Wednesday, November 02, 2016
In the last round of OPS bargaining, changes were made to Termination Pay entitlements in that Termination Payments are now only provided for an employee’s service up to and including December 31, 2015. The parties agreed that Termination Pay will be based on an employee’s rate of compensation as on December 31, 2015.
On August 4, 2016, the OPS Employer made a unilateral decision that should an employee elect to have their Termination Pay converted to a salary continuance, their salary earned while on this period will revert back to what it was on December 31, 2015.
While the total dollar value of the Termination Pay must be based on an employee’s salary as on December 31, 2015, AMAPCEO believes that when the Employer calculates the number of weeks and days for salary continuance, the Employer must use the employee’s current salary rate to do so.
The Employer’s action has negatively impacted pension contribution rates and life insurance entitlements for a number of employees in this situation. This could have negative consequences for AMAPCEO members for years to come.
We believe this to be a violation of our Collective Agreement. AMAPCEO has filed a policy dispute to challenge the Employer’s abrupt changes to the Termination Pay entitlement. We strongly believe their actions are in violation of our Collective Agreement.
We are currently awaiting the Employer’s official response to our dispute at the Formal Resolution stage of the process and will keep you informed.