Unifor ACL Membership Bulletin

Unifor ACL Membership Bulletin – May 16, 2014

Job Evaluation

The Job Evaluation Project was implemented to evaluate all classifications within the bargaining unit with a view to maintaining equity among jobs. This was a joint project with both the company and the union fully participating on various committees. The Job Evaluation Results were reviewed by the Common Interest Forum (CIF) last year. It became very cumbersome to do analysis and it was taking longer than anyone would have liked or expected. It was decided that a CIF joint sub-committee was required to do further scrutiny and recommend next steps. This sub-committee met on several occasions since last October, then reported back to CIF in April, 2014.

CIF has recognized that the task set out by job evaluation was enormous and despite diligent efforts, it has become nearly impossible to reach joint conclusions without some assistance. We’ve learned that with the pace of change in our work environment, this type of job evaluation process does not work well. We cannot continue to evaluate jobs in the future with this job evaluation tool.

Taking all classifications into consideration, we believe that there is overall equity within the bargaining unit.  However, based on a number of factors, there are five roles that have been identified where there may be issues with compensation.  These roles are Data Operator, CSSR, Help Desk Representative, Printer and Network Representatives working in translations.  The Company and the Council have agreed to take this matter to an independent third party mediator to help us determine if any changes should be made to any of these five roles.  We also intend to have the mediator recommend a simpler and more effective process going forward. 

We know that this news is disappointing for some members who were told to wait for job evaluation results to determine if there were any wage discrepancies in their job.  We will keep you informed as to the status of this mediation process as it progresses. 

The data collection process and all the committee work was completed in good faith.  We thank all the members and managers who worked very hard on this project. The time and effort you put into it is very much appreciated. 

In solidarity,

Penny Fawcett                    Bobby MacDonald             Lynn Briggs                        

Steve Howlett                      Joyclin Coates                    Mary Croke

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