Unifor ACL Membership Bulletin – Jan/15

Unifor ACL (Atlantic Communication Locals)

Membership Bulletin

January 29, 2015

Common Interest Forum Update

The Common Interest Forum (CIF) has not met since the acceptance of the collective agreement in October. Meeting dates were scheduled for December and January but with the transition of the Company into Bell which resulted in the loss of many key players in Labour Relations, it was determined that any meeting would be ineffective until those vacancies were filled.

The Council Executive is meeting with HR next week to discuss what shape CIF will take within the Bell structure.   CIF training, for new participants and refresher for everyone else, will take place on March 26 & 27. CIF will meet for a full session on April 22-24 where the agenda will be set for the remainder of the year.

Job Evaluation Update

We are still working with the Company to secure dates with a mediator to discuss the 5 identified classifications and explore a new job evaluation process moving forward. The changes to Labour Relations personnel have stalled this process but we are committed to continue to work with the Company to get these dates set as soon as possible.

Storm Line

Over the past several months, the Union and Company have been working toward improving the Storm Line. We have had several sessions during the regular Joint Consultative (JC) Meetings and settled on several recommendations. These recommendations are now in the Company’s hands and we are hopeful that they can be implemented. We will keep you updated.    

2 Special Vacation Days (for Customer Care)

The Union and the Company do not agree on when the implementation of the 2 Special Vacation Days should take place. The dispute stems from the Memorandum of Agreement stating that changes to Article 26 – Vacation, do not take effect until 2016. The Union contends that the 2 Special Vacation Days should be effective in 2015 as this language is Appendix KK, not Article 26. The Company maintains that the 2 Special Vacation Days are part of Vacation language and should not be in effect until 2016. Also, the decision to increase allotments (over 10%) was based on the absence of this process in 2015, plus the Retirement Offer is putting extra pressure on the Group. The Union and Company continue the discussion and hope to have it settled in the near future.    

Collective Agreement Training    

Training for union stewards and managers with direct bargaining unit reports will take place the week of February 16th. The changes to the collective agreement will be reviewed and any questions will be answered. There will be face to face meeting in Halifax, Saint John, Charlottetown and St. John’s. All other areas will join these meetings via conference.   

In Solidarity, 

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