The following statement was issued to all LBED members on April 19:
Your divisional executive has ensured that members who work at the LCBO’s Head Office are being protected and nobody will be forced to accept layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
OPSEU and LCBO management have reached an agreement covering 83 head office positions that management deemed non-essential.
OPSEU’s LBED executive has been working to ease the impact on OPSEU members since the Employer indicated that it considered some positions non-essential. The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) reached with management protects the rights of the affected members. The MOA also eases the effect on head office staff and mitigates the impact on members in workplaces that will be receiving head office members through redeployment.
Head office staff were given a choice of accepting work at a retail stores, e-Commerce and/or specified Retail Services Center, using vacation time or other credits or accepting a voluntary layoff.
Let’s be clear, this is a pandemic and these are not normal times. Not only is our goal to ensure that our members rights under the Collective Agreement are maintained and enforced when necessary, but to ensure our members have sustainability in employment.
The MOA has been circulated to each local president. The Local President for head office and the Staff Representative are both available to answer any questions about the MOA.
Another area of concern discussed around the redeployment was the impact on hours of work. The MOA addresses this concern to ensure that no employee in a receiving location will have their hours reduced as a result of a redeployed employee. Likewise, employees who are redeployed will also have their current hours protected.
Hours of Work: Bargaining Unit Employees currently employed in a casual, seasonal or full-time capacity in the LCBO’s retail stores, retail service centres and/or e-commerce will not have their regular hours of work reduced as a direct result of the Bargaining Unit Reallocation and/or Management Reallocation. For clarity, the Parties recognize that hours of work for seasonal and casual employees are not guaranteed and that hours for such employees may be subject to change as a result of operational requirements, but not reasons related to the Reallocation Plan and/or Management Reallocation.
The collective agreement is still in place. No impact to collective agreement rights shall occur due to the reallocation plan. As with any situation, if you feel a violation of your rights under the collective agreement occurs you should immediately speak with a Steward or your Staff Representative to have the matter addressed.
The MOA also has its own triggers for the grievance procedure and use of the Grievance Settlement Board (GSB) for disputes, should any occur.
The employer has also provided a list of work locations that will be impacted by the redeployment. We will be working with the affected local leadership as this rolls out in the coming days.
Excluded management positions are also being redeployed. Any work that is done by a bargaining unit position before this pandemic, or during this pandemic is not to be performed by non- bargaining unit employees. Please contact your Local President and/or Staff Representative immediately if managers or excluded employees are performing union work.
LBED Head Office members who are being redeployed will be moving into a new territory and work environment. This is a difficult and uncertain time for us all. Remember we are in this fight together. I’m calling on your leadership and your solidarity as we work through this challenge. Please remember to treat each other with respect if you express your views on social media. Let’s help each other through this unprecedented time. We are in this together.
Stay safe.
In Solidarity,
Colleen MacLeod,
Chair of LBED Divisional Executive