Collective Agreement
Between the National Film Board
and
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
Administrative and Foreign Service Category,
Scientific and Professional Category
Expiry Date: June 30, 2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPOINTMENT OF UNION REPRESENTATIVES
TIME OFF FOR UNION REPRESENTATIVES
TIME OFF FOR INSTITUTE BUSINESS
MATERNITY LEAVE AND PARENTAL LEAVE
LAY-OFFS, TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT AND SEVERANCE PAY
PROBATION, TRIAL PERIOD AND PERFORMANCE
TECHNOLOGICAL AND WORK PROCEDURE CHANGES
GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURE
RECLASSIFICATION AND POSITION DESCRIPTION
RATES OF PAY (37.5 hours per week)
THE PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF CANADA OFFICES
WORKFORCE ADJUSTMENT DIRECTIVE
ARTICLE 1
PURPOSE OF AGREEMENT
1.01 The purpose of this collective agreement is to maintain harmonious and mutually beneficial relationships between the Employer, the employees and the Institute, to set forth certain terms and conditions of employment relating to remuneration, hours of work, employee benefits and general working conditions affecting employees covered by this collective agreement.
1.02 The parties to this collective agreement share a desire to improve the quality of services rendered by employees, to maintain professional standards and to promote well-being and increased efficiency. Accordingly, the parties are determined to establish and foster an effective working relationship.
ARTICLE 2
DEFINITIONS
2.01 For the purpose of this collective agreement:
(a) “bargaining unit” (unite de négociation) means all the employees of the National Film Board (NFB) in the Administrative and Foreign Service Category, as described in the certificate issued by the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB) on the twentieth (20th) day of September 1968 and all the employees of the NFB in the Scientific and Professional Category, as described in the certificate issued by the PSLRB on the twenty-second (22nd) day of July 1982;
(b) “compensatory leave” (congé compensateur) means leave with pay in lieu of cash payment for overtime, and such leave with pay will be equivalent in value to the cash payment that would otherwise have been made;
(c) “continuous employment” (emploi continu) as used with respect to leave of absence, has the same meaning as in the existing rules and regulations of the Employer on the date of the signing of this collective agreement;
(d) “continuous position” (poste continu) means a position established for an indefinite period of time and included in the plan of organization formulated by the NFB in accordance with the National Film Act.
(e) “continuous status employee” (personne salariée à statut continu) means an employee who holds a continuous position or a temporary employee with at least three (3) years of continuous employment in a continuous position or not.
(f) “daily rate of pay” (taux de rémunération quotidien) means an employee’s weekly rate of pay divided by five (5);
(g) “day of rest” (jour de repos) in relation to an employee means a day other than a holiday on which that employee is not ordinarily required to perform the duties of his or her position other than by reason of his or her being on leave of absence;
(h) “employee” (personne salariée) means a person who is a member of one of the bargaining units;
(i) “Employer” (employeur) means the NFB;
(j) “family” (famille): except where otherwise specified in this collective agreement, means father, mother (or alternatively stepfather, stepmother, or foster parent), brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister, spouse (including common-law partner residing with the employee), child (including child of common-law partner), stepchild, foster child or ward of the employee, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, the employee’s grandparents and relative permanently residing in the employee’s household or with whom the employee permanently resides.
(k) “hourly rate of pay” (taux de rémunération horaire) means an employee’s daily rate of pay divided by his or her normal daily hours of work;
(l) “Institute” (Institut) means the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada;
(m) “lay-off” (mise en disponibilité) means an employee whose employment has been terminated because of lack of work or because of the discontinuance of a function;
(n) “membership dues” (cotisations syndicales) means the dues established pursuant to the constitution of the Institute as the dues payable by its members as a consequence of their membership in the Institute, and shall not include any initiation fee, insurance premium, or special levy;
(o) “part-time employee” (personne salariée à temps partiel) means, in accordance with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (FPSLRA), an employee whose normal scheduled hours of work are less per week than a full-time employee;
(p) “seniority” (ancienneté) means an employee’s length of employment at the NFB. Seniority is not interrupted by paid leave or leave without pay except for leave provided in 21.06 (d), 21.07 (b), 21.08 (b) and 24.08 (b). In these cases, seniority is frozen and does not add up during the leave.
(q) “spouse” (conjoint-e) means a person who: is married to and cohabits with another person; is in a conjugal relationship with but not married to another person, and has cohabited with that person for at least one (1) year; or is in a conjugal relationship with and cohabits with another person but is not married to that person and a child is born or to be born of their relationship, or the two persons have adopted a child together, or one of the two persons has adopted the other person’s child.
(r) “temporary employee” (personne salariée à statut temporaire) means, in accordance with the definition of employee above, a person hired for a term;
(s) “temporary position”(poste temporaire) means a position that serves to meet a temporary need or temporary extra work for a determinate period.
When a same temporary position is staffed for an uninterrupted period of three years, the NFB transforms the position to a continuous position.
(t) “weekly rate of pay” (taux de rémunération hebdomadaire) means an employee’s rate of pay divided by fifty-two decimal one seven six (52.176);
ARTICLE 3
GENERAL PROVISIONS
3.01 It is agreed that working conditions not covered by this collective agreement shall be determined by the rules and regulations defined by the NFB in the Human Resources Manual. The Employer will consult the Institute on amendments to be brought to the Manual when related to the employees of the bargaining unit. The Institute may ask to discuss any directive or rule in the Human Resources Manual with the Employer at joint consultation committee meetings, as per Article 36 of this collective agreement.
3.02 If there is any conflict of interpretation between the provisions of this collective agreement and the Human Resources Manual, the provisions of this collective agreement shall apply.
3.03 The Employer will make the Human Resources Manual available on its Intranet site for employees’ consultation.
The NFB will communicate in writing with the Institute (Montreal and Ottawa offices) on a quarterly basis to confirm changes (if any) that were made during the previous quarter.
When there is a change, the Employer will transmit all updates of the document (in whole or in part) to the two aforementioned offices.
3.04 The Employer will submit a copy of the Human Resources Manual both in paper and electronic form to The Union at the signature of the collective agreement.
No specific agreement relating to conditions of employment other than those provided for in the collective agreement shall be valid unless it has received the written approval of the duly authorized representatives of the employer and the union.
ARTICLE 4
APPLICATION
The provisions of this collective agreement apply to the Institute, the employees and the Employer.
ARTICLE 5
INTERPRETATION OF AGREEMENT
5.01 The parties agree that, in the event of a dispute arising out of the interpretation of a clause or article in this collective agreement, such dispute shall in the first instance be referred in writing to the parties, who shall meet within a reasonable time and seek to resolve the problem.
5.02 The English and French texts of this collective agreement are both official versions and are equally authoritative.
ARTICLE 6
STATE SECURITY
Nothing in this collective agreement shall be construed to require the Employer to do or refrain from doing anything contrary to any instruction, direction or regulation given or made by or on behalf of the Government of Canada in the interest of the safety or security of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada.
ARTICLE 7
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Except to the extent provided herein, this collective agreement in no way restricts the authority of those charged with managerial responsibilities at the NFB.
ARTICLE 8
RECOGNITION
8.01 The Employer recognizes the Institute as the exclusive bargaining agent for all employees described in the certificate issued by the PSLRB on the twentieth (20th) day of September 1968, covering all of the employees of the Employer in the Administrative and Foreign Service Category, as well as all employees described in the certificate issued by the PSLRB on the twenty-second (22nd) day of July 1982 for all of the employees of the Employer classified under the Scientific and Professional Category.
8.02 The Employer recognizes that it is a proper function and a right of the Institute to bargain with a view to arriving at a collective agreement, and the Employer agrees to bargain in good faith with the Institute, in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act.
ARTICLE 9
RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES
9.01 The Employer and the Institute agree that there shall be no discrimination, interference, restriction or coercion exercised or practised with respect to any employee by reason of:
(a) age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, creed or lack of creed, handicap;
(b) a conviction for which a pardon has been granted;
(c) membership or non-membership in the Institute;
(d) exercising a right conferred upon him/her by the present collective agreement;
(e) political affiliation, provided that such political affiliation does not contravene with the provisions of the Public Service Employment Act concerning political partisanship.
9.02
(a) The Employer and the Institute acknowledge that harassment, in all its forms, is unacceptable and shall not be tolerated.
(b) Harassment is vexatious behaviour that manifests itself in the form of repetitive conduct, verbal comments, actions or gestures, by someone who knows or should know that they are hostile or unwanted, and affects the employee’s dignity or psychological or physical integrity, resulting in a harmful work environment. A single serious incidence of such behaviour may also constitute harassment if it undermines the employee’s dignity or integrity and if it has a lasting harmful effect.
The employer shall take all reasonable means to prevent harassment in the workplace, and take appropriate steps to remedy any founded harassment.
(c) The Institute acknowledges that it is up to the Employer to identify and to take appropriate measures to end harassment.
(d) The complaint procedure to be followed in case of harassment is described in the Human Resources Manual. An employee who feels that a harassment complaint filed with the Employer has not been resolved may file a grievance.
ARTICLE 10
APPOINTMENT OF UNION REPRESENTATIVES
The Employer acknowledges the right of the Institute to appoint union representatives from amongst the employees. The Employer and the Institute shall by mutual agreement determine the geographical area of jurisdiction of each union representative, having regard to the plan of organization and the distribution of employees at the workplace.
When the local union president is absent, the Employer will address the person designated by the executive to replace him or her.
ARTICLE 11
TIME OFF FOR UNION REPRESENTATIVES
The parties recognize that it is in their interest to maintain and develop a labour-management partnership.
(a) The function of bargaining agent president can require a rearrangement of one’s work schedule. To this effect, the employee occupying this function must inform his or her supervisor and obtain the permission of his or her immediate supervisor before leaving his or her work.
(b) A union representative appointed in accordance with Article 10 shall obtain the permission of his or her immediate supervisor before leaving his or her work to investigate employee complaints of an urgent nature, to meet with local management for the purpose of discussing such complaints or problems directly related to employment and to attend meetings called by management.
Such permission shall not be unreasonably withheld.
ARTICLE 12
ACCESS TO THE WORK SITE
12.01 The Employer agrees that access to its premises may be allowed to permanent employees of the Institute for the purpose of interviewing an Institute member.
12.02 Permission to hold such meeting shall in each case be obtained from the Employer’s Director of Human Resources and such meeting shall not interfere with the operations of the NFB.
ARTICLE 13
TIME OFF FOR INSTITUTE BUSINESS
13.01 Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) Hearings
(a) Complaints made to the FPSLREB pursuant to Section 190 (1) of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (FPSLRA)
Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant:
(i) leave with pay to an employee who makes a complaint on his or her own behalf, before the FPSLREB, and
(ii) leave with pay to an employee who acts on behalf of an employee making a complaint, or who acts on behalf of the Institute making a complaint.
(b) Application for certification, representations and interventions with respect to applications for certification
Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant leave without pay:
(i) to an employee who represents the Institute in an application for certification or in an intervention, and
(ii) to an employee who makes personal representations with respect to a certification.
(c) Employee called as a witness
The Employer will grant:
(i) leave with pay to an employee called as a witness by the FPSLREB, and
(ii) where operational requirements permit, leave with pay to an employee called as a witness by an employee or the Institute.
13.02 Arbitration Board and Conciliation Board Hearings
(a) Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant leave with pay to a reasonable number of employees representing the Institute before an Arbitration Tribunal or Conciliation Board.
(b) Employee called as a witness
The Employer will grant leave with pay to an employee called as a witness by an Arbitration Tribunal or Conciliation Board and, where operational requirements permit, leave with pay to an employee called as a witness by the Institute.
13.03 Adjudication
(a) Employee who is a party
Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant to an employee who is a party, leave with pay.
(b) Employee who acts as representative
Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant leave with pay to the representative of an employee who is a party.
(c) Employee called as a witness
Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant leave with pay to a witness called by an employee who is a party.
13.04 Meeting during the Grievance Process
(a) Employee presenting grievance
Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant to an employee:
(i) where the Employer originates a meeting with the employee who has presented a grievance, time off with pay when the meeting is held in the headquarters area of such employee and “on duty” status when the meeting is held outside the headquarters area of such employee, and
(ii) where an employee who has presented a grievance seeks to meet with the Employer, time off with pay to the employee when the meeting is held in the headquarters area of such employee and leave without pay when the meeting is held outside the headquarters area of such employee.
(b) Employee who acts as representative
Where an employee who wishes to represent at a meeting with the Employer, an employee who has presented a grievance, the Employer will, where operational requirements permit, grant time off with pay to the representative when the meeting is held in the headquarters area of such employee and leave without pay when the meeting is held outside the headquarters area of such employee.
(c) Grievance investigations
Where an employee has asked or is obliged to be represented by the Institute in relation to the presentation of a grievance and an employee acting on behalf of the Institute wishes to discuss the grievance with that employee, the employee and the representative of the employee will, where operational requirements permit, be given reasonable time off with pay for this purpose when the discussion takes place in the headquarters area of such employee and leave without pay when it takes place outside the headquarters area of such employee.
13.05 Meetings between the Institute and the Employer
Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant time off with pay to a reasonable number of employees who are meeting with the Employer on behalf of the Institute.
13.06 Institute Executive Council Meetings and Conventions
Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant leave without pay to a reasonable number of employees to attend Executive Council Meetings and Conventions of the Institute.
13.07 Union representatives’ Training Courses
Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant leave without pay to employees who exercise the authority of a union representative on behalf of the Institute to undertake training related to the duties of a union representative.
ARTICLE 14
INFORMATION
14.01 The Employer agrees to supply the Institute (to the local president and to the head office) on a monthly basis with a list containing the following information for employees belonging to the bargaining unit:
· name, location, level, and number of current, new and terminated employees;
· date of appointment of new employees;
· names of employees on leave without pay for more than one month and their date of departure and return;
· nature, date of departure for employees who have left;
· for reclassified employees, the date of reclassification.
14.02 The employer agrees to provide members of the local executive, union delegates and Institute regional offices with the required number of printed and bound copies of the collective agreement.
14.03 The Employer will communicate to the Institute, upon signature of the collective agreement, the list of employees in each category along with their employment date at the NFB.
14.04 The employer shall make available to all employees an electronic version of this collective agreement on the Intranet.
14.05
(a) As part of the Employer’s orientation program, the Institute will be given the possibility of introducing one of its representatives to new employees.
(b) The Employer agrees to distribute to each new employee an information package prepared and supplied by the Institute.
ARTICLE 15
BULLETIN BOARDS
The Employ