CUPE 389 – Member Update, District of North Vancouver members
November 21, 2023
Inflationary support payment update
Since our last message we were able to get in touch with the mediator we worked with to negotiate our new collective agreement. The mediator has confirmed that he agrees with the union’s interpretation about how the inflationary support payment is to be administered. Our position is the inflationary support payment applies to any active employee (at date of ratification) who worked in 2022. The 3.5% and 1% lump sums are to be calculated on the hours worked by those employees in 2022.
However, even though the mediator has confirmed he agrees with our interpretation, the employer continues to refuse to change their position on this issue. In our opinion the employer has reneged on the negotiated terms of the collective agreement and we find this extremely disappointing.
What happens now?
We know that many of our members who are owed the inflationary support payment did not receive it when it was paid last week.
We have filed a group grievance on behalf of all members who did not receive the payment but should have. Our goal with the grievance is to make sure that everyone who should have received the inflationary support payment, receives that payment.
If I didn’t receive the payment and believe I should have, do I need to do anything?
The grievance does not require any action on your part, and we will make every effort to push for an expedient and successful outcome to the grievance; one that results in the full inflationary support payment to all employees as of the date of ratification.
When will we know the outcome of the grievance?
The grievance procedure is laid out in the collective agreement and requires the employer to meet with us within 5 working days of the date of the grievance, then the grievance is referred to arbitration if not resolved within an additional 10 working days. Given this timeline, we anticipate having an additional update for you in 3-4 weeks.
We will keep you in the loop.
We remain confident that the inflationary support payment applies as we have stated, and should this dispute require arbitration we believe we have the facts on our side for an arbitrator to rule in our favour. Thank you for the patience and the support you continue to show for your bargaining committee and your union while we work through this issue.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
