AMAPCEO members in the Ontario Public Service (OPS) have voted overwhelmingly to accept a four-year ‘roll-over’ of their existing contract
In a ratification vote that was conducted online from Friday, June 23 through Tuesday, June 27, 94% of those voting approved the tentative agreement. The vote was conducted for AMAPCEO by an independent firm, Simply Voting, Inc.
See the press release »
Voting Information
OPS members: please regularly check your personal email address for important updates on the contract ratification vote.
How to vote
The ratification vote for this OPS contract will be conducted by electronic ballot sent to AMAPCEO-represented employees' personal email addresses. Only AMAPCEO-represented employees with home positions in the OPS bargaining unit are entitled to vote.
1. Make sure your personal email address is up-to-date with AMAPCEO.
Sign in by clicking Member Login above and going to Update Your Membership Details.
If you do not have a login, or have not yet provided AMAPCEO with a personal email address, please send it to us at ratification@amapceo.on.ca by 5:00 pm ET on Wednesday, June 21, 2017.
2. Check your personal email on Friday, June 23, 2017 for your electronic ballot.
3. Vote by 5:00 pm ET on Tuesday, June 27, 2017.
The vote will be managed by independent third-party provider Simply Voting.
About the Contract Offer
AMAPCEO and the OPS Employer have reached a tentative agreement to extend our current contract for four years, with a 7.5% increase in salary over that period. The existing collective agreement is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2018; the new agreement, if ratified by AMAPCEO members and Cabinet, will run from April 1, 2018 through March 31, 2022.
“AMAPCEO was approached last week by the Employer with a request to discuss a ‘roll-over’ of our current agreement,” said AMAPCEO President Dave Bulmer. “We believe we have negotiated a reasonable extension that protects our current provisions, provides members with fair compensation increases, makes a few significant improvements and offers stability for the next four years – with absolutely no concessions.”
AMAPCEO was already well-advanced in preparing for bargaining, with an expectation that negotiations would begin in early 2018. The Board of Directors was scheduled to ratify a bargaining team later this month, but given the Employer’s sudden offer last week to negotiate an extension, the Board agreed that President Dave Bulmer and Vice-President Cynthia Watt should meet with the Employer, supported by a team consisting of AMAPCEO staff Burke Moffat, Anthony Schein and Rob Smalley and legal counsel Steven Barrett and Marisa Pollock. Negotiations commenced on Monday, June 12 and were concluded by early morning on Tuesday, June 13.
The AMAPCEO Board of Directors unanimously recommends ratifying this agreement.
Highlights of the Contract Extension Offer
The following is a summary of the Collective Agreement changes that are contained within the Tentative Extension Agreement. Note: All other current provisions of the Collective Agreement will continue to apply until March 31, 2022.
Term:
- Four-year term (April 1, 2018—March 31, 2022)
Salary Increases (Across-the-Board):
- 1.5% - October 1, 2017
- 1.0% - April 1, 2019
- 1.0% - October 1, 2019
- 1.0% - April 1, 2020
- 1.0% - October 1, 2020
- 1.0% - April 1, 2021
- 1.0% - October 1, 2021
Note: All salary range minimums and maximums will also be increased for each salary increase above.
New: Lump Sum Payments for "Red-Circled" AMAPCEO Members
- AMAPCEO members who are currently "red-circled" (those whose salaries are currently above their pay range as a result of the Job Evaluation System) will be awarded two non-pensionable lump sum payments:
- 1.5% on October 1, 2017
- 1.0% on April 1, 2019
- By the second year of this contract, the number of JE-related "red-circled" employees will be reduced by half, as salary range maximums increase due to the application of the across-the-boards.
- Most current "red-circled" employees will ultimately also benefit from the above across-the-board increases in this contract, once their classification salary maximums increase to the level of their current salary.
- Nearly 90% of those currently "red-circled", whether due to JE or not, will no longer will be "red-circled" by the end of this contract.
New: Entitlement for Dependent & Elder Care
- AMAPCEO members will be entitled to a special paid leave of up to two days per year to attend to unforeseen dependent or elder-related care. This new paid leave falls under the current three discretionary days of Special or Compassionate Leave provision of the Collective Agreement (Article 23.3). Your manager must grant you this leave if you can demonstrate you have such unforeseen circumstances, and you have not already used all three special or compassionate leave days that year.
- This is a strong first step towards meeting the needs of today’s workers and their families.
New: Repeal of Attendance Support Management Program (ASMP)
- Effective January 1, 2018, the ASMP will no longer apply for AMAPCEO members, except for those already in Level 3 or 4 of ASMP on December 31, 2017. These employees will continue to have their attendance managed under ASMP until they move below Level 3.
New: Optional Out-of-Country Medical Coverage
- AMAPCEO members will have the option to buy either individual or family out-of-country medical coverage starting January 1, 2018.
- Some details on this coverage are available in the materials below.
Information Sharing and Ratification Process
AMAPCEO held four telephone town halls during the week of June 19 to provide members with an opportunity to hear more details about the tentative agreement and to ask questions.
All AMAPCEO-represented employees with home positions in the OPS bargaining unit will be entitled to participate in the ratification vote to accept or reject the proposed extension. The vote will be held on line and will be conducted by our independent, third-party vendor, Simply Voting. An e-mail containing a link to the ballot will be sent to all represented employees at their personal e-mail address. Please see "How to Vote" for more information.
The results of the vote will be announced on Wednesday, June 28.