Is OPSEU Deal A Precursor for Snap Election in Ontario? By Jamie Gilcig JUNE 12, 2017

Cornwall Ontario – The Wynne Government and OPSEU announced a new deal to be ratified that will see its members get 2% increases for most of the pact with 1.5% for the first year.

The Province’s release had no numbers in it, and no response was given to CFN’s email asking or them this morning.

The buzz is that Premier Wynne will be calling a snap election as all of the bribes perks have been doled out from a limited Universal Income project to the Unfair Hydro Act.  The betting money says that this announcement will come in August.

The province has reached a tentative agreement with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) to extend the current collective agreements for both the Unified and Correctional Bargaining Units. The two parties recently entered into discussions that were collaborative, productive and demonstrated a commitment by both parties to improving employee relations. As a result of these discussions, tentative four-year extension agreements with OPSEU’s Unified and Correctional Bargaining Units have been reached. If ratified, these negotiated agreements would promote greater labour stability, align with current public sector wage trends and balance the interests of employees with the need to provide sustainable and affordable public services. Over the next several weeks, the government and OPSEU will be undergoing their separate ratification processes with respect to the tentative extension agreements. During the ratification process, each party to the tentative extension agreement takes it to their principals for approval. It would be inappropriate for the government to talk publicly about the details of the tentative extension agreements while the union is discussing those agreements internally with its membership and executive. Supporting positive labour relations in Ontario’s public service is part of the government’s plan to create jobs, grow the economy and help people in their everyday lives.

QUICK FACTS OPSEU is the largest union in the Ontario Public Service, representing approximately 35,000 employees. The OPSEU Unified Bargaining Unit includes employees who work in a wide variety of jobs such as administrative staff, enforcement officers, social workers and IT systems officers. The OPSEU Correctional Bargaining Unit includes positions responsible for the security, control, supervision, care and rehabilitation of adult offenders and young offenders in provincial correctional facilities. Recent amendments to the Crown Employees Collective Bargaining Act, 1993 provide the OPSEU Correctional Bargaining Unit the right to negotiate a separate collective agreement from the OPSEU Unified Bargaining Unit. The current OPSEU Collective Agreement expires on December 31, 2017. The Treasury Board Secretariat is responsible for collective bargaining with all Ontario Public Service bargaining agents.

However OPSEU did publish the tentative deal that still requires ratification.  OPSEU is the largest Public Service union in the province.

Details of the tentative agreements

Unified

Four-year term: January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2021

Wage increases (across the board):

• July 1, 2017 (or date of ratification, whichever is later): 1.5 per cent
• January 1, 2019: 1 per cent
• July 1, 2019: 1 per cent
• January 1, 2020: 1 per cent
• July 1, 2020: 1 per cent
• January 1, 2021: 1 per cent
• July 1, 2021: 1 per cent

Movement on the salary grid will recommence on January 1, 2018 with the expiry of the current collective agreement.

ASMP:

• Effective January 1, 2018, the Attendance Support and Management Program (ASMP) will no longer apply to the Unified Bargaining Unit – with the following exception:
• Employees who are already at Level 3 or Level 4 on December 31, 2017 will continue to have their attendance monitored until they move below Level 3.

​Out-of-country medical coverage:

• Effective January 1, 2018, out-of-country medical coverage will be made available.
• Premiums are to be paid by the employee.
• Cost: $6.11/month (single); $9.63/month (family).
• Employees may enrol at any time and may leave at any time.
• Employees who leave may not re-enrol at a later date.

Catastrophic drug coverage:

• Effective January 1, 2018, catastrophic drug coverage will be mandatory.
• Premiums are to be paid by the employee.
• Cost: $0.94/month (single); $1.91/month (family)

Psychologist services:

• Effective January 1, 2018, the current per half-hour cap for psychologist services will increase from $25 to $40.
• The annual cap remains at $1,400.

Correctional nurses

• Regardless of any potential future change in their reporting ministry, nurses working in institutions, as identified in the agreement of December 15, 2016, will remain within the Correctional bargaining unit.

Collective agreements:

• The parties will establish a joint committee to address consequential collective agreement changes required as a result of the changes of December 8, 2016 to CECBA and the agreement of December 15, 2016 between the two parties.
• Any matters in dispute around these consequential collective agreement changes may be referred to mediation/arbitration.
• The mediator/arbitrator will have no jurisdiction to alter, modify, amend, or make any decision inconsistent with the entitlements in the current collective agreement.

Other terms and conditions:

• All other terms and conditions of the current collective agreement remain unchanged for the term of the collective agreement.

Read the full text of the offer for the Unified bargaining unit.

Corrections

Four-year term: January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2021

Wage increases (across the board):

• July 1, 2017 (or date of ratification, whichever is later): 1.5 per cent
• January 1, 2019: 1 per cent
• July 1, 2019: 1 per cent
• January 1, 2020: 1 per cent
• July 1, 2020: 1 per cent
• January 1, 2021: 1 per cent
• July 1, 2021: 1 per cent

Note: Correctional bargaining unit members may continue to bargain an additional wage increase (Special Wage Adjustment), backed up by interest arbitration if necessary (see below).

Movement on the salary grid will recommence on January 1, 2018, with the expiry of the current collective agreement.

Special Wage Adjustments:

• Special Wage Adjustments will be the only outstanding matter in dispute between the parties that may be referred to interest arbitration, in accordance with the interest arbitration provisions.

Out-of-country medical coverage:

• Effective January 1, 2018, out-of-country medical coverage will be made available.
• Cost: $6.11/month (single); $9.63/month (family).
• Premiums are to be paid by the employee.
• Employees may enrol at any time and may leave at any time.
• Employees who leave may not re-enrol at a later date.

Catastrophic drug coverage:

• Effective January 1, 2018, catastrophic drug coverage will be mandatory.
• Cost: $0.94/month (single); $1.91/month (family).

Psychologist services:

• Effective January 1, 2018, the current per half-hour cap for psychologist services will increase from $25 to $40.
• The annual cap remains at $1,400.

Correctional nurses:

• Regardless of any potential future change in their reporting ministry, nurses working in institutions, as identified in the agreement of December 15, 2016, will remain within the Correctional Bargaining Unit.

Collective agreements:

• The parties will establish a joint committee to address consequential collective agreement changes required as a result of the changes of December 8, 2016 to CECBA and the agreement of December 15, 2016 between the two parties.
• Any matters in dispute around these consequential collective agreement changes may be referred to mediation/arbitration.
• The mediator/arbitrator will have no jurisdiction to alter, modify, amend, or make any decision inconsistent with the entitlements in the current collective agreement.

Other terms and conditions:

All other terms and conditions of the current collective agreement will remain unchanged for the term of the collective agreement.

Read the full text of the offer for the Correctional bargaining unit.

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