dollar. Step 1 will be used, where appropriate, as a hiring rate for non-engineering graduates. |
| 25.4 |
Management will consult with The Society before determining the community hiring rate and a joint data collecting process will be used for setting the average community rate. |
| 25.5 |
Progression from step-to-step on Salary Schedule 04 will be dependent upon satisfactory performance. |
| 25.6 |
Step-to-step progression will be at six-month intervals for graduates hired at Step 2 or above. |
| 25.7 |
Step-to-step progression will be at four equal intervals of 21 weeks plus one further progression to Step 6 at the second anniversary date for graduates hired at Step 1. Progression to Step 6 will not take longer than 24 months for anyone on the 04 Schedule. |
| 25.8 |
Regardless of the date of appointment to an M&P job, individuals will remain on Salary Schedule 04 until they reach the following steps:
| Job Level |
Minimum Step on Salary Schedule 04 |
| MP1 |
Step 4 |
| MP2 |
Step 5 |
| MP3 or higher level |
Step 6 | |
|
On the next regular progression date appointees to an M&P job will be transferred to Salary Schedule 01 and will be paid 80% of the salary grade for their job. Salary progression thereafter will be in accordance with the Performance Pay Plan. |
| 25.9 |
Employees who have reached Step 6 and have not yet been appointed to an M&P job will be treated as special cases to be dealt with on an individual basis by line management. |
| 25.10 |
A progression step may be withheld due to unsatisfactory performance. In such cases the employee's performance will be reviewed at the next progression date and, if performance has been satisfactory, the employee will progress to the next step. If progression must be withheld due to unsatisfactory performance for two consecutive progression periods, there may be cause for termination. If the employee's performance is satisfactory for one year following the withholding of a progression step the employee will be awarded a two- step increase, thus restoring his/her original progression pattern. |
| 25.11 |
An absence greater than one month due to illness, pregnancy, parental leave, etc., may result in an extension of a step in the progression process. The original progression dates may be reinstated if satisfactory progress can be shown to have been made during an extension period. |
| 25.12 |
Vacation provisions that apply to M&P staff on Salary Schedule 01 will also apply to employees on Salary Schedule 04. |
| 25.13 |
Articles contained in Part XI (Relocation Assistance) will apply to employees paid from Salary Schedule 04 when they are appointed to an M&P job. |
| 25.14 |
Eligibility for other benefits and allowances which apply to regular staff will be granted to employees on Salary Schedule 04 when they are granted regular employee status. |
| 25.15 |
Shift compensation reference point rate for employees on Salary Schedule 04 hired after January 1, 1993 will be 80 percent of MP2. |
| 25.16 |
Students |
|
Student employees will be paid in accordance with Schedule 04.
|
| 29 |
SHORT-TERM ABSENCES |
Payment for short-term absences (e.g., vacation, sick leave) will be based on the normal rate paid for scheduled job hours, except as stated elsewhere in this Agreement.
|
| 31 |
JOB EVALUATION PLANS |
Job evaluation plans which are used to rate Society-represented jobs form part of this Collective Agreement. These plans are:
- Plan A (revised January, 1988), used to classify all M&P and nursing jobs;
- Plan A Job Evaluation Manual - delete the phrase "Once exclusion from CUPE Local 1000 has been confirmed" on page 3.
- Field Management and Professional Job Evaluation Plan (revised July, 1988), used to classify all FM&P jobs;
- Trades Management Supervisors Job Evaluation Manual (April, 1986), used to classify all TMS jobs;
- TMS Job Evaluation Manual - delete criteria "(a) qualify for exclusion from union jurisdiction" on page 2.
- Non-Union Clerical-Technical Job Evaluation Manual (reissued January, 1988), used to classify all OSS jobs;
|
| 32 |
PERFORMANCE PAY PLAN |
| 32.1 |
During the term of this Collective Agreement (January 1, 2004 to March 31, 2006), NSS will not terminate or alter the terms of the Performance Pay Plan (1978, revised 1987) without the agreement of The Society. The current practice for administering the Plan will continue. |
| 32.2 |
NSS will make the following minimum performance payouts: |
|
Skills/Competencies |
|
1.25% of base payroll as at March 30, 2005. Payouts will be effective March 31, 2005 for the performance period January 2004 to March 2005. |
|
1.0% of base payroll as at March 29, 2006. Payouts will be effective March 30, 2006 for the performance year commencing April 2005. |
| 32.3 |
NSS will consult with The Society on the performance pay guidelines for any future distribution of performance pay at the NSS level and in each Business Unit prior to implementation. |
| 32.4 |
Within 90 days of the implementation of any performance payout, NSS shall provide The Society with the following data in electronic format: |
|
a) |
Salary information for Society-represented employees as of March 31 of the preceding collective agreement year and April 1 of the current collective agreement year with fields identifying employee number, salary schedule, salary grade, and performance standing for each date, Business Unit, Division, department, and location. If there are five or less employees in any organizational unit, their salary information will be included in the next larger organizational unit. |
|
b) |
Statistics regarding distribution of the year's performance pay adjustments, performance pay standings, and company ratios by salary grade and Business Unit for all performance paid staff. If there are five or less employees in any organizational unit, their salary information will be included in the next larger organizational unit. |
| 32.5 |
Nothing in this article amends or abrogates any terms of the Performance Pay Grievance Settlement, dated June 21, 1996 and the Personal Performance Management Grievance Settlement dated April 6, 2000.
|
| 33 |
PROMOTION-IN-PLACE PLANS |
| 33.1 |
Definition |
|
A "promotion-in-place plan" (PIP) means a developmental plan involving a hierarchy of related jobs, in which employees who meet defined criteria will be promoted without advertising, and where it is the normal expectation that employees will reach the end position. |
| 33.2 |
Principles |
|
33.2.1 |
The Society should be involved in the development and periodic review of PIPs. |
|
33.2.2 |
Either The Society or Management may initiate discussions on PIP proposals. |
| 33.3 |
Conditions |
|
33.3.1 |
All new and revised PIPs must have the joint agreement of the JSMC. During the term of the Collective Agreement, a catalogue of existing PIPs will be developed and the JSMC will determine the schedule for their review upon request by either party. |
|
33.3.2 |
Salary treatment upon promotion within PIP will be in accordance with Section 66.2. |
|
33.3.3 |
Employment continuity treatment of employees with respect to PIPs will be in accordance with Clause 64.6.2.1. |
|
33.3.4 |
Vacancies for PIP jobs will be advertised in accordance with Clause 65.6.1 (e). |
|
33.3.5 |
All jobs in a PIP must be evaluated under the applicable job evaluation plan. |
| 33.4 |
Standard Features |
|
All PIPs must have the following features:
- based on a developmental plan to an end position;
- based on the expectation that normally employees in PIP jobs will reach the end position;
- a sunset clause;
- joint Society-Management Agreement on promotion criteria consistent with the PIP;
- promotion within PIP based upon the employee meeting defined criteria (e.g., performance measures, experience, breadth of assignments). If an employee has met all of the criteria for a promotion, and the only item preventing the promotion is the individual's performance standing, then the promotion should be implemented;
- targeted to have sufficient staff in the higher level positions for unit viability;
- specification of the normal expected time period an employee should take to progress through the various stages of the PIP;
- provision for employees to have a reasonable opportunity to fulfill requirements to qualify for progression within the normal expected time frame.
|
| 34 |
TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES |
| Intent: Temporary employees are employees hired for short-term work assignments which are not ongoing and/or where there are no available qualified regular employees to perform the work. Such work assignments are not expected to go beyond 12 months, but may be extended up to a maximum period of 24 months with The Society's Agreement. The impact on employment continuity should be an important consideration in the decision to hire temporary employees. |
| 34.1 |
Society Notification |
|
NSS will discuss the circumstances with the local Society representative prior to hiring a temporary employee. The Society will be informed in writing of the job skill needs, the salary classification for the position, the expected job duties, and the duration of the assignment. |
|
Assignment extension beyond 12 months requires the written agreement of The Society. At 24 months, NSS will either terminate the employee, advertise the position if there is an ongoing staff requirement, or obtain the agreement of The Society, in writing, for a further extension. If the position is advertised, and the temporary employee is not selected for the vacancy, the employee will be terminated. |
|
Temporary employees will have their applications for vacancies considered in accordance with Article 65.6.3. |
|
Notwithstanding the above, NSS may utilize a temporary employee for up to 36 months with the approval of the appropriate Society Unit Director. |
| 34.2 |
Temporary Employees with Less than 12 Months' Service |
|
34.2.1 |
Compensation and Benefits Treatment |
|
|
i) |
Vacations: payment of the prorated amount of 15 days adjusted earnings or 4%, whichever is greater. |
|
|
ii) |
Statutory Holidays: |
|
|
|
a) |
Provincially regulated employees: pay for statutory holidays provided the employee has more than three months' accumulated service. |
|
|
|
b) |
Federally regulated employees: pay for statutory holidays provided the employee has more than 30 calendar days' service. |
|
|
iii) |
Floating Holidays: three floating holidays after 20 weeks' continuous service. |
|
|
iv) |
Sick Leave: credits for one-half day at 100% pay for each month of accumulated service. |
|
|
v) |
Semi-Private and EHB Plan: optional at employee's cost. |
|
|
vi) |
Remembrance Day; Personal Time Off; Parental Leave (excluding the SUB Plan); Jury Duty; Special Time Off at Christmas: same as regular employees. |
|
|
vii) |
Kilometre Rates: same as regular employees. |
|
|
viii) |
Personal Travel and Accident Benefits: same as regular employees. |
|
34.2.2 |
Termination |
|
|
When a temporary employee with less than 12 months' service is terminated for other than cause, he/she will receive at least two weeks' notice in writing. |
| 34.3 |
Temporary Employees with More than 12 Months' Service |
|
Temporary employees with more than 12 months' service are entitled to sick leave credits equal to eight days at 100% and 15 days at 75% per annum, performance appraisals and consideration for performance pay, and severance pay equal to two weeks' base salary per continuous year of service. All items in Section 34.2 above, except for 34.2.1 (iv), will also apply to these employees. |
| 34.4 |
Temporary Employees Working Reduced Hours |
|
Temporary employees who work reduced hours will have the items listed in Sections 34.2.1 and 34.2.2 pro-rated in accordance with the provisions outlined in Article 71 (Reduced Hours of Work). |