The implementation of the December 4, 2023 arbitration award has been a slow and frustrating process. Getting the Employer to prioritize implementation has been challenging. Their availability has been incredibly minimal and often lacking the appropriate resources to facilitate meaningful and fulsome discussions that would resolve the outstanding issues.
While the Employer stated that implementation of the Nurse wage grids was important and a priority, this has failed to be reflected in their actions during implementation discussions. To this end, the Employer has had all of the information required to implement the RPN grids and Nurse 2, General wage grid, yet they chose to leverage their implementation against the outstanding Nurse wage issues, despite the Union’s opposition to this plan.
The Bargaining Team shares the frustration of many members at the length of time it has been taking to implement various parts of the arbitration award, particularly the Nurse wage grids. The Bargaining Team fought hard throughout this round of bargaining to secure unprecedented wage increases for Correctional Nurses to fix the longstanding wage disparity that resulted in significant recruitment and retention issues.
We remain committed to full implementation of the arbitration award, and ensuring the Employer complies with all aspects of the award.
Nurse Classification Wage Grids
After a six-month long attempt to fulfill the direction to the Parties set out in the December 4, 2023 arbitration award, the Employer and Union have finalized the wage grids for the following Nurse classifications:
- Registered Practical Nurse 1-4
- Nurse 1, General
- Nurse 2, General
- Nurse 3, General
- Mental Health Nurse
- Nurse 1, Public Health
- Nurse 2, Public Health
The Memorandum of Agreement regarding Nurse Wage Grids can be viewed in this link, which includes the salary schedule for each classification. The Employer has confirmed that they have actioned the new Nurse wage grids with OSS, however, were unable to provide an implementation timeline as of today’s date. The Employer has committed to providing us with an update as soon as one is available. We have insisted that implementation of these nursing grids, and any retroactive pay, be prioritized.
Nurse Practitioner Wage Grid
Unfortunately, there is no agreement on the Nurse Practitioner wage grid. As Arbitrator Kaplan remains seized of any disputes, the Parties have agreed to return to him to resolve this issue. We are unable to share specific details at this time, as the issue is under litigation, however, the Union remains committed that any solution for the Nurse Practitioner wage grid must address the recruitment and retention issues acknowledged by the arbitration award in a meaningful way. Sadly, the Employer’s proposal will only perpetuate the current crisis in recruiting and retaining Nurse Practitioners in Corrections, as it does not resolve the significant wage disparity identified in the arbitration award.
We are currently in the process of consulting with our legal team on next steps to bring this issue to resolution. This remains the Union’s priority and we will continue to provide updates as the process proceeds.
Psychological Benefits
The Parties are also in dispute over the interpretation from the arbitration award on the elimination of session caps for psychological benefits. The Employer has stated that while the session caps in the Collective Agreement have been removed, they are supporting Manulife’s application of a “reasonable and customary” cap per session for these benefits. The Union’s position is that the arbitration award eliminated any and all session caps. The Union is in the process of consulting with our legal team on next steps to bring this issue to Arbitrator Kaplan for resolution.
Experience Credit for Nurses – LOU
The parties continue to work on implementation of the new Letter of Understanding on Experience Credit for Nurses. To ensure that no one is disadvantaged, the Parties have agreed to an extension of the deadlines to submit for the experience credit. As the date of implementation has yet to be determined, the Memorandum of Agreement establishes a 90-day timeline from the date of implementation of the Letter of Understanding for any current nurse to submit claims for experience credit. This will ensure that all current employees will have sufficient time to submit their claims once the Employer has established their process. The full Memorandum can be reviewed in this link.
Military Service Leave
The parties have a signed an agreement on the implementation of the enhancements to the current Military Service Leave language. The new language ensures that a leave of absence without pay for the purposes of any obligation pertaining to the Canadian Forces Reserves shall be granted by the Employer. The Memorandum of Agreement can be viewed in this link.
Recruitment and Staffing, Article 6, 56, New Appendix on Reach-back and Appendix 39
The Parties remain in discussions on implementation of the Recruitment and Staffing language changes. Updates will be provided when available.
LTIP/WSIB/OPTrust Increases
The Employer has confirmed that they have provided instructions to Manulife on LTIP benefits, WSIB, and OPTrust regarding the wage adjustments for the Correctional Bargaining Unit. These groups are in the process of implementing the adjustments, including any retroactive payments that will ensue.
Additional updates regarding implementation will be provided when available.
Thank you,
Janet Laverty, Bargaining Team Chair
Adam Cygler, Bargaining Team Vice-Chair