Collective bargaining signing and implementation timeline

Collective Bargaining

Aug 1, 2019

ACFO-ACAF is pleased to announce that the public service FI Collective Agreement was signed on August 1, 2019.

With a 99% ratification vote, it was clear that the membership was pleased with the fair contract reached at the bargaining table. The speed with which that vote was held means ACFO-ACAF is at the front of the line for signing and should therefore be the first in line for implementation, ahead of the many other groups who have reached their own deals.

The information in the timeline below outlines important dates relating to the new FI Collective Agreement and provides a guide for upcoming milestones in the implementation of the new agreement.

We will provide more information as it becomes available. For any questions, please contact labourrelations@acfo-acaf.com.

Phoenix damages

While the Phoenix damages agreement and the new collective agreement are different agreements with different timelines, we realize there may be some confusion as the two deals are implemented in parallel.

The timeline below relates only to the FI Community’s new collective agreement. The Phoenix damages agreement, which applies to members of the unions represented by 16 of the 17 public service unions plus unrepresented employees and executives, includes additional leave, a broader approach to out-of-pocket cost reimbursement and a process for damage awards for those with more severe cases, along with provisions to reimburse sick leave used as a result of Phoenix.

More information on the timeline for the rollout of the Phoenix damages agreement can be found here: https://www.acfo-acaf.com/2019/06/13/phoenix-damages-agreement-signed/.

Collective agreement implementation timeline

Date

Significance

August 1, 2019

Signing of the new FI Collective Agreement

A detailed breakdown of the new agreement can be found here. New or amended provisions that take effect immediately upon signing include:

an expanded definition of family for Leave Without Pay for the Care of Immediate Family;
new Caregiver Leave provisions for members;
an expanded definition of family for Leave with Pay for Family-Related Responsibilities;
stronger voluntary leave provision for union representatives;
improvements to call back compensation;
improvement to access leave balance information;
clarification that former severance-pay payouts do not reduce years of service calculations;
changes to receiving an advance of anticipated vacation leave credits;
the ability to split bereavement leave to allow bereaved members to attend both a ceremony and a burial and expanded definition of family for full bereavement leave;
New paid Domestic Violence Leave of 75 hours (10 days) should a member or their child be subject to domestic violence;
changes to the eligibility for the Correctional Services Specific Duty Allowance and clarification of the eligibility period; and
improvements to the agreement on Supporting Employee Wellness (MOU).

The above provisions above take effect immediately upon signing. Select other provisions have an implementation timeline of 180 days (January 28, 2020) or 560 days in cases where manual processing is required. See below for further information.

January 28, 2020

Deadline: Implementation of the FI Collective Agreement

As of January 28, 2020 (180 days after signing), the following provisions must be implemented:

a wage increase of 8.0% over four years: economic increases of 2.0% (2018), 2.0% (2019), 1.5% (2020) and 1.5% (2021), as well as a comptrollership wage adjustment of 0.8% in 2018 and 0.2% in 2019;
improvements to the Maternity Allowance and Parental Leave and Parental Allowance;
an increase to $12.00 for the overtime meal allowance;
a 25% increase to the cap for overtime travel; and
a new MOU regarding Implementation of the Collective Agreement timelines that provides for a lump sum payment of $400 to each member on signing and up to a further $450 should implementation timelines not be met.

By this time, FIs should also have received the $400 lump-sum payment made in exchange for the extended implementation timeline.

If implementation is delayed beyond the January 28, 2020 deadline, affected members will receive further payments of $50 every 90 days to a maximum of $450. This particularly applies where compensation increases and retroactive payments require manual processing by compensation advisors.

Manual intervention may be required for employees on an extended period of leave without pay (such as maternity/parental leave), salary protected employees and those with transactions such as leave with income averaging, pre-retirement transition leave and employees paid below minimum, above maximum or in between steps. Manual intervention may also be required for specific accounts with complex salary history.