County council gave its stamp of approval to a union evaluation at its meeting on Oct. 31.
The approval was based on a report from director of human resources Andrea Lawson and was reviewed and approved by the county administration, personnel and finance committee.
“The union and the county undertook a joint job evaluation process in 2008. All social services employees who are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE ) Local 973 at that time completed job analysis questionnaires (JAQ) for their positions,” Lawson stated in her report.
“The JAQs are the basis for the committee’s work. The joint job evaluation committee (JJEC), has equal representation of management and union, and was trained on the rating process.”
The county retained a job evaluation/pay equity advisor to assist with the process to ensure the plan was proceeding within pay equity guidelines and an equitable framework. This process was facilitated by the external advisors in the rating of all positions in the bargaining unit using 2009 job information, updated for new and changed positions, Lawson added.
The JJEC has jointly agreed on terms of reference that now form part of the current collective agreement.
The JJEC rated all positions and communicated these results to the union members, and as per the terms of reference, all members had an opportunity to submit a reconsideration request (appeal). This step is intended to provide all employees with an opportunity to review and comment on the evaluation outcomes specific to their job.
The reconsideration requests were reviewed by the JJEC, and some adjustments were made at that time, said Lawson.
“A report was brought forward to the social services committee on April 10 and the administration, finance and personnel committee on April 16 to provide an overview of where we were in the process at that point in time,” explained Lawson.
“The JJEC, along with the external advisors, met over the summer to negotiate the factor weights and banding of similar value positions. This outcome formed the basis for the wage schedule; meaning that all jobs of similar value in a band will receive the same step increase/job rate opportunity identified for the band. Male comparators for pay equity purposes were also agreed upon for the CUPE grid. Job rates for each band in the CUPE grid were also agreed upon and effective dates and retroactivity were also negotiated,” Lawson added.
This agreement formed the basis of the pay equity/internal equity memorandum of agreement for Local 973 and the County of Wellington that was signed off by the JJEC, Lawson reported
Local 973 held a meeting for its members on Sept. 30, to present the agreed upon pay equity/internal equity memorandum of agreement, to respond to any questions and to hold a vote of the members.
Approximately 31 of the 100 CUPE members attended the meeting, with the majority voting in favour, passing the agreement.
In a related matter, Lawson also reported on wage increases for both union and non-union county workers that went to the administration committee and were subsequently adopted by county council.
In 2011 the county settled a three-year collective agreement which saw an wage adjustment of 2.75 per cent in 2011, 2.5% in 2012 and 2.25% in 2013. On the non-union side, increases were 3% from 2009 to 2012 and 2.25% in 2013.
Talks on both contracts are expected to begin in January.
