Re: 2022 Operations Annual Vacation Policy
Dear Members of CUPE 8911,
For the past two weeks the Union has been meeting with the Employer to discuss the changes they have proposed to the 2022 Vacation Policy. As you may be aware, every year the Employer releases a policy for how vacation signup will be done. The policy outlines how workgroups select vacation from a shared pool of available dates; there is an established process that attempts to ensure efficiency and equality. It is not uncommon to see some changes in the process to bid for vacation, but the substance of the benefit has remained largely unchanged for several years.
This year when the Employer advised us of the upcoming policy, immediately before they intended to release it, we raised grave concerns. Our concerns were focused around the restrictions to the number of Members in each group that would be allowed off at a time. The allotment has been reduced in several groups for several months of the year. We feel this is not only unnecessary but outright harmful to the Membership. A limit on when you choose to take your vacation is a reduction in the value of the vacation benefit and should never be done through a policy that the Membership has no control over. The Union Executive does not support nor do we condone these changes. In a time of unprecedented workload and stress the Employer has chosen to constrain a benefit that is a true bastion of relief for us, and we have been provided with no substantive reason for the changes. I am baffled by this decision.
The Union Executive and our CUPE National Servicing Rep were quite clear in our concern to the Employer over the negative impact this change in practice has on the Membership. The Employer was aware of these concerns prior to the release of the policy and they went ahead with the changes anyway. Our next action is to file a policy grievance and resolve the issue through the processes available to us. This, however, will take time. Until a resolution is reached, follow the policy that has been issued to you and select your vacation from what is allowed this year. The policy directs Members to reach out to WFM by email workforce.coordinators@ecomm911.ca with any questions, I would encourage you to do that if you have questions or concerns. As always, please be respectful.
If you have any questions or concerns for the Union Executive about this please contact me directly at sheldon.miller@ecpbc.ca or the Executive at executive@ecpbc.ca.
In solidarity,
Sheldon Miller
Vice-President